The Bombay City Museum - a hidden gem

The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, is Bombay's oldest museum. It was built in Victorian style and opened as The Victoria and Albert Museum. It was built for a specific purpose - to be the city museum.

Thus, its exhibits capture the life and times of the Bombay Presidency as it was so called. It has been restored by INTACH and is a real treat to visit. This Sunday I attended a free historic walk through of one of the galleries where they used maps and models to explain the history of Bombay. Interesting, fun and educative is how I would describe it.

The Bhau Daji Lad Museum

This beautiful table and screen was donated by one of the merchant prince families.

The interiors have been restored to their original design and colour.

The Star of David is in recognition of the contribution of David Sassoon

The old town map

The Bombay Castle. You can read more about it here.

The Koli - the earliest inhabitant of Bombay

The different people who made up the community of Bombay...........

.........a very diverse group............

......including people from other parts of the world.

The first mention of Bombay was in Ptolemy's The Geography where he makes mention of Heptanesia or the seven islands on the West Coast of India.

The Portuguese took over these seven islands in the 1600s and later gave them away as dowry to the British as an incentive to marry off their ugly princess the Infanta Catherine in the 1700s (or so legend has it). The British did not think much of it and in turn leased it to the East India Company for a sum of 10 pounds a year.

It was the East India company that invited people from all parts of the country and overseas to settle in Bombay within the security of the Fort and set up businesses. The underlying motive was trade and to encourage it. People obliged as they were promised religious freedom. Thus the culture of Bombay was established - a financial centre and a cosmopolitan outlook.