Landscape of Ranwar Village in Mumbai City Paper Example

Introduction

Ranwar Village in Mumbai City is among the many villages in Bandra, located on the Western Outskirts of Mumbai City, India and measuring an area of 2.79 Acres. At Bandra, the Ranwar Village is situated behind the tall buildings as well as shopping malls within the area. The village stretches from the Waroda Road to the Bandra Reclamation. Majorly, Ranwar is one of the twenty-four hamlets in Mumbai, made of old cottages built many centuries ago. The old cottages have the local vernacular style of architecture that is inspired by the different rules and invaders of Mumbai over time.

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Portuguese is a dominant influence on the built forms of houses in Ranwar Village. These buildings earlier belonged to the agrarian paddy farmers and their lineage still lives in these houses. They have a specific lifestyle that is different from other tribes or groups in Mumbai. Basically, the Ranwar Village is a collective memory of the people living there. Just like memory, Ranwar is related to planes and objects and its image is formed from the landscapes and architecture as well as artifacts that emerge every now and then. In understanding the South Asia bottom-up, exploring the Ranwar Village is a critical aspect to understanding the features that give meaning to everyday life within this geographical area and how it is connected or not connected to other places. This research paper takes the perspective of a single person, the research who takes the character of a man to describe everyday life in Ranwar Village.

Description of the Outside and Inside

Streets: Moving around from one place to another in Ranwar Village requires a person to understand the different streets within the village including the Hill Road, Mt. Carmel Road, Veronica Road, Chapel Road, and Waroda Road. Ranwar village is between Hill Road and Mt. Carmel Road and touching the other named roads. Therefore, two main roads connect the village to the other parts of Bandra in Mumbai. The narrow lanes within the village are hemmed in between steel and glass shop fronts, the Hill Road as well as Mt. Carmel Road towers. The central street is the Veronica Street, a narrow lane meandering from Waroda Road at the north and stretching to the south to emerge in the St. Sebastian's Housing Scheme, a quarter kilometer from Waroda Road and abuts further on the Bandra Reclamation.

Buildings: There is a local vernacular method of architecture in Ranwar Village. The village is surrounded by heritage properties of old buildings and cottages. The Quaint houses, as well as bungalows, make a person experience the true feeling of being part of the village. The heritage buildings reveal the image of Bandra and Bombay before the 21st Century. The Indo-Portuguese Colonial style defines the nature of the houses that have wooden porches to elaborate the history of the Ranwar Village before the 21st Century. However, when looking at the East Indian Catholic houses, they are different in architecture. They have large verandahs and an important space for people's gathering and chatting or viewing the movement and activities of the Ranwar Streets. These houses also have large living rooms that we use when there are events such as marriages, birthdays, communions and other similar occasions. Fishing is also a common activity for men in Ranwar to make a living.

Cultural Events: I am a Catholic and a huge population here is of the Catholic Faith left by the Portuguese in the colonial days. This explains the religious background of the people in Ranwar as Catholics and forming part of the East Indian Catholic community. The Catholics in Ranwar have converted to Christianity between the years 1575-1600 AD by the Portuguese. Christmas celebrations are important for the Catholics to decorate the Ranwar Village and its streets with the Portuguese- style which is commonly used during the festive season. At Ranwar Village, a man will enjoy the urban art and festivals that are held in the village. The Ranwar Festival is a common cultural event held in this village.

There are street artists that maintain the Ranwar's heritage architecture. They maintain the speaking heritage of Ranwar 400 years back of the small quaint hamlet in Bandra. The maintenance of the architecture makes Bandra in Ranwar what it is today. The effort of the artists to conserve the hamlet against the unmaintained development and meet the demands of the population that is ever growing in Mumbai.

Creativity and hipster lifestyles make the crumbling houses and narrow streets in Ranwar Village. In fact, the crumbling houses and narrow streets make Ranwar Village a great setting for people who love creativity and hipster lifestyles. Many of the people have businesses within Ranwar selling artwork and food. Women sell their items outside the houses. The artworks are amazing businesses here with many of the locals making a living from daily sales. Women are also selling food outside their houses and along the streets. Food business here is doing well and promising good returns. The food joints are also great and building the economic situation of the village with new ventures opening every now and then. There are also upcoming huge buildings for businesses such as hotels and exhibitions.

The Character and Relationship to the Ranwar Landscape

My name is Victor, aged 36 years old born and brought up in Ranwar Village. I have lived here my entire life and understand the landscape well. I am looking at the environment and reflecting about the importance of this village including its buildings, streets, the cultural events, religion, food, and the life in generals as I experience it here in Ranwar.

