Entrance to Bungalow on the Beach

In Tranquebar, I stayed at the excellent Bungalow on the Beach, run by The Neemrana Group. It was the closest one could get to a Grand Hotel in the town, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The origins of the building aren’t very clear – it was probably built in the early 1800s during the Danish era. From 1845, when the British took over, the building then became the former British Tax Collector’s Summer Residence. Architecturally, it was designed in an eclectic style, with a basic, European, Neo-classical form and large verandahs going all around the building on the first and second floors to take account of the weather.

Originally in an advanced state of dilapidation, it was acquired by Neemrana Group in the early 2000s, and after extensive restoration, opened as a hotel in 2004. Unfortunately, the 2004 tsunami struck soon after, and it required more restoration before being re-opened again.

The interiors of the building are designed to evoke the Danish era, with aqua-blue highlights on the walls, and rooms named after Danish Monarchs and princes. The highlight of my stay was the swimming pool, set in a spectacular location right by the waters of the Bay of Bengal.

Another highlight was the delicious food served in the hotel’s restaurant – which, being Tamil cuisine, was something I was extremely familiar with. One evening I ordered the “Special Tharangambadi Fish Curry”, only to find out – after having a taste – that it was essentially the same as Muthu’s Fish Curry back home in Singapore.

Talk about home away from home.

View of The Bungalow on the Beach from the entrance of Fot Dansborg.

Side view of The Bungalow on the Beach, from its grounds.

The Main lobby.

The second floor

My room, with its

Ornamentation on the walls.

Idyllic view of the verandah and the Bay of Bengal just beyond.

The outdoor dining area

The indoor dining area.

Poriyal – a vegetable dish involving various different kinds of vegetables lightly fried with shaved coconut. It’s absolutely delicious and extremely healthy.

Downstairs verandah.

Stairway to the second floor.

Goodbye The Bungalow on the Beach and goodbye Tranquebar!

Next stop on the Grand Tour III: Colombo, Sri Lanka

Promoting our Permanent Collections

A year into the job, I’m convinced, more than ever, that a museum needs to be relevant.

Not just to its local community, but also to the world.

What I mean is that a museum also needs to respond to contemporary global developments at the macro-level, whether geopolitical, economic, socio-cultural or security-related.

And so this October, taking advantage of the fact that we are installing new permanent galleries, and therefore have no special exhibitions planned, we are experimenting with the way we promote our Permanent Collections.

Collections which, in my view, can contribute relevant and important perspectives on prevailing global economic and geo-political issues.

Let me illustrate.

MARITIME SILK ROUTE – ASIAN TRADE FROM 800 – 1900 AD

Years before China’s One Belt One Route (OBOR) initiative and its associated rhetoric as to how the overland and maritime silk roads have connected civilisations for thousands of years through trade, we have – at the Asian Civilisations Museum – already been on to it.

The Museum’s very MISSION conveys an important message to the world about how civilisations have never existed in isolation, but have always connected, interacted and mutually enriched each other.

And we have had the opportunity to build up a magnificent collection of artefacts and works of art that tangibly, viscerally illustrates this point.

For example, on the ground floor of the museum, we display our very important and comprehensive collection of Asian Export Art. These are masterpieces of ceramics and porcelain, furniture and other decorative arts (e.g. clothing chests, reliquary caskets, fans, pen cases, etc), lacquer and enamel, textiles and paintings, that were produced in China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia for the global market.

Taken together, our collection of Asian Export Art tells a 1000-year history of maritime trade within Asia and trade between Asia and the rest of the world. In other words, the history (and art history) of the Maritime Silk Route, from 800 – 1900 AD.

Being produced primarily for export, Asian Export Art is cross-cultural, in that it is “East-West” (Asian-European), or “East-East” (Asian-Asian) in essence.

Dragon-headed ewer, Tang Shipwreck Collection. 9th century. China.

Take this magnificent green-glazed ceramic dragon-headed ewer, for example, which comes from the Museum’s Tang Shipwreck (or Belitung Shipwreck) collection – a National Treasure and treasure of World Heritage. This is dated to the late Tang Dynasty. While the piece was made in China, its form is not Chinese at all but Sasanian Persian. It’s thus an “East-East” piece made by China for the Middle Eastern market in as early as the 800s AD!

Kraak blue and white dish with Persian ladies. 大型加橹瓷盘. Porcelain. Mid 17th century. Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China.

Similarly, this blue-and-white kraak porcelain dish, made about 800 years later in the mid-1600s AD in China’s famed Jingdezhen 景德镇  kilns, features a pair of Persian ladies at centre, and was also probably made for the Middle Eastern market, i.e. “East-East”.

Canton Hong Bowl, c. 1785. Porcelain. China.

Here’s a third piece – our Canton Hong Bowl. It was made in the 1700s AD for export by way of China’s great entrepôt port city of Canton (today’s Guangzhou 广州). In form, it is European – this is a punch bowl used at banquets in stately homes (the likes of Downton Abbey).  But this is Chinese porcelain. And it depicts a Chinese…well, a cross-cultural scene of European factories (or “hongs” 行) on the bustling Canton waterfront. This is classic “East-West” – Chinese export art made for the European market.

Up until recently, the Chinese museums and collectors were not quite so interested in collecting this stuff at all because it was seen as not being “Chinese enough”. But since the OBOR initiative, collectors and museums alike have been encouraged to get into the act.

There is now a proliferation of exhibitions in China featuring Chinese export porcelain and the Maritime Silk Road. In the past year, Chinese museums have also expressed tremendous interest in collaborating with the Asian Civilisations Museum on research and exhibitions featuring Chinese Export Ceramics 外销瓷, in particular, our Tang Shipwreck Collection.

As a matter of fact, at the recent Belt & Route Forum in May 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping preambled his OBOR speech with a reference to the Tang Shipwreck (which he referred to in Chinese as the 黑石号).

The speech was titled “Work Together to Build the Silk Road Economic Belt and The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road”

And it’s worth quoting the specific passage in which the Tang Shipwreck appears (bold text mine):

“Over 2,000 years ago, our ancestors, trekking across vast steppes and deserts, opened the transcontinental passage connecting Asia, Europe and Africa, known today as the Silk Road. Our ancestors, navigating rough seas, created sea routes linking the East with the West, namely, the maritime Silk Road. These ancient silk routes opened windows of friendly engagement among nations, adding a splendid chapter to the history of human progress. The thousand-year-old “gilt bronze silkworm” displayed at China’s Shaanxi History Museum and the Belitung shipwreck discovered in Indonesia, bear witness to this exciting period of history.

Spanning thousands of miles and years, the ancient silk routes embody the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit. The Silk Road spirit has become a great heritage of human civilization.”

Unfortunately, the English version sounds far more functional than the sweeping and evocative Chinese version, also worth quoting:

“2000多年前，我们的先辈筚路蓝缕，穿越草原沙漠，开辟出联通亚欧非的陆上丝绸之路；我们的先辈扬帆远航，穿越惊涛骇浪，闯荡出连接东西方的海上丝绸之路。古丝绸之路打开了各国友好交往的新窗口，书写了人类发展进步的新篇章。中国陕西历史博物馆珍藏的千年“鎏金铜蚕”，在印度尼西亚发现的千年沉船“黑石号”等，见证了这段历史。

古丝绸之路绵亘万里，延续千年，积淀了以和平合作、开放包容、互学互鉴、互利共赢为核心的丝路精神。这是人类文明的宝贵遗产。”

Why are China and the Chinese suddenly interested in Asian, or rather, Chinese, Export Art (particularly the Tang Shipwreck)?

ONE: Because the millions of pieces of Chinese Export Art that exist in the world today are tangible proof of trade having taken place at a global scale for at least a millennium. In particular, the Tang Shipwreck is proof that huge volumes of trade took place within Asia long before the Europeans came with their colonialism and gunboat diplomacy.

TWO: Because China sat at the very centre of this global trade.  An overwhelming proportion of world trade in the past millennia was driven by worldwide demand for luxury goods produced in China – porcelain, in particular, but also lacquer, ivory, enamels and naturally, silk. This is notwithstanding China’s own traditional disdain for trade and for merchants. The maritime (and overland) silk routes were all about getting to China, and sourcing and buying as much as one could of its luxury products for resale elsewhere in the world.

THREE: When it comes to global trade in the historical longue durée, China, the Middle Kingdom, or 中国  was, as its proper name suggests, right at the centre.  China is keen to reclaim this central  position, and Chinese Export Art – and Asian Export Art in general really – provides tangible historical justification in the millions to support their claim.

Why should Singapore and Singaporeans be interested in Asian Export Art? 

FIRST: To understand our heritage and thus our competitive advantage better. The heritage of Asian Export Art is the heritage of trade and a cross-cultural heritage. So too, the heritage of Singapore. Each piece of Asian export ceramic mirrors us as a people – the product of trade and the crossing of cultures.

And a heritage of trade and a crossing of cultures can only be a competitive advantage in a new world order emphasising trade and – this is the crux of the matter – ALSO strongly emphasising the crossing of cultures.

SECOND: To get into China’s “mind”, so to speak. To understand China’s motivations better and strategise Singapore’s response. The Chinese are couching their contemporary global role and world order in terms of history and heritage, going so far as to get museums into the act.  Singapore must do the same – we must couch our own specific role and value to China and to the world in terms of history and heritage.

To secure our relevance (and survival), we have to bank on our history and our heritage.

This history and heritage is sitting at the museum.

‘ILM علم  – SCIENCE AND IMAGINATION IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD

I am tired of how all news and discourse pertaining to Islam and the Islamic world is overwhelmingly negative. I am tired of hearing about fundamentalism, about ISIS (Islamic State) and about terrorism.

I am not trivialising terrorism. It is important to stand vigilant and united against any acts of indiscriminate violence against the innocent.  I respect and salute security officers in the airports and public buildings of the world for keeping us safe.

But Islam and the civilisations of the Islamic World deserve better press. And really, ISIS and terrorism doesn’t NEED anymore publicity.

That’s why at Asian Civilisations Museum, we have decided, this October, to use our Islamic Art collection to turn around stereotypical notions of the Dar-al-Islam  دار الإسلام, or the Islamic World.

We want to remind our visitors, and the world, that the Islamic world, which at its height spanned the entire Eurasian continent from Spain to the Malay Archipelago, was a crucible of scientific invention, artistic excellence and intellectual progress.

In fact, Islam does not differentiate between sacred and secular knowledge. The word for knowledge – ‘ilm علم – refers to both. For centuries, the Islamic world was far superior to that of Christian Europe, in the fields of mathematics, science and astrology and also in terms of architecture, craftsmanship and the arts.

In the lead-up to the re-opening of our permanent galleries dedicated to Islamic Art, Asian Civilisations Museum is presenting highlights from our Islamic Art collection; masterpieces that recall the brilliance and beauty of Islamic civilisation in Asia.

Here is a sampling.

Planispheric astrolabe. Iran, 18th century. Brass alloy.

The astrolabe as a scientific instrument, was invented by the Greeks around 220 BC, and inherited by the Arabs and the Persians. An astrolabe is a computational device that represents the three-dimensional sky as a two-dimensional model. The positions of different celestial bodies, including stars, are marked on the plates. By aligning different parts of the astrolabe, one can calculate the time, as well as past and future events, and determine geographic locations.

Medieval Muslim scientists developed new features which can be observed on this specimen: shadow squares for solving trigonometry problems and a universal plate with markings for both equatorial and ecliptic coordinate systems.

Parts of the astrolabe I. Note beautiful, and elaborate tassel-like details.

Parts of the astrolabe II. The names of constellations are etched on the surface in Arabic script.

Aside from being a scientific instrument, this astrolabe is also a magnificent work of art. When it’s taken apart, one can observe the remarkable precision and craftsmanship that went into its casting and creation.

Casket. India, Gujarat, late 16th or 17th century. Mother-of-pearl, mastic resin, wood, metal mounts.

