A Brush with Bombay : Chronicling the Maximum City

with Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation [ JNAF ] with Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation [ JNAF ] a brush with Bombay chronicling the Maximum city

“There is hardly any book written on Bombay without referring to him because, he parted with his wealth of information and research to anyone willing to consume it” “There is hardly any book written on Bombay without referring to him because, he parted with his wealth of information and research to anyone willing to consume it”

"He was a human encyclopaedia on Mumbai’s heritage" "He was a human encyclopaedia on Mumbai’s heritage"

He sparked a movement creating the first “heritage list” of Mumbai. creating the first “heritage list” of Mumbai. by

was not an ordinary photographer documenting the city Foy Nissen

Foy's images matter. They remind us not just of what we had, & should have kept, but also of the permanence of loss. - Justice Gautam Patel

JNAF asked people to sketch Bombay... inspired by the Foy Nissen archive ! discover BOMBAY'S LANDMARKS > > > IN OCTOBER 2020,

EXPLORE MUMBAI's Foy Nissen & the citizens of Mumbai Foy Nissen & the citizens of Mumbai art: Archana Pereira HERITAGE HOTSPOTS as captured by

1.Gateway of India "Sharing the harbour waterfront, but taking pride of place is the monument Bombay is perhaps most famous for..." - Foy Nissen

but the foundation stone was laid only in 1913, & the monarchs were greeted by a cardboard model ! It was constructed to commemorate the 1911 visit of King George V and Queen Mary to the city

art by KNH Das art by KNH Das " ...architect George Wittet ’s Gateway of India, (was) completed in 1922 in the later Indo-Anglian Saracenic idiom of medieval Gujarat , but minus its planned subsidiary flanking structures" - Foy Nissen

Since its construction, the Gateway Of India is the first structure visible to those who visit Bombay by sea. Since its construction, the Gateway Of India is the first structure visible to those who visit Bombay by sea. art by KNH Das Built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete believed to have been modelled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris Built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete believed to have been modelled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

"diamond by the sea" "diamond by the sea" 2. Taj Mahal Palace The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was constructed by the Parsi industrialist Jamshedji Tata in 1902 even before the plans for the Gateway of India were floated. Considered one of the finest hotels in the world at one time being known as the it is a study in luxury !

3. CSMVS Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Kala Ghoda precinct, lies Mumbai's primary museum, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya

"In 1904, some leading citizens of Bombay decided to create a museum to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales (later King George V)"

art by Nikhil Naik art by Nikhil Naik This Grade- I heritage structure was designed by George Wittet , who was selected through an open design competition in 1909 .

art by Nikhil Naik Its encyclopaedic collection has some of India’s most cherished historic relics

4. Flora Fountain As the city grew prosperous .... "(a result of the 1860-1865 blockade of the American cotton trade), it became fashionable to endow institutions of learning and medicine... it became equally acceptable to donate public services in the form of drinking-water supplies and ornamental water-displays all over the city." - Foy Nissen

These gestures took the form of several fine fountains of which the most celebrated is Flora Fountain. - Foy Nissen

"...designed in Britain by R. Norman Shaw & sculpted in fine Portland stone by James Forsythe , it has served as the hub of Bombay’s ‘Fort’ area since 1869..." -- Foy Nissen art by Zainab Tambawalla art by Zainab Tambawalla

art by Zainab Tambawalla Flora Fountain was to be named after Sir Bartle Frère, the Governor of Bombay at the time. Flora Fountain was to be named after Sir Bartle Frère, the Governor of Bombay at the time. However, the name was changed before it was unveiled to that of the Roman goddess Flora; denoting the statue that adorns the top of the fountain. However, the name was changed before it was unveiled to that of the Roman goddess Flora; denoting the statue that adorns the top of the fountain.

5. Victoria Terminus / CST "The architectural masterpiece of Bombay is universally acclaimed. It is Victoria Terminus , designed by F. W. Stevens and completed in 1888" - Foy Nissen Renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in 2017 .

"...conceived in the traditions of the great British architects of the period-Pugin, Burges, Butterfield, Scott and Street—and its symmetrical structure successfully culminates in a magnificent masonry dome , the whole embellished with locally adapted Gothic decoration and detailing which was admirably ‘carried out by Indian stone-masons " - Foy Nissen British Architecture + Indian craftsmen British Architecture + Indian craftsmen

art by Anita Alvares Bhatia art by Anita Alvares Bhatia It took over a period of 10 years to complete & was named after Queen Victoria to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of her reign (1887). Built at the cost of 2,60,000 pounds , the Terminus was one of the most expensive structures in Bombay!

Atop the central dome is the statue of the female figure : 'Progress' - she holds a torch pointing upwards in her right hand and a spoked wheel in the other. Atop the central dome is the statue of the female figure : ' Progress ' - she holds a torch pointing upwards in her right hand and a spoked wheel in the other.

For me, there is no such thing as the definitive photograph . The very act of fixing an image in a split-shutter-second suggests the dialogue that may ensue … Does the subsequent viewer see it this way? Or have I missed something vital and telling..? - Foy Nissen

Credits Aashika Cunha and Kamna Anand Quotes via FoyNissen.com MORE STORIES Banganga Tank : through the lens of Foy Nissen David Sassoon Library by Foy Nissen : Heritage Jigsaw