World Heritage Day 2025: The Rail Heritage of Mumbai from Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai’s collections.

 

 

Every year April 18 is observed as the World Heritage Day. This day is also commemorated as the ‘International Day for Monuments and Sites’. It was in 1982, that UNESCO, during its 22nd General Conference held in Paris from 21-24 June, adopted a resolution to celebrate this day - 18 April - as the ‘International Day for Monuments and Sites’. The first World Heritage Day was celebrated on April 18, 1983. Thereafter, each year the international Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) proposes a theme for the commemoration of this day. This year the theme for the International Day for Monuments and Sites is “Heritage under Threat from Disasters and Conflicts: Preparedness and Learning from 60 Years of ICOMOS Actions”.

 On earlier occasions, commemorating World Heritage Day, I had written about the two important monuments in Bijapur – Gol Gumbaj and Ibrahim Roza - the city where I studied in a residential school for seven years (1970-77) at the Sainik School, Bijapur. Here are the links to these two blogs

https://khened.blogspot.com/2021/04/gol-gumbaz-glorious-monument-which.html

https://khened.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-majesty-of-ibrahim-rauza-monument.html

The main objective for commemorating this day is to educate and sensitise people about the significance of heritage including old monuments and sites, which are our common heritage that we have inherited from our ancestors and we owe preserving these monuments and sites for our future generations.  Heritage that refers to something that is inherited from the past, such as traditions, customs, cultural practices, artefacts, historical buildings, monuments and site, natural landscapes, etc. is our legacy from the past, which has been passed down from previous generations and is often considered to be of significant value or importance to a particular group of people or society as a whole. Heritage is typically seen as a way to preserve and celebrate a community's history and identity, as well as to promote the understanding and appreciation of our cultural diversity. The monuments, sites and such other edifices and other tangible and intangible cultural heritage and identity in which we live today is our common Heritage that we have inherited and it is the one that we must religiously pass on to our future generations.

The Rail heritage of Mumbai is inextricably linked to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) building in Mumbai. CSMT is individually listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  This 19th-century majestic building is now the headquarters of the Central Railway. It was christened originally as the Victoria Terminus (VT), in honour of the then reigning British Queen, Victoria, and it continues to be the most famous architectural landmark of Mumbai. The VT building also served as the headquarters of the Great Indian Peninsular Railways (GIPR), the predecessor of the Indian Railways.

Railway transport has been a life line for Mumbaikars and the Nehru Science Centre Mumbai is in proud possession of some of the historic Rail heritage locomotives – Steam and Electric locomotive – and also a Steam Lorry. It also has in its collection Marut fighter aircraft, which were all restored to their majestic best during Covid. On this occasion of World Heritage Day, I am happy to share the links of three blogs which chronicle the history these three important collections of Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai for the leisure reading of those who it may interest.

https://khened.blogspot.com/2021/01/vintage-90-years-old-electric-railway.html

https://khened.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-hf-24-marut-fighter-aircraft.html

https://khened.blogspot.com/2020/07/114-year-old-steam-waggon-restored-to.html

GIPR had a share capital of 50,000 Pounds when it was incorporated. On August 17, 1849, it entered into a formal contract with the East India Company for the construction and operation of an experimental rail line, 56 km long. The construction and operation of the first passenger railway in India, 16th April 1853 in Mumbai, received global headlines and attention. A report of the historic first train journey says that “large groups of people had gathered along the two sides of the railway track from Bori Bunder to Thane on the inaugural day of the steam engine-driven locomotive”. It was almost some kind of a dream for the people to witness a carriage running without harnessing animal or human power.

The black beauty steam railway engine appeared like a mythical creature that was spewing out white smoke as it moved ahead at speed, which was inconceivable at that time. Very soon, the scientific principle of the steam-operated machines and their power was understood, and the steam power was put to wide use in setting up industries or looms, or even the early road transports like the Steam Waggon and cars that reshaped Bombay’s geography in those early years. Steam locomotives in Mumbai soon gave way to electric locomotives.

British engineers received wide acclaim for the Railway line they had constructed and for the commissioning of the rail transport in India. The global media hailed their accomplishments of building a railway line in a tropical country like India, with varied problems that ranged from snakes and animals to building embankments over difficult stretches.

Three decades after the inaugural rail transport in Bombay, the old wooden structure of Bori Bunder was pulled down and replaced with a new station called Bombay Passenger Station. In the meantime, the Britishers started a mega plan to construct a massive terminus, which was then christened Victoria Terminus - VT.

The construction of the VT station began in 1878, and ten years later, in May 1888, the majestic building of VT (CSMT now) that we see today was completed for Rs 16, 35 562. The building was very unique and was something the citizens of Bombay had never seen before. The construction and operation of Railways had proved the engineering skills of British Engineers, which was further exemplified by the construction of the majestic VT building. The VT building was designed by the consulting British architect, Frederick William Stevens. He has to his credit the design of some other noteworthy Gothic Heritage buildings in Mumbai, which include, among others, the Bombay Municipal Corporation building, the Royal Alfred Sailor’s Home, and the Post-Office Mews at Apollo Bunder. The CSMT building continues to be an engineering marvel even to this day.

The railways also brought about a social revolution in Bombay with scores of workers travelling from different parts of India to Bombay to be a part of the industrial growth, which Bombay was witnessing.

The legend of Bombay as a city of textile mills and Indian cinema began with the introduction of Railways, which attracted masses from across the country to the city to work as labourers or for leisure. The elegant CSMT building has symbolically represented the cosmopolitan character of the city, which witnesses the travel of diverse people and ideas.