This is a casket made in Gujarat, India in the late 16^th – 17^th centuries.  It is an exquisite jewel of a piece, consisting of a wooden base, inlaid with shimmering mother-of-pearl. The decoration of this casket is testimony to the materials and specialised skills used by artists in western India who made objects for Islamic markets in the Middle East and Mughal India, as well as for Europe. Finely cut mother-of-pearl was regarded as a wonder in Renaissance Europe and the Islamic world. Pieces in shades of pink, green, and silver were carefully selected to create variety and colour gradations.

Around the four sides of the object, a Persian love poem is inscribed in sensuous, curling nasta’līq نستعلیق script.

Qur’an, probably Java. 18th century. Paper, ink, gold, pigments.

Nowhere are the sacred and the secular arts more wondrously combined than in the tradition of illuminated Qur’ans. Here we have a splendid 18^th century illuminated Qur’an with Arabic calligraphy contained within an exuberantly coloured and ornamented double frame.

This Qur’an comes from the Malay Archipelago – we know this because the specific technique of using a double embellished frame features in Javanese Qur’ans. Decorated double-spreads such as these occur at the beginning and end of the Qur’an, and frequently, a third decorated spread appears in the middle.

These and more are on display at the museum till mid 2018.

In the meantime, I celebrate my first full year on the job, and look forward to the next.

Come to the ACM!

The iconic Galle Face Hotel, on the equally iconic Galle Face Green.

Setting sail from Danish Tranquebar, we wend our ship southward to the jewelled isle of Ceylon (today’s Sri Lanka), situated at the southern tip of the Indian Subcontinent. We are bound for the port city of Colombo, on the southwestern coast of the island-nation.

The Greeks, Persians and Arabs knew of this port, and frequented its shores in late antiquity. The former – in particular, Greek geographer Ptolemy – referred to the island as Taprobana, the latter as Sarandib. In the course of a millenia and a half, the island would be ruled by a succession of Hindu kingdoms, culminating in just under a century of occupation by the mighty Chola Empire in the 11th century.

When the Portuguese arrived in 1505, first at Galle and onwards to Colombo, the island was split into some half a dozen kingdoms, chief of all being the Kotte and the Kandy Kingdoms.

‘De Stadt Colombe’ c. 1775, after original engraving by Johannes Kip c. 1680. [Public Domain]

Baedeker Map of Colombo, 1914. [Public Domain.]

Chola-era bronze statue of Shiva Nataraja. Collection of the National Museum of Colombo.

Detail of the Royal Throne of Kandyan Kings. Collection of the National Museum of Colombo. Kandy was a Buddhist, Sinhalese-speaking Kingdom, and the last of Sri Lanka’s local Kingdoms.

From the coastal Kotte Kingdom, the Portuguese extracted the rights by treaty to establish a coastal settlement and fort at Colombo. From thence, they would grow in power, eventually annexing Kotte and the northern Kingdom of Jaffna, and expanding the rule to including all of the western and northern coast of the island they called Ceilao (from which the English word Ceylon is derived).

Hardly anything remains of Portuguese Colombo today.  The fort the Portuguese built has all but vanished, but the area on which the fort used to stand, is still known as Fort, and was the administrative and commercial centre of British Ceylon. Elsewhere, a few Portuguese tombstones continue to stand in the galleries of the National Museum of Colombo.

A stone slab with a Portuguese inscription, probably fixed to the main doorway of a Portuguese chapel in Colombo fort. “The Chapel of the brethren of confraternity of the most Holy Rosary”. Collection of the National Museum of Colombo.

Portuguese tombstones from Colombo. The tombstone on the right was found in Colombo Fort and bears a family coat of arms. It reads “This tomb is of Joana Godinha and heirs, which was made by one named Joao de Fonseca, 1646.” Collection of the National Museum of Colombo.

The Dutch United East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) arrived in Ceylon in the early 1600s and swiftly made an alliance with the Kingdom of Kandy – the last Sinhalese Kingdom in Ceylon. King Rajasinghe II of Kandy would sign a treaty in 1638 with the VOC, seeking aid in wrestling control of Ceylon back from the Portuguese, in return for a monopoly on trade.

Dutch Ceylon was established in 1640, but it wasn’t till 1658 that the Portuguese were driven off the island.  Colombo was taken in 1656 and served as the capital of Dutch Ceylon for more than 100 years.  The Dutch, having ousted the Portuguese, defied the terms of their treaty, and in the ensuing decades, would continually add to their territory, eventually taking control of almost all of Ceylon’s coastline, rendering Kandy landlocked and helpless.

Most of Ceylon’s Dutch heritage remains in Galle – which was the Dutch stronghold for much of their occupation of the island. That said, Colombo still retains a few important Dutch-era buildings, chiefly the former Dutch Hospital in the Fort and the Dutch Museum and Wolvendaal Church in Pettah.

The descendants of the Dutch – the so-called Dutch Burghers, or Dutch Eurasians also still maintain their presence in today’s Colombo; and have contributed a distinctly Malay tinge to the city’s unique cuisine.

The Dutch VOC – Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (United East India Company) logo, circa 1795. This was one year before the British conquered Dutch Ceylon.

The Old Colombo Dutch Hospital is the oldest building in the Fort area, and probably dates from the late 1600s. Today it’s a shopping and F & B precinct, kind of like Chijmes in Singapore.

At the former Dutch Hospital is where you find the hugely popular Ministry of Crab, which serves…guess what? Sri Lankan crabs cooked any way you want them. Delicious!

The Dutch Museum, in Pettah, occupies the former Residence of the Governor of Dutch Ceylon, Thomas van Rhee. It was probably built in the late 1690s.

Wolvendaal Church (Wolvendaalse Kerk) is a Dutch Reformed Church built in 1757 in Pettah.

The Dutch Burger Union was established in 1907. Its headquarters, built in 1917, sit in the suburb of Cinnamon Gardens.

Lampreis (served at the cafe of the Dutch Burgher Union) is a distinctly cross-cultural Sri Lankan dish with Dutch, Malay and Ceylonese influences. Rice in stock and mixed meat curry is cooked in a banana leaf, served with frikkadels (meatballs), garnished with pol sambola, or spicy prawn floss (which we Singaporeans know as hay bee hiam), and taken with sambal belachan. Absolutely scrumptious.

Dutch Ceylon became British in 1796. Twenty years later in 1815, the Kingdom of Kandy finally succumbed and was absorbed into British Ceylon.

Much of the city’s European colonial heritage dates from the British era, in particular, the Fort area contains some of the buildings most monumental civic and commercial edifices.

To the East of Fort sits Pettah – the older, Dutch city centre, which today retains a bustling air and entirely multi-cultural outlook. Here sit the city’s most important mosques – including the Red Mosque – Hindu temples and churches, alongside the city’s old British City Hall.

To the south of Fort sits Cinnamon Gardens, laid out by the British in accordance with Garden City principles in the late 19th century.  Here is a leafy, verdant landscape of bungalows and villas, sitting along broad boulevards. Here too one finds the residence and offices of one of British Ceylon and Sri Lanka’s most important exports – the late Geoffrey Bawa, pioneer of the “Tropical Modernist” style.

The Port of Sri Lanka

Sri Sambuddhaloka Vihara Buddhist Temple, just off Fort.

Lloyd’s Bank Building, Fort.

The iconic Cargills Building (1906) on York Street, Fort.

Strolling through the arcades of Cargills Building.

The entrance to bustling Pettah Market and the multi-cultural Pettah city centre.

The Old Town Hall was built by the British in 1873. It sits in Pettah and sports a Neo-Gothic architectural style.

The iconic Red Mosque, or Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque is one of the oldest mosques in the city and dates from 1909. It is built in an Indo-Saracenic style.

New Kathiresan Temple, Pettah.

Sri Muthu Vinayakar Swamy Temple, Pettah.

Colombo Town Hall (1928), Cinnamon Gardens.

The National Museum of Colombo, in Cinnamon Gardens. The purpose-built museum building dates from 1896.

Paradise Road Cafe in Cinnamon Gardens occupies Geoffrey Bawa’s former offices.

Ceylon became independent Sri Lanka in 1948, and many of its colonial-era government buildings were repurposed as civic and administrative centres for its fledgeling government.

By 1983, Sri Lanka had plunged into Civil War, with the Tamil Tigers in the northeast fighting for an independent Tamil Eelam state in the northern region of Jaffna.  Those who grew up in the 1980s and ’90s would remember the violence associated with Sri Lanka during this time. A Peace Accord was only signed in 2009.

Independence Memorial Hall (1953) sits on Independence Square (formerly Torrington Square) in Cinnamon Gardens.

Old Parliament Building was completed in 1930and today houses the Presidential Secretariat. It sits near the Northern edge of Galle Face Green.

Since then, Sri Lanka has wasted no time in getting back on its feet. Any visitor to Colombo today would find it a modern and thoroughly clean city, reminiscent of Singapore in the late 1980s and even the early 1990s.

The best experience of the city can be had taking a stroll along the lovely seaside promenade known as Galle Face Green. In the distance stands the iconic Galle Face Hotel, one of the oldest and greatest hotels in the Far East and the grande dame of the city’s hospitality scene for more than 100 years.

Laid out in 1859 by the British and initially used for cricket and other sports (it was the equivalent of the Padang in Singapore), today, Galle Face Green is popular with ordinary Sri Lankans, who emerge en masse in the early evenings to picnic, fly kites, take in the sea breeze and look to the future.

Hoppers (also known as appam), freshly made for breakfast at the Galle Face Hotel, are typical Sri Lankan food.

Evening at Galle Face Green, a 500 metre-long esplanade by the ocean.

A backward glance at Galle Face Green and the iconic Galle Face Hotel.

The iconic Cargill’s Building on York Street was built by Walker, Sons & Co in 1906 in an Edwardian style. It occupies a former Dutch military commander’s residence, which had been built in 1684.

Fort, or Colombo Fort, is one of the oldest built-up areas in downtown Colombo, having been established by the Portuguese in the early 1500s as a fortified port settlement.

Once there were actually walls that surrounded the city.  Part of these walls were destroyed and others reinforced to when the Dutch V.O.C. conquered the city in 1656,  then all of it was demolished when the British took control in the 1800s.

This part of the city has always been its administrative centre, be it during the Portuguese, Dutch or British eras. Even though the Fort proper was abolished in the 1800s, this part of the city still retains the name “Fort” in reference to its fortified past.

Today, much of Fort consists of monumental civic and commercial buildings erected in the late 1800s and early 1900s during the British era, with painfully little remaining from the Dutch period and nothing at all from the Portuguese.

This post takes us on a leisurely jaunt through Fort, taking in the most significant of these buildings, many of which have been immaculately restored as Colombo and Sri Lanka – benefiting from political stability – restores its economy and its interest in its heritage.

From the Old Parliament Building sitting just outside where the ramparts of Fort used to sit, we dive into Fort proper, taking in the key landmarks along the thoroughfares in the area, chiefly Chatham Street, York Street and Main Street.

Oldest known map of Colombo Fort with fortifications still intact, dated 1888, by John Leonard Kalenberg van Dort, a Ceylonese Dutch Burgher.

The former Ceylon Legislative Council Building was erected in 1930 in a Palladian style. It houses the Presidential Secretariat today.

Chatham Street

The Old Colombo Lighthouse on Chatham Street was built in 1857. It still stands today but as a mere clocktower.

The former National Mutual Life Association of Australia Building was built in 1911 in a Neo-classical style reminiscent of New York City. Today it houses a museum and government offices.

Right beside it stands Brown & Co, circa 1897.

Chatham Street is also home to the For Jumma Mosque, established in the 1800s.

Restored colonial edifices on Chatham Street.

Another institution – two, in fact! – on Chatham Street. These are the De Mel Building, this version dating from 1925, and the Pagoda Tea Rooms, in operation here since 1884.

