A bird’s eye-view of Bombay

Above Bombay by Jehangir Sorabjee. Published in 2005 by Eminence Designs Private Limited, C/o G. S. Mhaskar Private Limited, 1st floor, 205-A, J. Shankarshet Marg, Opp Gaiwadi, Girgaum, Bombay 400004. Pp: 223. Price: Rs 3,000.

One more book on Bombay — one more facet of this amazing city. While so much has already been said about this exceptional city, there’s always an angle to be explored. The prefixes and suffixes attached to Bombay, the vices and virtues keep growing. Bombay eludes defininition as her profile keeps shifting, moving forwards or backwards. With her history behind her and her future ahead, Bombay means so many things to its 16 million people.

It is against this diverse background that Jehangir Sorabjee presents his version of our beloved city, Above Bombay. He seems to find it too painful to accept the changes that have overtaken Bombay, so he chooses a bird’s eye view of the city to "eliminate the grim reality of over-population, dirt and poverty.” Sorabjee’s Bombay looks like beautiful postcards of a mega city complete with a sweeping bay, tree-lined avenues, burgeoning business areas and tranquil residential localities. The photographs evoke nostalgia, as we recognize streets and buildings, but from a totally different perspective.

Top: The Kala Ghoda sector showing the Elphinstone College, David Sasoon Library and the Army Navy building. Above: The governor’s residence at Malabar Hill

This macro dimension conceals facts of contemporary Bombay which is a heady cocktail of bad roads, nightmarish traffic jams, poor housing, pollution, corruption… but the most amazing people in the world! This has to be a labor of love as Sorabjee painstakingly photographs Bombay, end to end, from a helicopter, his feet never touching the ground. It is geography projected against a historical backdrop. Sorabjee, a physician by profession who combines medicine with diverse other interests, draws the reader into his world, portraying the grandiose Bombay of yesteryear – which sadly has not fulfilled its potential.

The book is basically divided into three parts. First there is "The Island City,” which comprises south and central Bombay; "The Heartlands” include the deep interior of Bombay; "The Suburbs” is the last chapter and this is the part which will grow at the fastest rate as the city keeps expanding.

Views of Ballard Estate (left) and Cusrow Baug (right) with Electric House bus depot in the foreground; Sorabjee (alongside)

Haphazard building and construction patterns are visible everywhere. Some of the photographs, reflecting small pockets of residential Bom­bay, present an orderly look of wide roads lined with trees and buildings of uniform height. There is a wonderful picture of a few red roofs and the Afghan Church, nestled in salubrious surroundings with thick foliage, which could easily be mistaken for an idyllic European suburb. Pinch yourself – it’s Bombay! One of the pictures representing corporate Bombay is an imposing image of Nariman Point with Uran in the hazy background. The original business district of Ballard Estate, which has existed for a century, has a very distinctly old-world feel to it. The predominant stone architecture gives a solid and indestructible look to it.

The vernacular style of architecture, British (Gothic) Bombay and the art deco style have now given way to high rise structures to house modern Bombay, and this low rise, high rise shift is evident in the photographs. If viewing the images in the book evoke a sense of awe, given the diversity and the sheer scale of the city, the text alongside, with the historical references enhance the pictures as Sorabjee has exceptional know­ledge of the city. Past, present and future seem to blend and we take an enchanting trip through the centuries. Some amazing photographs of a fascinating city that keeps molting and never stops evolving. But why take my word for it? Have a look yourself.