I am moving around my neighborhood and can see that many of the building are over 100 years old and built in the classic Indo-Portuguese Anglo-Colonial style. The main features are external staircases, wooden porches, pointed roofs as well as the neoclassical touch that is occasionally added to give the houses a classy pizzaz. From the physical appearance, I can see that many of structures are made of sturdy teak. The architectural design is similar to those found in other heritage areas such as the Pali Village and Khotachiwada still within Mumbai. I can see the Ranwar Square which is the heart of the community with its amusing little piazza and a large crucifix.

As a resident of Ranwar, I always get surprised by the change of time. I am seeing a transformation in the buildings regarding their touch to include more neoclassical elements that give the structures a new touch. I am reading one of the historical articles about Ranwar Village and learning that from the 1960s the new buildings are built of height up to 1525cm. I realize that the lifestyle here is changing everything due to new migrants entering Mumbai each year. The buildings are now being designed to meet the demands of the different populations from different backgrounds. However, I can say that what I see here daily is that Ranwar is adapting to the design built scape slowly.

It is in the morning, I have just come from adoration at St. Stephens Church along Chapel Road. I am now going fishing with other men friends here. It is one of the customs here in Ranwar to embrace fishing as one of the activities that as a man I undertake. I am walking in the streets to reach the beaches for this important activity in my life as a man in Ranwar. I understand the streets well and moving is easy for me. As I walk along Veronica Road, I get a sudden peace and beauty engulfing my being. The traffic noise has disappeared and I am in a place with a few developments and chaos. Only the beautiful two storied buildings are filling my eyes and making me realize how proud the people here are about their houses and must preserve the heritage of their houses. Emerging at the connecting narrow lane, I am in a hurry and have to avoid the dodging motorbikes that can cause death any time when a pedestrian is not careful when using the narrow streets of Ranwar. The rabid rickshaw drivers are careless and careful watching of the streets is a must for me as a man.

I am also attending the Ranwar festival that causes to the heavy traffic in Ranwar Street in Bandra every time the festival is held here. On my way to the festival, I am enjoying the old and urban art within the streets. I am appreciating the old images in exhibition galleries for the Ranwar people voices. Contemporary art is highly fascinating as I walk along the streets of Ranwar. The decorations add to the heritage value of Ranwar Street.

Through the narrow lanes of Ranwar Village, the historical streets are interesting in their own way. As I walk along, the placards and the architectural art designs are just amazing displays. It is evident that the narrow lanes within the village display urban works of art that are beautiful. The vibrant street art scenes are giving me the experience of art in its reality. I am approaching the Bollywood Art Project and other graffiti virtuosi displayed by artists along the streets of Ranwar.

In contrast to the enjoyable view of the urban art, the visual presentation of the art of the Bollywood Art Project is not fascinating as they reveal the ugly facades filled with a lick of paint for ultimate creativity. The burgeoning street art culture at Ranwar village demonstrates the legendary Mehboob Studios that artists tailor viewers for hours to get the maximum fame within the village. As I start from the Chapel Road where there is the first appearance of the mural, I move down towards the Ranwar Street with color burst and the Bollywood iconography within the center of the rickety old buildings.

While roaming the narrow lanes, I have come across many other artworks such as the recent Manjihi mural of the Mountain Man with an uncanny resemblance of Jesus Christ. When approaching the Bandstand, I have found the languid Amitabh Bachchan mural when he was young resembling a sensual cowboy. Next, just around the corner, I see the blue and yellow Rajesh Khanna tribute. I remember that the murals claim that Rajesh Khanna was the first Bollywood superstar. I can see the latest mural added in the year 2016 of Amitabh Bachchan, a significant mural of the Christian Anthony Gonsalves placed next to the Mt. Mary's Church.

Just arriving at the festival and the Bandra hamlets are the performing group. Their photography exhibition showcasing the Ranwar Goathan by the Rizvi College students is interesting. Another amazing display at this event is the Rachna Sadan College of Architecture with the dollhouse. I have noticed that in many of the festivals, it is rare to find such kind of architectural houses not to mention those build in Mumbai.

It is afternoon and leaving the festival. I am passing by the open hotel to enjoy the gluten-fearing foods that contribute to the Ranwar's heritage. Since many of the residents in Ranwar Village come from the East Indian community, I am enjoying the traditional East Indian snacks and other product varieties from the food stalls owned by the residents. Apart from the snacks, the bottle masala is a traditional East Indian spice that I must have. It is used by Ranwar people when preparing fish, pickles, vegetables, and meat. The local delicacies prepared by the residents are making my good time within the streets of Ranwar Village. To navigate the permanent traffic in in Hill Road, the sleepy and narrow gully off the Langrana Lane is taking me off to the south of the Hill Road adjoining the Holy Family Hospital. The route is shorter and I will find myself at home.

There are several up and coming joints like in the Birdsong Organic Cafe where I want to go and hang out with other people and enjoy gluten. After here, I will visit the Imbiss, a joint that serves tasty burgers and other non-ve...