Leaving Chatham Street we arrive at York Street, perhaps the most important street in Fort. This is the York Building, probably dating from the early 1900s.

Across the street from the York Building, sitting on Bristol Street, is the YMCA building, in a Moorish-influenced Art Deco style possibly dating to the 1920s or ’30s.

Beside it is the Bank of Ceylon building, also in an Art Deco style possibly dating to the 1920s or ’30s.

A little further down from York Building on York Street are the Moorish-influenced Edwardian-style Australia buildings, built in 1900. They stand at a spot previously occupied by VOC offices from 1687.

Having already admired Cargills, we left on Sir Baron Jayathilaka Mawatha Street. This is the former Imperial Bank of India building, erected in 1928. Interestingly, half of it (the left half) is now used by HSBC, while the other continues to be used by the State Bank of India, just next door.

The State Bank of India Building.

A quaint old low-rise building just beside the State Bank of India Building.

Across the street sit a trio of lovely edifices – the first is Lloyd’s Building, built in 1908.

The second is the Whiteaway and Laidlaw Building, built in 1907.

The third is the Macan Markar Building, built in 1915.

The General Post Office Building, built in 1895, with the Republic Building to the left. Both sit on Janadipathi Mawatha.

Next door is the Chartered Bank of India, China and Australia Building, with its distinctive elephant heads.

Back on York Street, we stop off at the historic Grand Oriental Hotel, originally built in 1875. This is the city’s other grand hotel.

Leyden Bastian Road to Main Street

Here’s a front view of the Grand Oriental Hotel – the front facade was built in 1926.

From the terraces of the Grand Oriental Hotel, one can get a magnificent view of today’s Port Authority Building. This used to be the Passenger Jetty, built in 1928.

The Victoria Arcade comes next. It was built in 1900, and housed the offices of Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co, alongside other shoppes.

The Art Deco Walker & Sons offices.

At the intersection between Leyden Bastian Road and

Back onto Baron Jayathilaka Mawatha, we have the State Pharma Building.

…and the earlier offices of Walker, Sons & Co, built in 1881 – this is probably one of the oldest British buildings in Fort.

Lotus Road

The Central Telegraph Office (1911) is today’s Sri Lanka Telecom Building.

Across from it is the Colombo Fort Police Station – this is a side view as the building is closed off.

The Negris Building on York Street.

Warehouses on York Street.

And finally, the Dutch Hospital, where we take a breather…

A backward glance at Cargills, on York Street.

The Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, or “Red Mosque”, in Pettah, Colombo.

The name “Pettah” is derived from the Sinhalese “pita-kotuwa”, which means “outside the fort”.  This exactly describes what Pettah was and is today.

In the Dutch era, this area was known as the “oudestad”, or Old Town.  Where the Fort held the civic and commercial buildings, the oudestad was where the Dutch colonials had their villas and residences, erected along a tidy grid of verdant, tree-lined streets.

When the British took over, much the “Dutch-ness” of Pettah was gradually lost, and the district became what it is today – a multi-cultural hodgepodge of communities and religions; as well as the location of the city’s main marketplace or bazaar – Pettah Market.

All that remains of the Dutch in Pettah are two buildings. The first is the former residence of Dutch Governor, Thomas van Rhee (1692-1697), which sits somewhat awkwardly on Prince Street (formerly Prinsestraat).  It was built in the late 1600s and houses the Dutch Period Museum today.

The other Dutch-period building is the Wolvendaal Church, also known as the Dutch Reformed Church. It was built in 1757 and was the primary place of worship for the Dutch. On its grounds and inside the church building lie the graves of many Dutch residents of Colombo.

Elsewhere, Pettah is also home to some of Colombo’s most important places of the worship, one of which is the Red Mosque, or Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, a surreal, Indo-Saracenic, red and white, wedding-cake confection of a building completed in 1909 during the British era. The Mosque serves the spiritual needs of a sizeable Tamil Muslim community that has historically made Pettah their home.

Another important place of worship is St Lucia’s Cathedral, erected in 1881 just beyond Pettah in the suburb of Kotahena. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo, and it dominates the skyline where it stands with its imposing dome and soaring Palladian facade. This is the biggest church in Sri Lanka and it was inspired by St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

There are also civic buildings here that are not to be missed. The first is the Old Town Hall at the junction of Main Street and Dam Street. Built in 1873 by the British, it boasts a Gothic architectural style entirely out of sync with the rest of the landscape around it today.

Not so far away stands the Khan Clocktower, which marks the entrance to Pettah Market. It was erected in 1923 by a wealthy Bombay Parsi family, and attests to Colombo being a bustling cosmopolitan trading hub in the early 1900s.

We begin our walk at the Dutch Hospital, in Fort…

From the Dutch Hospital, we head East towards Fort Station, and Pettah proper.

Along the way… the Sri Sambuddhaloka Vehara Stupa stands at the junction of York Street and Lotus Street.

Headquarters of The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, also known as the Lake House. 1920s.

Regal Cinema, 1930s.

Regent Building.

Fort Station, built in 1908 in a Victorian-style, sits on the edge of Fort and Pettah. This marks the southern entrance to Pettah.

St Philip Neri’s Church, 1862. On Olcott Mawatha.

The Dutch Period Museum, on Prince Street. The building is a former Dutch Governor’s Residence and dates from the late 1600s.

Entrance to the Museum.

The museum displays examples of Dutch-Ceylonese furniture.

Satinwood Settee.

Dutch-Ceylonese furniture

Ebony armchair.

View of the interior courtyard of the Museum, a former Dutch Governor’s residence.

The Red Mosque, or Jami Al-Ulfar.

View of Red Mosque set against blue sky

The Khan Clocktower, 1923

Bustling Pettah Market.

The Old Town Hall in Pettah, built by the British in 1873.

Green Clock Tower Mosque.

Wolvendaal Church (1757) is the only other major landmark from the Dutch era still standing in Pettah. It was built in the shape of a cross.

VOC insignia on the building.

The church grounds are home to a few Dutch-era tombstones.

Annai Velangani Church on Sri Kathiresan Street in Gintupitiya.

Old Kathiresan Temple, Sea Street, Gintupitiya.

New Kathiresan Temple, Sea Street, Gintupitiya.

St Anthony’s Shrine (1828), Kochchikade, in the suburb of Kotahena.

Sri Kathivelayutha Swamy Temple (probably…)

St Lucia’s Cathedral (1902), in the suburb of Kotahena.

And finally….a backward glance at the Dutch Period Museum on Prince Street.

Colombo Town Hall, in Cinnamon Gardens was completed in 1928. It draws reference from the Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

South of Fort and Pettah sits the suburb of Cinnamon Gardens. Its name is a reference to what used to stand here in the Dutch period – acres and acres of cinnamon orchards.

Its name is also a reference to one of the most important spices in the history of the island of Sri Lanka/Ceylon. True cinnamon is indigeneous to Sri Lanka – for centuries, it grew only here.

The Romans and the Arabs traded in cinnamon with early Ceylon. And it was in pursuit of this very spice that the Portuguese, and then the Dutch arrived on these shores.  Believing at first that cinnamon could only thrive in a wild state, the Dutch finally discovered that it could grow in gardens.

By the early 1800s, trade in cinnamon (and the spice trade in general) had diminished. In the mid 1850s, the British cleared out the cinnamon gardens, and relocated Colombo’s Turf Club and Race Course from Galle Face to here.  It was then the idea of Cinnamon Gardens as a new administrative and residential centre of Colombo really took off.

The rich and influential residents of the city moved here and erected their stately bungalows and villas in verdant estates.  Elegant boulevards, thoroughfares and circles were laid between the villas, with names such as Queen Street, Albert Crescent, Maitland Place and Rosmead Place.  Schools, colleges and places of worship sprang up.

Today, Cinnamon Gardens retains much of its elegant and genteel air and is home to many of the city’s Government offices – including the Prime Minister’s Office – as well as foreign embassies and consulates . It is well worth a leisurely stroll for the intrepid visitor.

At the heart of Cinnamon Gardens is the former Victoria Park, known today as Viharamahadevi Park.  To the north of the park stands one of the most important landmarks in this district – the Town Hall, built in 1928 in a style that self-consciously references the Capitol Building in Washington D.C.  To the south of the park stands the venerable National Museum of Colombo, established in 1877 and one of the most important museum institutions in the Subcontinent.

Just south of the Museum sits the Independence Memorial Hall, completed in 1953. It sits in what is formerly known as Torrington Square and today called Independence Square. Immediately to the south is Arcade Independence Square. Occupying a former asylum converted in the 1900s into the Auditor General’s Office, a cluster of Neoclassical buildings from the British era has been immaculately conserved and re-purposed as a lifestyle precinct in the vein of the Dutch Hospital in Fort.

The former Colombo Racecourse Ground, a mere 10 minute walk away, has followed in the steps of Independent Square, in having been also restored and converted into a shopping and F & B cluster.

All in all – the prevalent use of adaptive re-use reminded me very much also of how historic buildings are conserved and re-used in Singapore.

Finally, no visit to Cinnamon Gardens can be complete without a stop-in at these two important places.

I refer, first of all, to the Dutch Burgher Union Building on Reid Street, on the southwestern edge of Cinnamon Gardens – where one may learn more about the history of the Dutch Burghers (or Eurasians), and where one may partake of a scrumptious meal of authentic lampreis.

I refer, also to Paradise Road The Gallery Cafe on Alfred House Road (admittedly some distance west of Cinnamon Gardens and the Dutch Burgher Union).  The Cafe is housed in the former offices of architect, Geoffrey Bawa, who had personally approved the takeover of the property and its conversion into a gallery and restaurant.  The cafe serves excellent local and international grub.

The former Colombo Club on Galle Face Green was built in 1872. It has been absorbed into the grounds of today’s Taj Samudra Hotel.

Just across the street from Galle Face Hotel stands Galle Face Court, built in 1923 by Macan Markar.

Commercial edifice just off Galle Face Green.

St Andrew’s Scots Kirk

National Museum of Colombo, 1877.

Shiva Nataraja, collection of the National Museum of Colombo.

Shiva and Uma, collection of the National Museum of Colombo.

Traditional palm leaf

The Royal Seat of the Kingdom of Kandy. Collection of the National Museum of Colombo.

Dutch and VOC-era relics from Colombo. Collection of the National Museum of Colombo.

The Neoclassical architecture of the National Museum of Colombo.

Stately banyan tree on the grounds of the National Museum of Colombo.

Stately residence along Albert Crescent.

Sinhala Dictionary Office.

Government offices.

The Prime Minister’s Office.

Residence.

Royal College, Colombo. The building dates from the 1920s.

Colombo Race Course Complex – back view.

Back view of Colombo Race Course Complex.

The Colombo Racecourse grounds have been converted into a Rugby Unions grounds.

Independence Memorial Hall, 1953.

Entrance to Arcade Independence Square.

Arcade Independence Square.

The Dutch Burgher Union.

The Dutch Burgher Union Building on Reid Street.

The Dutch Burgher Union was established in 1908. Its coat of arms includes an East Indiaman and the VOC logo.

Lampreis is served at the cafe of the Dutch Burgher Union. The dish is cooked in a banana leaf.

Absolutely delicious!

Entrance to Paradise Road Galleries.

The Gallery Cafe, Paradise Road Galleries.

Backward glance at Colombo Town Hall, Cinnamon Gardens.

Galle Face Hotel, on Galle Face Green.

Finally… after some thirty cities on my Grand Tour, I’m here, at last, at the grandest of the grande dames East of Suez, the Galle Face Hotel Colombo.

Built in 1864 by four English gentlemen, Galle Face Hotel is believed to be the oldest purpose-built hotel in the East. Certainly, it inspired the likes of the Raffles Hotel, which came after it in 1887.

The hotel was initially a Dutch residence called Galle Face House, that had stood here on Galle Face Green. The equivalent of the Esplanade in Singapore, Galle Face Green had been tremendously popular with the English, who would take to it for walks or rides in horse-drawn carriages.

From 1894 to 1909, the Hotel continued to expand, becoming first a two storey building, and then erecting North and South wings to the central building.

Like many other of its equivalents, the Galle Face Hotel was the centre of Colombo’s social circle, playing host to royalty, heads of state, celebrities, writers, artists, sportsmen and other luminaries in its time. And it continues to do so today.

In the 2000s, the hotel underwent a major restoration and only recently re-opened in time for its 150th birthday in 2014.  Interestingly, the Chairman of the hotel today is descended by one of the hotel’s 1911 shareholders.

Today, the Galle Face Hotel remains as magnificent as it once was in the early 1900s and I was delighted to stay here during my sojourn in Colombo.

Historic postcard of Galle Face Hotel in the 1910s.

Close-up of the central building of the hotel.

Ante-lobby with Batavian/Dutch-Ceylonese-style Burgomeister’s Chairs.

View down the ante-lobby, with langourously spinning ceiling fans.

Lobby of the Galle Face Hotel.

The second floor landing.

My guest room…

View of the hotel and the sea from my balcony.

View of the hotel from my balcony.

View of the sea from my balcony.

The famous Verandah, where for more than a century, writers and other luminaries have dined.

The swimming pool right at the edge of the Indian ocean.

Breakfast at The Verandah.

Traditional Sri Lankan egg hopper for breakfast.

String hoppers (idiyappam) with fish curry.

The Chequerboard, where one can have a meal over-looking the sea.

Sea Spray

The Hotel even has its own private beach, though swimming here is prohibited.

Vintage china with the Galle Face Hotel logo. Collection of the Galle Face Hotel Museum on the hotel’s premises.

The Travellers’ Bar

Sunset at the Galle Face Hotel.

The Galle Face Hotel and Galle Face Court, on Galle Face Green.

Another timeless view of Galle Face Hotel.

And finally…goodbye Galle Face Hotel and goodbye Colombo!

Next step on The Grand Tour: Cochin (Kochi). 

David Hall is an old Dutch-style bungalow that sits at the southern edge of the Parade Ground. It was believed to have been built in the 1670s-1690s and is the only one of its kind left here. It is not clear if this is a residence or a hospice for the Dutch military originally. It was called David Hall by the Jewish Koder family who resided here for a time.

The first visual tour of Cochin takes us through the heart of Fort Cochin.

This was the site of the original Portuguese fortified settlement here, which was subsequently expanded by the Dutch, and then taken over by the British. This was the European civic and residential centre.

The tour takes one around the Parade Ground to visit some of the major religious and civilian monuments in the city. From the southwest corner of Parade Ground, we literally circle the square, before heading up north and ending our tour by the Fort Kochi waterfront, near where the Chinese Fishing Nets are.

The Parade Ground was the heart of the city for the more than 500 years since it was first occupied by the Portuguese. This was where the occupiers would conduct their military drills and exercises.

Around the Parade Ground sat private residences primarily – the commercial and trading heart of town was further north by the waterfront. Because the city wasn’t one of the major metropolises of the British Raj, the British era saw comparatively less investment into the urban planning of the city.

As a result, Fort Kochi still retains is distinctively Portuguese and Dutch air.  Around the Parade Square, the “feel” is most definitely Dutch, with a few Dutch-era residences scattered here and there on the edge of the Square. Alongside these stand many examples of Portuguese-era residences, and many more boasting an eclectic Indo-Portuguese-Dutch style architecture.

Towering over everything are the many rain trees. These are un-clipped and un-manicured here, unlike in Singapore, and so they grow unbridled, with canopies that are sprawling, somewhat gothic and always magnificent.

North of the Parade Ground, the urban landscape, with its narrower streets through low-rise buildings, recalls Lisbon or Fontainhas in Goa – the “feel” here is a wee bit more Portuguese, though most of the buildings here probably also date from the Dutch era.  Certainly, the general outlook of the city here is relaxed, laidback and almost Mediterranean.

I really liked this city and would have loved to stay longer, not least because of all the places I had visited on this Subcontinental Grand Tour, Fort Kochi was really the least congested and most welcoming place.  Coupled with just how green it was, it really reminded me of home away from home.

Around the Parade Ground

Heading south from David Hall down Napier Street, we walk into a residential quarter.

Here’s where one finds the Dutch Cemetery, consecrated in 1724. This is the oldest European cemetery in India. Dutch governors, military officials and colonials who died in Cochin are laid here. The British had preserved this monument for the Dutch, who refused to leave and preferred to stay under British rule.

Nearby stands the Indo-Portuguese Museum, which sits within the compounds of the Bishop’s House. The Museum specialises in Christian Art with Portuguese influences.

In the same compound sits the Art Deco Mount Carmel Petit Seminary, built in 1960.

Outside the compound of the Bishop’s House stands the campuses of the St John de Britto Anglo-Indian High School, established in 1945.

Hotel Victory Dawn occupies a colonial bungalow previously owned by a tea company. It likely dates from the British era.

Around and down Lilly Street sit many examples of charming Portuguese-era houses, such as this delightfully gingerbread-house-like specimen.

Two immaculately restored houses with Portuguese and Dutch influence stand on Lilly Street. This is the first. The configuration of the house – with wooden and shuttered upper levels recall Indische-style architecture in Oud Batavia (Jakarta) and Malacca.

This is the second immaculately restored house on Lilly Street. Again the second floor with its large balconies recalls Dutch East Indies architecture.

Back on Parade Road, we encounter Rosa-Rio Home Stay, occupying a house that probably

Spencer Home occupies a colonial bungalow with interesting Hindu-Christian architectural elements inside.

Bernard Bungalow occupies a Dutch-era building along the Southern edge of Parade Ground.

Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica, near the southeastern edge of Parade Square, is the main church of the Diocese of Cochin. The church was established in 1505, but this version was consecrated in 1905.

Interior of Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica.

Nearby stands the Santa Cruz Higher Secondary School, established in 1888 and one of the oldest schools in Kerala. It reeks of Oxford.

Across from the school stands this wonderful building from the Dutch-period with its sloping Dutch East Indies style roof.

Nearby is another example of the Dutch-style architecture.

Along Ridsdale Road, on the Eastern flank of Parade Ground stands the VOC Gate, the only gate standing from the Dutch period and still boasting the coat of arms of the Dutch East India Company. It dates to 1740.

Unfortunately the building the Gate protects dates from the modern era (probably 1970s or later), and houses a cafe.

View of the Parade Ground towards Ridsdale Road.

Between Ridsdale Road and Rose Street on the northeastern edge of the Parade Ground stand a few private residences that date from the Portuguese to the Dutch era. This one probably dates from the late Dutch and early British period.

On the northwestern edge of the Parade Ground stands St Francis Church. Built in 1503, it is the oldest European church in India and once housed the remains of Vasco da Gama and St Francis Xavier.

North of the Parade Ground

Near the Northwest edge of the Parade Ground stands the Cochin Club, founded in 1914 during the British era. The Club stands on a splendid seafront location overlooking the Arabian Sea.

We dive into the area just north of the Parade Ground, with its quaint, slightly narrower streets and lovely Portuguese-Dutch-influenced buildings. This is Vasco House, on Rose Street.

Loafer’s Corner, on Princes Street is one of the most popular hangout places here.

The Delta Study is a high school located in a former Dutch-era warehouse built in 1808.

View down some of narrower, but still well-planned streets in the city. Note the seating just outside the main door of this building which probably dates from the Dutch period.

Walton Hall, on Princes Street.

Koder House, on Tower Road, is a 19th century mansion built by the Jewish Koder family. Today it is a heritage hotel.

Right beside Koder House on Tower Road stands the Old Harbour Hotel, occupying an 18th century Dutch colonial building that had been used as a residence to

The Bastion Bungalow is said to have been built in 1667 in the Indo-Dutch style. It is located on the site of the Stromberg Bastion of the city’s Dutch fortifications.

Near the Bastion Bungalow stand the row upon row of Chinese Fishing Nets.

We amble along River Road, along the waterfront to the Brunton Boatyard, a former shipyard built in the British era (probably late 1800s), and today a luxury hotel with a splendid waterfront view.

And we end this part of the walking tour at Aspinwall House, established in 1867 by the English trader John H Aspinwall as the headquarters of his firm Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. Today, it is the primary venue of the Kochi Biennale, though it appears to largely be left alone in off-Biennale years.

Part one of our tour of Cochin completed, we glance back at David Hall again, where we began our tour.

The Paradesi Synagogue was built in 1568 and is the oldest active synagogue in India. The synagogue was built by Sephardic Jews who were referred to as “paradesi” or “foreigners”.

Mattancherry is Cochin’s ancient trade and commercial hub. Since before the Europeans arrived, this has been a place trading vessels would come to for spices. And certainly it has remained the bustling commercial centre of Cochin through the colonial period till today.

Mattancherry is known for its godowns and for its trading firms, but also for being literally a melting pot. Here, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Jain co-exist harmoniously, testament to centuries of migration and interaction between cultures and faiths here.

Our second visual/walking tour of Old Cochin begins where we left off on the last tour, and takes us along the waterfront thoroughfares of Calvetty Road and Bazaar Road. On the way we admire the vernacular commercial architecture the area is known for, and stop by some places of worship.

Our destination is the historic Mattancherry Palace, and thereafter to the so-called “Jew Town”.  Here, we dive deeper into the history of the Jews of Cochin. There are two key communities of Jews here. The first, and the older community, is that of the Malabari Jews or “black jews”, an ancient community with deep roots in India with records of them being in India from the earliest century of the Common Era.  They have built synagogues in Cochin since the 12th century.

The second community of Jews arrived in the 16th century in the aftermath of the expulsion of the Arabs and Jews from Granada in 1492. This community of Sephardic Jews spoke Ladino and were referred to as the Paradesi Jews, or “foreigner Jews”. They built the exquisite Paradesi Synagogue in 1568, at which we end our walking tour.

Unfortunately, many of the Jews of Cochin are no longer resident here and had either migrated to Israel or to other countries post India’s independence in 1947. But there remains a small community here that still keep a minority of the supposedly 8 synagogues – in particular, the Paradesi Synagogue – active.

We begin our walk at the Calvetty Juma Masjid, on Calvetty Road, not far from Aspinwalls.

Pepper House consists of two historic godowns (probably housing spice) with Dutch-style roofs that sit on Calvetty Road. Today it is an artspace and one of the venues of the Kochi Biennale.

The inner courtyard of Pepper House recalls the courtyard of the Dutch Era Museum in Pettah, Colombo.

Vestiges of the canals the Dutch built still exist. This is the Eraveli Canal. Past this, Calvetty Road becomes Bazaar Road.

The St George Orthodox Koonan Kurishu Syrian Church is the oldest Syrian Church in Cochin. It is one of the churches that pertain to India’s St Thomas Christians. [Public domain.]

Mattancherry Muslim Orphanage.

The Cutchi Hanafi Mosque was built in 1825, and serves the Cutchi Memon Muslim community which had migrated here from the Kutch region in Gujarat.

Vdasa Prabhu & Sons, Tea Merchants.

Nidha Stores, Oils & Provisions.

Sha Dewsee Rayasee, Food Chemical Dealers.

Shah Damodar Laljee & Sons

Church of Our Lady of Life Church, Mattancherry.

Cottage Industries Exposition, Bazaar Road.

Mookken Devassy Ouseph & Sons.

Chettiar & Co, Sugar Merchants.

The Waterfront Granary – a restored granary repurposed as a boutique “museum hotel”.

Cochin Spice Market.

Entrance gate to the Mattancherry Palace complex.

Guard Tower, Mattancherry Palace Complex.

Exterior view of the Mattancherry Palace, erected by the Portuguese in 1555 for the Raja of Cochin, renovated by the Dutch in 1663, and called the “Dutch Palace” thereafter.

From the palace, we enter “Jew Town”, some of whose commercial buildings have been restored. 

Fine Art Emporium, Jew Town. Note the Art Deco ornamentation.

Sassoon Building (1949), Jew Town.

Albert Arts Collection, Jew Town.

The former Pepper Exchange building, Jew Town.

The Cochin Oil Merchant’s Association, Jew Town.

Mandalay Hall, Jew Town, was owned formerly by a Jewish family who had roots in Mandalay. They have since migrated to Israel.

Approach to the Paradesi Synagogue.

Conservation of the Paradesi Synagogue.

View of the interior of the synagogue towards the Ark. The hanging glass lamps are from Belgium. The floor consists of 1100 blue and white porcelain tiles in the “willow style” made in Canton and imported in 1762. No one tile looks the same.

An exterior view of the Paradesi Synagogue, with its clocktower added in 1760. We end our second walking tour of Cochin here.

Bolghatty Palace, on Bolghatty Island, was built in 1744 as the residence of the Dutch Governor of Cochin. Today it is a government-run hotel.

This third visual tour of the city takes in the islands around Fort Cochin, and the city of Ernakulam on the mainland.

Setting sail from Fort Cochin, we first make landfall on Vypin island, just across from Fort Cochin. From there, we take the ferry to Bolghatty Island, to visit Bolghatty Palace – the former residence of the Dutch Governor of Cochin.

We then make a stop at Ernakulam, otherwise known as mainland Cochin and take a stroll around the waterfront. From there, we take a detour to Tripunithura to visit the Hill Palace – the former residence of the Rajas of Cochin, built in 1865, during the British era.

Fort Kochi Waterfront, Vypin and Willingdon Islands

Departing by ferry from Fort Kochi, we get a view of the Fort Kochi waterfront.

Brunton Boatyard from the water.

The Indian Coast Guard Building, from the water.

Aspinwall, from the water.

The Fort Kochi waterfront.

The Church of Our Lady of Hope – Nossa Senhora Da Esperança, 1605. Fort Vypin, Vypin Island.

Old Administrative Building, Willingdon Island.

Colonial buildings on Willingdon Island.

Bolghatty Island and Bolghatty Palace

The main building of the Bolghatty Palace, built in 1744. In the British period, it was the seat of the British Resident of Cochin.

Side view of the Bolghatty Palace.

Ground floor terrace, Bolghatty Palace.

Interior, Bolghatty Palace.

The grounds of the Bolghatty Palace.

Ernakulam

National Institute of Oceanography, Ernakulam.

The Infant Jesus Church, Ernakulam.

Archbishop of Verapoly.

St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, Ernakulam.

The Latin Archbishop’s House, Ernakulam

The Malabar Mail, Ernakulam.

Colonial edifice.

CSI Immanuel Cathedral, Ernakulam.

Mosque

Shophouses, Ernakulam.

St Mary’s Orthodox Church, Ernakulam.

The Hill Palace, Tripunithura

The approach to the Hill Palace, today a Museum of Archaeology.

Close-up of the entrance to the Hill Palace.

Entering the Hill Palace.

The coat of arms of the Cochin Royal Family.

Hill Palace complex.

South Block, Hill Palace.

Hill Palace Complex.

Centre for Heritage Studies.

View of Hill Palace Complex.

Deer Park in the Hill Palace Complex.

Terraces in the Hill Palace Complex.

Goodbye to the Hill Palace.

Le Colonial, formerly (variously) known as “St Francis Bungalow”, “Jan Van Spall Huis” and “J Thomas Bungalow”.

Fort Cochin doesn’t have a grand hotel in the tradition of the Grand Tour of the East, but it does have a quaint little gem of a boutique heritage hotel by way of Le Colonial.

Nominally managed by the Neemrana Group, this property is actually privately owned and managed. I had the privilege of meeting and (briefly) hanging out with the owners of the property when I was there…more than a year ago now.

The building the hotel occupies is possibly the oldest European colonial building in Asia. It dates from 1506, just a few years after the Portuguese arrived on these shores, and a mere three years after St Francis Church, just next door, was erected. Vasco da Gama and St Francis Xavier supposedly resided in this very house.

The building was the Portuguese Governor of Cochin’s private residence, and its architecture is primarily Portuguese. It sits just off the northeast corner of the Parade Ground and from there, it is easy to get to anywhere in central Fort Kochi on foot.

In the Dutch era, the VOC destroyed practically all the Portuguese buildings in the Fort, except for the St Francis Church, and a few others, including “Le Colonial”. The property fell into the hands of the Dutch Governors of Cochin until it was sold in 1795 by Jan van Spall. The original sales deed can be seen framed in the house.

In the British period, the house was sold in the mid 20th century to the tea trader, J Thomas who used it as a residence.  In 2004, the building was restored, refurbished and re-opened as a boutique hotel. A swimming pool was installed in the courtyard.

Le Colonial made for a restful and nostalgic stay. The interiors of the property are beautifully furnished with antique furniture and works of art and the rooms wonderfully appointed.  I was very well taken care of by the Manageress of the hotel, who, every evening, had the chef whip up a custom-made and very yummy dinner.

All in all, I had a wonderful time here.

Approaching Le Colonial.

The Dutch apparently placed the V.O.C. logo over the gateway to Le Colonial, with

View towards the main building, with its ground floor and second floor balconies.

The ground floor patio.

The beautifully furnished ground floor living room.

Warm, historic atmosphere on the second floor.

Four-poster bed in my wonderfully-appointed bedroom. It was so high one needed a step to clamber atop it.

Absolutely luxurious bathrooms with baths.

Delicious dinner of Keralan specialities each evening, specially concocted by the chef.

The jewel-like swimming pool provided respite from the heat.

…and the gardens were also beautifully tended to.

Goodbye Le Colonial and goodbye Cochin!

For more information refer to the Le Colonial website at: http://www.neemranahotels.com/le-colonial-cochin-kerala/history/about-us.html

Detail, Vienna Secession Building, 1897.

My resolution in 2017 was to commit acts of rebellion, great and small, as frequently as I can.

I have to say that’s almost all I’ve been doing this year, professionally, at least.

I’ve succeeded in taking the museum in its own unique direction; a direction at first controversial but which now seems perfectly obvious. I recently took over the Chairmanship of the Asia-Europe Museum Network, an international network of museums – and I managed also, through meeting almost every member of my Executive Committee individually to seek feedback, to shape the direction of this association with a brand-new Strategic Plan.

I’ve continued to always question why and not take instructions at face value. I’ve succeeded, ultimately, in always maintaining my own view and position even in the face of insurmountable odds.  And most importantly, I have not been afraid of saying no and of delivering bad news – always politely, of course; there’s no need to be rude.

Asian Civilisations Museum, at Empress Place Singapore.

2017 has been an extremely challenging year, to say the least. And 2018 will most likely bring even greater challenges. I can see them coming already.

And so, in the face of such adversity, I’ve decided that my resolution for 2018 has to be to KEEP CALM AND SMELL THE ROSES.

Window to possibility.

 At one level, this means I need to continue keeping a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity. I have done that all year and I am certainly not going to let up. It has earned me respect, notwithstanding my considerable youth where the job is concerned.

At a deeper level, this means that even as I am challenged professionally to do more and to go even further beyond my comfort zone, I have to remember to take time out to succor my mind and my soul. I have to admit I haven’t been doing enough of that in 2017 – and so this is a commitment to myself to do more of the things I love (write, travel, cook) in 2018 and to spend more time with friends and family.

Exactly what I’d like to feel next year…

To keep calm and smell the roses also means to be able see beauty all around you, in the simplest of things. My job as a museum director, handling exquisite works of art and cultural heritage, has trained my eye; taught me how to really look for and admire details. And indeed, I have often been pleasantly surprised at moments of beauty afforded me if I simply look more closely, or looked at things from another perspective.

Detail at the Miniature Wonderland, Hamburg.

“Han” (“He”) by Dano-Norwegian artist-duo Elmgreen & Dragset. Also known as “The Little Merman”, Helsingor (Elsinore) harbourfront.

“Reclining Figure No. 5 (Seagram)”, 1963-64. Henry Moore. Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.

Finally, to keep calm and smell the roses means to always see the best in people and in the world – to be an optimistic, cup-half-full sort of person, regardless of the situation. I’ve always endeavoured to be this cup-half-full sort of person, and in the coming year of great uncertainty, I will continue to be the first one to look out the window to embrace whatever’s coming with hopefulness, laughter and good cheer.

To 2018!

Light at the end of the tunnel – travelling up the escalator into the heart of the brand new Elbphilharmonie (Elbe Philharmonic Hall), designed by Herzog & de Meuron. Hamburg Hafencity.

“Gleaming Lights of the Souls”, 2008. Yayoi Kusama. Installation at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.

Art Nouveau frescoes dating from the early 1900s, painted on the ceiling of Mellin’s Passage in Hamburg. This passageway is the oldest and the also the smallest covered shopping arcade in the city. It is named after Mellin’s Biscuits, an American food company.

Old Goa, with its swaying coconut trees and magnificent baroque cathedrals.

The name Goa conjures up these images of golden-brown beaches and idyllic palm trees swaying in the breeze, crumbling Portuguese mansions and the sweltering heat, and those age-old edificios – the cathedrals and churches that point to the territory’s history as a small slice of Europe on the Indian Subcontinent.

The Portuguese arrived here in 1500. By 1505, they had defeated the ruling Sultanate of Bijapur and wrestled the port of Goa from Sultan Yusuf Adil Shahi, thus establishing their Estado da India.  In 1530, the capital of the Estado da India was moved from Cochin to Goa. And here, the Portuguese would stay for another 450 years till 1962, when Goa became part of the Republic of India.

From Goa, the Portuguese ruled over a vast network of trading settlements across Asia.  The heyday of the Estado da India, and thus Goa itself was in the 1500s to the early 1600s, when Portugal reigned supreme across the eastern seas. Goa was the western-most port in a string of ports that included Hormuz in Persia, Malacca in the Malay Peninsula, Macau in southern China and Nagasaki in southern Japan.

Bird’s Eye View of the City of Goa, 1595, by Jan Huygen van Linschoten. The map is oriented with north at bottom – the city at centre is Velha Goa, or Old Goa. [Public Domain.]

By the mid 1600s, Old Goa had begun to decline with the rise of the Dutch East India Company in global trade, and significant loss of territory on the part of the Portuguese in the East Indies and Japan.  Old Goa lost its shine and begun its centuries-long process of decline.

The Viceroy’s Arch was the main entrance to the city of Old Goa. Visitors would arrive by river and dock here. This is the back view of the Arch. The Arch was built in 1599 and reconstructed in 1954.

The Se Cathedral was constructed in 1619 in a typical Portuguese-Manueline style (as in, the style that prevailed under the Rule of King Manuel I of Portugal). It is one of the major sights in Velha Goa.

The St Francis of Assisi Church was built in 1661 – its front facade is also in the Portuguese-

The breathtaking interior of the St Francis of Assisi Church.

Perhaps the most important church in Old Goa is the Basilica of Bom Jesus, built in 1605 in a Baroque style. It is best known for holding the body of St Francis Xavier.

Just beyond lies the body of the Saint.

The Chapel of St Catherine, built in 1550, is the oldest Christian structure built in Goa. It’s earlier incarnation was built in 1510 by Afonso de Albuquerque – the second Governor of the Estadio da India.

By the mid-1700s, plague had forced the inhabitants of Old Goa to move en masse, further west to the mouth of the Mandovi River. To build their new capital city of Panjim (Panaji), the Goans simply demolished all buildings in the Old Goa – save for the religious edifices – and transported the blocks of stone and rubble down the river, reusing them in the construction of new civic and residential buildings.

The Mandovi River, just off Panjim, with its floating casinos.

Unlike Velha Goa, Panjim has the air of a provincial township, and is distinctly free of major monuments, save, perhaps, the iconic Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Imaculada Conceição, or the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.  This church, previously a parish church, predates much of the city, having been built in 1609. From its location at the top of a small knoll, it commands a magnificent view of the city and the river just beyond.

Downtown Panjim is small, and easily taken in in a series of walks – which we shall undertake in the next few posts. While the city centre still contains a significant number of historic buildings, it is in the quaint little district of Fontainhas, the old Latin quarter, and its adjoining Altinho quarter, that one gets a feel of “old goa”, in the quotidian sense of the term.

Here in this oldest district of the city, one may walk for hours amongst dozens and dozens of old houses built in a historic Indo-Portuguese style. Here too, one finds delightful restaurants and cafes with traditional Goan cuisine.

This is the oldest building in Panjim – the Summer Palace of Adil Shah of Bijapur, which was repurposed as the Secretariat during the Portuguese era.

The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, built in 1609.

Close-up of the church, with its Baroque style architecture.

The streets of Panjim are filled with colour.

The Casa da Moeda, or Panjim Mint House, circa 1834.

The Bishop’s House, in the Altinho.

Portuguese-style houses in Fontainhas, the Latin Quarter.

Indo-Portuguese style house, Fontainhas.

Azulejo tiles on the street.

Azulejo tiles on the facades of buildings, Fontainhas.

Old residences, Fontainhas.

The pink house, Fontainhas.

Small and colourful details, Fontainhas.

Art Deco, Fontainhas.

I arrived in Goa during Carnival, and the city was a awash with colour and festive cheer. With a friend in Goa showing me the sights, I was able to get a glimpse of the best the city could offer during this period – flamenco concerts in ancient churches, parades and markets in the city, and everyday people, dancing in the streets till the wee hours of the morning.

The Jardim Garcia da Orta (Garcia da Orta Gardens), all decked out for Carnival.

Large floats preparing for the evening’s parade.

The Church of Our Lady of the Mount, Old Goa, was built in the 1500s. I came here, with a friend, for a night-time concert.

Flamenco, in the courtyard of the Church of Our Lady of the Mount…

Hearty Goan food…

…and music and dancing in the streets.

Elsewhere in Goa, one of the most significant legacies of the Portuguese are a string of forts that they had erected along the coast. I visited one of the largest of them – the Aguada Fort – built in 1612 at the mouth of the Mandovi River to ward off a Dutch invasion of Goa.

Here, on the edge of the ocean, it was hard not to feel overwhelmed by the sheer enormity and audacity of the Portuguese overseas effort in the 1500s to gain control of the oceans; and the irony that all of that effort was motivated by a desire for those dry and aromatic bits of tree and shrub; those spices like pepper, cardamom and cinnamon that we view as commonplace today.

Near Reis Magos Fort.

Beach at Aguada.

View of part of Fort Aguada, from the Taj Fort Aguada Resort and Spa.

The main Fortress, Fort Aguada.

Staring out into the Ocean, Fort Aguada.

…and a backward glance at Se Cathedral, in Velha Goa.

Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina, also known as the Se Cathedral (completed in 1619).

In the heyday of Velha Goa, one would have arrived by barge up the Mandovi River, docking to the north of the city proper, and arriving into Old Goa by way of the ancient Viceroy’s Arch.

Today, it is far easier and no less atmospheric, to arrive by bus, right into the heart of the city. The journey from Panjim is short – just under an hour – and one is thrust into the midst of everyday Goans, going about their business.

Old Goa was founded in 1510 by the Portuguese, upon an earlier port city that had existed here during the Bijapur Sultanate. It was the capital of the Estado da Índia until the 18th century, when the entire populace was forced, by an outbreak of plague to move to Panjim.

For as long as it was the heart of the Portuguese Overseas Empire, Old Goa was also known as the “Rome of the East”, due to its being essentially the heart of Roman Catholicism and Catholic missionary activity in Asia.  Certainly, before the city’s decline, it would have been a splendid sight to see, with its monumental ecclesiastical edifices and its opulent villas and residences.

All this sumptuousness also belied a violence and cruelty. The Inquisition came to these shores by way of Old Goa. For almost 200 years, the Roman Catholic Church persecuted Indian Hindus here, destroying Hindu temples, banning Hindu feasts, arresting thousands of individuals and even resorting to burning some at the stake. Indian Muslims, and Sephardic Jews who had fled here from Spain were also persecuted.

None of the brutal excesses of history remain today in this magnificent ghost town of a city, which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.  While many of the churches still have healthy congregations, the entire city as a whole is more tourist destination than living, breathing city.

This gallery takes in the key sites and monuments.

The Chapel of St Catherine was established by Afonso de Albuquerque to commemorate his capture of the city on St Catherine’s day. It was apparently rebuilt in 1952. The church itself is simple, unimposing and unadorned.

Igreja de São Francisco de Assis – the Church of St Francis of Assisi was built in 1661 and is one of the highlights of any visit to Old Goa.

The facade of the church has three tiers with octagonal towers on each side. At the top and centre there is a statue of St Michael.

The interior of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is staggeringly beautiful. This is a view of the main altar – note the statue of St Francis of Assisi and Jesus on the cross at the top. To the sides are painted panels that depict the life of St Francis of Assisi.

The back view of Se Cathedral, which stands just behind the Church of St Francis of Assisi.

Se Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman. It’s facade is built in a Tuscan style. It once had two bell towers, but the other collapsed in 1776 and was never rebuilt.

The spectacular main altar of Se Cathedral is dedicated to St Catherine and depicts the martyrdom of the Saint.

A statue of Jesus Christ stands in the courtyard facing the Cathedral.

Just around the corner is the Viceroy’s Arch, erected in 1599 by the grandson of Vasco da Gama. Part of it had collapsed in the passing of the years but it was completely restored in 1954. This is the back side of the arch – the statue depicts

The front of the Viceroy’s Arch holds a statue of Vasco da Gama himself.

View of a plaque in the arch which commemorates Portugal’s independence from Spain in 1640.

Approaching Old Goa from the Viceroy’s Arch, the first church one would have seen was the Igreja de São Caetano, or Church of Saint Cajetan, built in 1661 and modeled after St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

The facade boasts Corinthian columns and pilasters, and the building itself boasts a splendid dome, which can’t be seen in this view.

The Church cloisters.

Statue of a monk on the church grounds.

Another view of the delightful church grounds.

The exquisite main altar, dating to the 1700s, is dedicated to Our Lady of Providence.

The undisputed main draw in Old Goa is the Basílica do Bom Jesus, or the Basilica of the Infant Jesus. Consecrated in 1604, the Baroque facade is three tiered.

“IHS” – the symbol of the Jesuit order – are the initials of “Jesus” in Greek,

The Basilica is best known for holding the sacred remains of St Francis Xavier, who led extensive missionary work in Asia in the 1500s. He died in China, had his remains held in Malacca for a few months, before those remains were finally deposited here in Old Goa, where they remained ever since.

The Tower of the Ruined Church of St Augustine is 46 metres and five storeys high. The church was built in 1602 by the St Augustinians. The main body collapsed in 1842 and most of the rest of the church followed by 1938.

The Ruins of the Augustinian Church.

The Convent and Church of Saint John was built in the late 17th century.

View from the Convent and Church of Saint John towards the ruins of the Augustinian Church and the former Convent of Santa Monica.

The historical Santa Monica Convent is home to the Institute Mater Dei.

Close-up of the front entrance to the former Convent of Santa Monica.

Nearby sits the Museum of Christian Art, also occupying the grounds of the former Convent of Santa Monica.

Interior of the museum.

The Chapel of Saint Anthony is one of the earliest-built churches in Goa.

The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary is the oldest still-standing church in Goa, built in the 1540s in the Gothic and Manueline style.

The interior of the Church – View towards the main altar.

The front facade of the church commands a spectacular view of the Mandovi River.

Here is the spectacular view of the river from the front of the church.

The Chapel of our Lady of the Mount sits atop the Monte, near the Church of San Cajetan. It is the final stop on this tour of Velha Goa.

The Chapel was also originally built in 1510 by Afonso Albuquerque, though it has been later renovated and restored.

A backward glance at Velha Goa…the Church of St Francis of Assisi.

Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Panjim.

In 1943, Panjim was designated the capital of Goa. Almost a century earlier, the Viceroy and may residents of Old Goa had already moved their residences to this city by the mouth of the Mandovi River.

It was a hasty move. Old Goa had been struck by the plague, and so its commercial and residential buildings were literally taken apart, floated down the river, and reconstructed again at the new site.

Perhaps due to the hasty and pragmatic nature of the city, Panjim is short on major monuments. It does, however, have a very distinct Mediterranean air that no other Indian city possesses, particularly in the old Latin Quarter of Fontainhas (Bairro das Fontainhas), and the adjoining hilly, exclusive residential district of the Altinho.

The most important landmark in the city is Nossa Senhora da Immaculada Conceição – the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Built in 1609 in a Baroque style on the side of a hill facing the Garcia da Orta (Municipal Gardens), the church looms over much of Panjim, recalling Lisbon here in the East.

The rest of downtown Panjim is far more functional, with dozens of civic and commercial buildings erected in a no-nonsense neo-classical or art deco style.

It is when one crosses over into the district of Fontainhas that one really gets a sense of “Old Panjim”. Here, through the winding streets one finds many examples of historic 18th and 19th century Indo-Portuguese architecture. The district is residential and the atmosphere is laidback. Here are some of the most spectacular and colourful villas and mansions, and also many a quaint little house.

From a well-preserved well by the side of San Sebastian Church, one can take a path up to the Altinho, where there are unparalleled views of Fontainhas, and also a few examples of startling villas that would been occupied by the aristocratic class in the old days.

Here we rest, contemplating the view.

Downtown Panjim

Idalcao’s Palace (the Summer Palace of Adil Shah of the Bijapur Sultanate) predates the Portuguese occupation and probably dates from the 15th century. It was used as the Viceroy’s Residence and became the seat of the Secretariat when Goa reverted to India.

Office of the Postmaster General, on Post Office Square.

Casa da Moeda (Mint House), 1834, on Post Office Square.

Office of the Commissioner of Excise.

Cremeux Cafe and Bistro.

Commercial Buildings.

Vintage car and vintage edifice.

State Bank Building.

Institut Menezes Braganza.

Goa Police Headquarters.

Singbal’s Book House, across from the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

Indo-Portuguese-style architecture with the sloping roof and covered balcony.

Hotel Republica.

Commercial edifice.

The tiny Sao Tome Chapel.

Bairro das Fontainhas (and the Altinho)

Villa, Fontainhas.

Streetscape, Fontainhas.

Indo-Portuguese House.

Chapel of St Sebastian.

Historic houses in Fontainhas.

Quaint little Goan house.

The striking Pink House, with its statues of soldiers on the facade.

Indo-Portuguese architecture.

A more modern style of Indo-Portuguese.

The Horse Shoe Bar and Restaurant is perhaps the best place in Fontainhas to sample Goan cuisine.

Wax Merchant.

Many of the buildings here have been repurposed into boutiques, restaurants,

The Fundação Oriente occupies a historic residence.

Facade of the Fundação Oriente building.

Old Villa nearby.

Hip(ster) cafe in the Old Quarter. Interestingly, this cafe is run by a Goan who had studied in Singapore. 

The Old Well that sits by the Chapel of St Sebastian. A path leads up to the Altinho.

The Archbishop’s House, Altinho.

A former mansion in the Altinho, transformed into Sunaparanta – Goa Centre for the Arts. We end our walk here.

A backward glance at the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

The Mandovi (1952).

The Mandovi is the closest Goa has to a “Grand Hotel” in the vein of the Taj Mahal Palace in Bombay or the Grand Hotel in Calcutta.  Built in 1952, it was Goa’s first hotel that matched international standards, the first 5-storey building in Goa, and also boasted Goa’s first lift.

The hotel, which commands a spectacular location and view on the Mandovi River (hence the name), was designed in an Art Deco style by a Bombay-based architectural firm, and its construction was personally overseen by the Portuguese Governor-General. Before Goa’s liberation and after, it was the centre of the city of Panjim’s social circle, playing host to dignitaries from all over India and the world.

Unfortunately, I did not stay in The Mandovi during my time in Panjim, choosing instead to stay in Fontainhas at the delightful Panjim Inn. I did, however, lunch at the Mandovi’s restaurant where extremely yummy Goan and Portuguese cuisine has been served since the hotel’s inception.

Panjim Inn is a 130-year old grand mansion built in 1880 and still owned by the family who built it. It has been lovingly restored and transformed into a heritage boutique hotel in the very heart of historic Fontainhas. One could spend lazy afternoons nursing a drink at the hotel’s Verandah Restaurant, which also serves delicious Goan cuisine.

From Panjim, I ventured further out to Fort Aguada, one of the oldest and largest forts in Goa, built by the Portuguese in 1612 at the mouth of the Mandovi River to guard against a Dutch attack. Occupying an entire peninsula, the Fort provides a spectacular backdrop to the Taj Fort Aguada Resort and Spa, where I sojourned briefly before leaving Goa.

Here on Sinquerim Beach by the surreal-magnificent Fort Aguada ramparts, I spent a few relaxing days reflecting on my journey thus far and planning the journey ahead, now that I had come to the mid-point of this Grand Tour of the Port and Princely Cities of the Subcontinent.

The Mandovi

Close-up of the Art Deco Mandovi, Panjim.

The front facade of the Mandovi is in an Art Deco style which channels Marine Drive in Bombay.

The crowded restaurant of the Mandovi.

A must-have: Goan Fish Curry.

Goan Beef Steak.

Panjim Inn, Fontainhas

Panjim Inn is a grand family mansion built in 1880.

From the Verandah Restaurant one can see the adjoining Panjim Peoples, which holds a gallery and guest rooms as well.

The back of the property.

My room…

Close-up of Panjim Peoples.

Taj Fort Aguada Resort and Spa

The ramparts of Fort Aguada, jutting out into the Arabian Sea.

At the edge of the ramparts.

At the edge of the ramparts, looking back toward Taj Fort Aguada Resort and Spa.

View from the hotel out towards the ramparts.

View of the ramparts.

Fort Aguada Lighthouse, located at the Upper Fort of Fort Aguada proper, which is some 20 minutes away from Taj Fort Aguada by car.

Another view of the magnificent Fort Aguada Lighthouse.

Back at the ramparts, near Taj Fort Aguada… looking out to sea.

Sinquerim beach lay just beyond the ramparts…

And finally, a backward glance at the Mandovi. Goodbye Goa!!

Next stop: Bombay (Mumbai) 

A city spectacular…a dream of a city…

Recently, I dreamed of a city…

It was a city I had known before.

An impossible city, perched precariously on a craggy peninsula and island at the mouth of the Pearl River; floating at the edge of the South China Sea, in the far reaches of the Orient.

A city spectacular, its landscape one of mountain, water and sky; of verdant peaks plunging precipitously into emerald green waters; of epic forests of skyscraping glass, steel and big capital; and of stairways and escalators leading nowhere and everywhere at once.

Also a dramatic city, erstwhile Hollywood of the East, where the old co-exists with the new, and the city itself plays backdrop to countless movies and tunes about love and longing, heartache and happiness.

I dreamt that I walked this city, across its narrow, mediaeval streets, up and down its endless slopes and stairways, in and out of its countless establishments – bars, restaurants, clubs, museums.

And as I walked, I experienced a series of strange moments of intensity.

One moment I felt completely enraged, believing I had just been bullied; remembering the many instances of bullying masquerading as efficiency I had witnessed before and how this inappropriateness had been normalised and seen as ok.

The next moment – an extension of the first – I felt utterly alone…exposed and vulnerable; walking ahead in the exact direction I wanted to go, but with nobody there at my side rooting for me, just a series of obstacles placed along the path, which I had to overcome on my own.

But some moments after – completely and unexpectedly; out of the blue – I realised I wasn’t alone, and that there was someone looking out for me; and knowing that filled me with a kind of childish joy; the sort that made one giddy and see stars shooting across the sky.

And then soon after, I became again overwhelmed with a kind of delicious melancholy, bursting into tears without rhyme or reason, enjoying the physicality of sadness, learning to let go and let flow…

This moment passed eventually and was replaced by a kind of translucence – a feeling of intense clarity, as though I had seen something I had not been meant to see, but now that I had seen it, it would change me forever.

I learnt a few things as I walked and I walked in this dream of a city, overcome with wave upon wave of emotional intensity.

I learnt that in the course of being too long and too entrenched where I now am, I had come too close to being little more than a robot, executing, value-driving, decision-making, smiling and entertaining even as I have been lost and heartbroken.

I learnt that sometimes innocuous or circumstantial decisions are, on hindsight, incredibly cruel and selfish.

I learnt that one always has to stand up for one’s self because one only earns respect by clearly drawing boundaries.

I learnt that emotions are beautiful – all of them…happiness, heartache, grief, anger, desire, longing, loneliness. And that it is important to feel all these emotions regularly to be whole.

I learnt that sometimes circumstance trumps desire, and that there is a certain dignity in choosing the former over the latter, even if it is always simultaneously abject folly.

I learnt that many things in life are inexplicable and remain out of our control, and the semblance of control and “togetherness” that we “put on” are just that – put on. Understanding this is key to empathy and to understanding the human condition.

But then I ran out of time.

I was awakened rudely and abruptly from my dream, with loose ends untied and mind swirling from the cocktail of emotions and lessons learnt.

And in that general malaise, nursing the hangover I had (not from drink but from emotion), I decided that the overwhelming point of all this walking and feeling, this sturm und drang, was to remind me that it was important to be true to myself.

That in the overwhelming flood of obligations I have found myself having to fulfill in this stage of my life, it was important to remember that I have personal goals, needs and desires, and that these have to be addressed first and foremost, and not simultaneously as or after other (peoples’ and organisations’) goals, needs and desires.

This antediluvian dream of a city was a sign that I had let myself go; that I had not been taking enough care of myself; that I haven’t done enough of what I love to do, what I used to do more of in the past and which I would have never allowed anything else to compromise.

Time to rectify that.

Once upon a time… when I wrote songs about cities I dreamed of…under a pseudonym conjured up in my sleep.

The Gateway to India was inaugurated to commemorate the arrival of King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder in 1911. It was finally finished in 1924 and remains one of the most iconic buildings in Mumbai.

Bombay is India’s port city extraordinaire; the most glittering of the glittering port cities dotting the never-ending coastline of the Subcontinent; a city of extremes.

Once, the city was split into seven islands – seven puny and peripheral landmasses at the north-eastern edge of the Arabian Sea; variously under the jurisdiction of successive Buddhist and Hindu dynasties – the Mauryas, the Satvahanas, the Abkhiras, the Silharas, the Chalukyas and more… followed by the (Muslim) Gujarat Sultanate.

The islands fell into Portuguese hands in 1534, with Portuguese settlements established in Mazagaon, Salsette, Andheri – suburbs of the city today.  They called the city Bombaim – which could have meant “good harbour”; or could have more likely been derived from the Portuguese pronunciation of the name of the city’s Patron goddess – Mumba-devi (the local version of the Mother Goddess).

Bombaim was neglected, however, in favour of Goa, the capital of the Estado da Índia. So for a hundred years, the islands slumbered.

Traces of Portuguese Bombay, in the corridors of the former Prince of Wales Museum.

The city’s fortunes took a turn on 8 May 1661, when, as part of the marriage contract between Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza (in Portugal), Bombay (and other Portuguese possessions) were turned over to the English as part of Catherine’s dowry.

Between 1782 and 1845, the English undertook and accomplished an ambitious and unprecedented feat of engineering and land reclamation, linking all seven islands of Bombay into one island – today’s Old Bombay – with a deep, natural harbour. This exercise is known as the Hornby Vellard, after William Hornby, the Governor who initiated it.

Two Views of the English Port of Bombay [Public Domain.]

The Island of Bombay in 1909. The Bombay Harbour is at right, while Back Bay

City and port grew swiftly from the mid-1800s on, particularly in the aftermath of the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which made Bombay THE port-of-call par excellence in British India. By the turn of the 19^th century, Bombay had become the most important port in India, and one of the wealthiest cities on earth.

This wealth was built into the very fabric of the city, which boasts some of the most monumental and monumentally over-the-top buildings of the colonial era this side of London. Almost all of these buildings still stand today, and are concentrated around the iconic Flora Fountain, built in 1864 and named after the Roman Goddess of Spring, Fertility and Youth.

Flora Fountain, 1864 – arguably the heart of Old Bombay.

The Bombay Naval Dockyards and Clocktower.

Elegant Neo-Classical buildings frame Horniman Circle.

The “Town Hall” of the Royal Asiatic Society, Bombay, was built in 1830 in a Doric style.

From the very beginning, Bombay, unlike Calcutta, was seen as a European, rather than an Indian city. It was westward-facing – one of the first stops for any vessel coming from Europe and Suez.  And certainly, without the British, there would not have been Bombay the metropolis. And so in terms of architecture – it was the Imperial City of London, and none other, that offered inspiration.

Bombay’s heyday was during the Victorian era, and the city is (still) known for having quite possibly the largest collection of Victorian Gothic Revival buildings anywhere on this planet.

Oriental Buildings, Bombay, designed by Frederick William Stevens in a Victorian Gothic Revival Style. Built in 18

JN Petit Institute (1898).

Elphinstone College (1888).

The Central Telegraph Office, built in an Italianate Style (1869).

The Oval Maidan (Bombay’s massive cricket and recreational green). To the left is the High Court (1878), and to the right is Rajabai Tower (1878), part of the campus of the University of Bombay.

Crawford Market, built in 1869 was the city’s main bazaar. It is also known for its connection to John Lockyard Kipling (who designed a fountain that still stands in the market today) and Rudyard Kipling.

The most important, most stunning and most extreme of these is the Victoria Terminus (known as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus today), completed in 1888 as a symbol of Bombay’s opulence and importance to the Empire, and echoing St Pancras Railway Station in London.

The message was clear: after London, it was Bombay that claimed the title of second city of the British Empire.

Bombay Municipal Corporation Building (1893), by architect, Frederick William Stevens.

Across from the Municipal Corporation Building – Victoria Terminus (1888), by Frederick William Stevens. This is Bombay and Stevens’ crowning glory.

The 1920s and ‘30s brought another economic and thus building boom to Bombay. Then it was that another icon of the city was completed – the Gateway of India, 1924. But another, thoroughly modern architectural form would define Bombay for what it was – a glittering, and thoroughly modern port of the 20^th century.

Art Deco took the world, and particularly Bombay, by storm. Even today, Bombay boasts the second largest collection of Art Deco buildings in the world, after Miami. In fact, Bombay has its own version of Miami Beach – this is Marine Drive, a 3.6 kilometre long waterfront boulevard framing a magnificent bay, and flanked by a seemingly endless row of Art Deco buildings.

At the northern end of Marine Drive is Bombay’s popular Chowpatty Beach and (in)famous Malabar Hill – the exclusive, rarefied residential district of Bombay’s super-rich and famous. In their palaces in the sky, the city’s elite sequester themselves, keeping their distance from everyday Mumbai-kers blissfully at play in the water.

The Gateway again…

The interior of the former Prince of Wales Museum (today’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya), completed in 1915, but only opened as a museum in 1922. It is built in the Indo-Saracenic style.

Bombay Art Deco

Sweeping view of Marine Drive, the “Miami Beach” of Bombay.

Close-up of Marine Drive.

Chowpatty Beach, busy with families on a weekend.

Malabar Hill – gleaming in the distance, across the opal-hued waters of Back Bay.

Bombay wasn’t built by the British only. Like many other Indian port cities, it had (and still has) a cosmopolitan population, including Jews, Arabs, Armenians and of course, Indians of all religions (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jain) from all over the Subcontinent.

Its Roman Catholic, Portuguese residents continue to live and worship in the old Portuguese settlement of Mazgaon, today a suburb to the north of Old Bombay, and with an atmosphere redolent of Goa. A stroll through the suburb takes one to a few outstanding places of worship, including Gloria Church and Hasanabad – a mini Taj Mahal-like mausoleum believed to be the resting place of Aga Khan I, the 46^th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims.

In Mazgaon too, lived the city’s resident Chinese population, reduced to a few individuals and a single Chinese temple today. A visit to this temple – dedicated to Kwan Kung, or the God of War, is a must, if one can find it.

The Knesset Eliyahu is the second oldest Sephardic synagogue in the city, established in 1884 by the Sassoon family. It is located in the Fort area of today’s Mumbai.

The Maneckji Seth Parsi Agiary is the second oldest fire temple in the city, established in 1733 by the Maneckjis, a wealthy Parsi trading family. It sits in the Borabazar area.

Gloria Church, Byculla, Mazgaon, is one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in the city, first built in 1632 by the Portuguese, though this version was built in 1913.

The See Yup Koon is Bombay’s only remaining Chinese temple, dedicated to the worship of Kwan Kung.

The Hasanabad in Mazgaon was established in 1884.

Portuguese-style houses in Mazgaon afford it an atmosphere redolent of Old Goa.

Bombay is perhaps best known for being home to the largest population of Parsis in world; in particular, one Jamshedji Tata, who in 1868, formed Tata Group, India’s biggest business conglomerate today, owning interests in many industries including power, steel, automobiles, real estate and hospitality.

Jamshedji Tata is known for yet another icon of the city’s — the fabulous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, on the banks of Apollo Bunder, beside the Gateway to India. Tata was believed to have commissioned the Taj Mahal Palace  in 1903 after having been refused entry to the leading hotel in Bombay at the time, the British-built and “whites-only” Watson’s Esplanade Hotel.

The Parsi community in Bombay is known also to be fabulously wealthy, and many of them live, naturally, in Malabar Hill. On the hill today still stands a Towers of Silence – the Parsis are Zoroastrian, and they practice sky burial: leaving their dead exposed in circular towers to decompose while exposed to the elements and to be devoured by vultures.

[Unfortunately, the city’s vulture population has plunged dramatically due to the birds being poisoned by insecticides. As such, the viability of sky burial has been called into question.]

Café Leopold, one of the city’s oldest and most popular cafes, was established by a Parsi family in 1871.

Interior of Café Mondegar – the other famous and still highly popular eating joint in Bombay; also established by a Parsi family in 1932.

Café Mondegar is one of the best places to have absolutely scrumptious Goan Fish Curry.

The former Watson’s Esplanade Hotel, established in 1863, still stands. It is the rather dilapidated building to the far right of this photograph. At the time, it was the city’s first cast-iron building.

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel (1903), in an opulent and eclectic Indo-Saracenic style.

Also on Malabar hill stands another landmark – the surreal, unmissable, towering Antilia, a 27-storey residential home of Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani, complete with 600 staff, 6 levels of underground parking and 3 helipads.

It is an indication of the phenomenal and almost absurd wealth that continues reside in the city, alongside squalor and poverty; a sign of how Bombay – now Mumbai – remains a city of extremes.

Antilia, named after a mythical island in the Atlantic, towers over everything else in Malabar Hill.

Everyday Mumbai-kers enjoying the panoramic view of their city from the Hanging Gardens of Malabar Hill.

Meanwhile… back at the Gateway to India, the crowds are amassing.

Flora Fountain is the heart of Old Bombay, in the central district known as Fort, because there used to be a fort in this area.

The first part of our walking tour of Old Bombay takes in the heart of Old Bombay – known as the Fort district, because once there actually was a Fort – a fortified settlement here.

We begin where we began this stint in Bombay – at the Gateway to India, on Apollo Bunder, an important pier for passengers travelling to the East. We head north, past Wellington Fountain to Horniman Circle – the commercial heart of Old Bombay.

Crossing the Circle, we make our way to Flora Fountain, the iconic centre of Old Bombay, and wend our way south again down Mahatma Gandhi Road towards Wellington Fountain, ending at the Museum Quarter.

This first segment of the tour of Bombay’s monumental architecture takes in primarily 19th and early 20th century commercial architecture in Bombay, with a few instances of religious, civic and military architecture.

The entire walking tour is a loop that will probably take the intrepid tourist some 2 – 3 hours to take in entirely.

Apollo Bunder to Wellington Fountain

The Gateway to India (1924), designed by George Wittet in an Indo-Saracenic style. This is the sea-facing facade of the structure.

The Taj Mahal Palace is Bombay’s Grand Hotel. It was commissioned by Jamshedji Tata and designed in an Indo-Saracenic style by Indian architects Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza. An “up-yours” to the British, completed in 1903.

The Old Yacht Club Building, at the edge of Apollo Bunder.

The Royal Bombay Yacht Club (1897), designed in a Tudor-bethan Gothic style.These are the residential annexe to the Old Yacht Club building.

Commercial cast-iron style building

Dhunraj Mahal was built by a Raja of the Princely State of Hyberabad in the 1930s in an Art Deco style. It was the most expensive residential development of its time.

Majestic Hotel, 1909.

Waterloo Mansions (early 1900s).

The former Royal Alfred Sailor’s Home (today’s Maharashtra State Police Headquarters), 1876. Venetian Gothic style – note the Ibero-Moorish arches reminiscent of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.

Regal Cinema, 1934. Designed in an Art Deco style.

From Wellington Fountain to Horniman Circle

Church of St Andrew, 1815. This is the Scots Kirk of the city.

KR Cama Oriental Institute, 1930s Art Deco style. It contains a rare collection on Parsi culture and history.

The Great Western Hotel, first built in the 1770s, was the residence of Governor William Hornby – of the Hornby Vellard (the ambitious plan to link the seven islands of Bombay through land reclamation). It became the Great Western Hotel in 1883.

Writer’s Building – once the Secretariat Building.

Nearby sits the Old Admiralty, 1800s.

…and Knesset Eliyahoo, the second oldest synagogue in the city.

The Naval Dockyard.

The old Bombay Town Hall, built in 1833 in a Doric style. Also the headquarters of the Royal Asiatic Society.

The Bank of India Building.

From Horniman Circle to Flora Fountain

Horniman Circle – the commercial and civic buildings framing the circle were completed between 1858 to 1878.

The circle was once known as Elphinstone Circle

Elphinstone Building, late 1800s. Venetian Gothic.

Brady House

British Bank of the Middle East

St Thomas Church, 1718. This is the oldest church in Bombay.

Readymoney Mansions, designed in an Indo-Saracenic style.

Flora Fountain, 1864.

From Flora Fountain to the Museum Quarter

Hongkong and Shanghai B

Reserve Bank of India, 1935.

Grindley’s Building.

Watson’s Esplanade Hotel, 1869. This was once the foremost British-run, “whites-only” hotel in Bombay – from which Jamshedji Tata was refused entry.

Army and Navy Buildings, 1900s.

David Sassoon Library, 1870. The Sassoons were a Baghdadi Jewish trading family.

Elphinstone College, Victorian Gothic Revival Style.

Victoria Terminus (today’s Chharapati Shivaji Terminus), is Old Bombay’s most iconic building. It was designed by Frederik William Stevens in the Victorian Gothic Revival style, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Opened in 1888.

The second part of our walking tour of Old Bombay takes in some of the most iconic, monumental and stupendous buildings and public spaces in Bombay in what constitutes the civic and cultural heart of the old city.  Many of these buildings were erected in the Victorian Gothic Revival style that give Old Bombay its very distinctive character.

We begin, where we left off, in the Museum Quarter, and veer west towards the Oval Maidan. This is the city’s equivalent of the Padang – a large green used for military and recreational purposes. To the East and North of the Oval Maidan stand some of the largest and most outstanding civic monuments in town.

We head north along the eastern flank of the Oval Maidan to Flora Fountain. Here, we find ourselves at the Southern end of the former Hornby Road (named after a former Governor of Bombay, William Hornby), today’s Dr Dadabhai Naoroji Road (an important Indian nationalist leader).

This road is another extremely important thoroughfare in the old city, and both sides of the road are lined with impressive Victorian Gothic and Neo-classical buildings. The road also, more importantly, links three of the most important monuments in the city – the Flora Fountain, Victoria Terminus and Crawford Market, where we end our walk.

This walking tour will similarly take the intrepid tourist some 2 – 3 hours to take in entirely.

Museum Quarter to Flora Fountain, via Oval Maidan

The former Prince of Wales Museum (today’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya), was founded to commemorate the visit of Edward VIII when he was Prince of Wales. It was designed by George Wittet in the Indo-Saracenic style and completed in 1915, though it was only used as a museum from 1922.

The interior of the museum. Note the Rajput-style arches in the second-floor balconies.

The National Gallery of Modern Art is housed in the former Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall, designed by George Wittet and built in 1911. Only the facade of the building remains.

The former Royal Institute of Science was established in 1920 and designed by George Wittet.

The Old Secretariat Building was completed in 1874 and designed in a Venetian Gothic style by Colonel Henry St Clair Wilkins. It sits towards the southern end of the western flank of the Oval Maidan.

View across the Oval Maidan to the Rajabai Tower and the High Court Building.

The Rajabai Clock Tower was built in 1878 and modeled after Big Ben in London and designed in a Venetian Gothic style. It sits on the Fort campus of the University of Mumbai. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

The Bombay High Court building was built in 1878 in the English Gothic Revival style. Designed by Colonel James A. Fuller.

Close-up of the back of the High Court building, facing the road.

Public Works Department Building, complete in 1872 in a Venetian Gothic style. Designed by Colonel Henry St Clair Wilkins.

The Central Telegraph Office, 1869. Designed by James Trubshawe in Venetian Gothic style.

Side view of the Central Telegraph Office, with its distinctive twin towers.

The Western Railway Headquarters, formerly Churchgate Terminus, designed by Frederick William Stevens in Victorian Gothic with Byzantine elements, and opened in 1899.

Along Dadabhai Naoroji Road from Flora Fountain to Victoria Terminus

Flora Fountain marks the beginning of Dadabhai Naoroji Road.

Across from Flora Fountain stands the Oriental Buildings, designed by Frederick William Stevens and completed in 1896.

Siddharth College of Law.

Standard Life Insurance Buildings.

Thomas Cook & Co. Buildings.

The JN Petit Institute, 1898. Venetian Gothic.

Bombay Mutual Life Building, 935.

LIC Building.

Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.

National Insurance Building.

Commercial building along Dadabhai Naoroji Road.

Standard Chartered Building, 1902, Mahatma Gandhi Road.

Cathedral Middle School, Mahatma Gandhi Road.

From Victoria Terminus to Crawford Market

Across from Victoria Terminus sits Capitol Cinema.

View of the Municipal Building at left and Victoria Terminus at right.

The Municipal Building was designed by Frederick William Stevens in a Victorian Gothic style with Byzantine elements, and completed in 1893.

Across from the Municipal Building sits the crowning glory of Bombay and Frederick William Stevens’ work – Victoria Terminus, 1888, in an exuberant Victorian Gothic Revival style with Byzantine elements.

The General Post Office, designed by George Wittet in the Indo-Saracenic style and completed in 1911.

The Times of India, Indo-Saracenic style, 1903.

Anjuman Al-Islam School, Indo-Saracenic, 1893.

Crawford Market, 1869. We end our tour here. 

…and a backward glance at Victoria Terminus, once again.