Mumbai's milestones stand on

In it's quest to become a city of the future, Mumbai tends to forget it's heritage from the past. Especially if these figments of history are too small to grace the city skyline, and aren't hotspots for tourists or postcard manufactures.

Mumbai's old milestones are among the many victims in the tale of historic amnesia. "They were built over two hundred years ago on the arterial roads leading south from north Mumbai," explains Saleem Ahmadullah, who has done extensive research on such less celebrated aspects of the city's historic heritage. There are about eight to ten milestones that dot the city today, from Dhobi Talao to Prabhadevi. 

"The milestones trace the distance to St Thomas's Church. Hence they were clearly built before 1837, as after that the church was elevated to the status of a cathedral. Only one milestone uses the word cathedral, and is hence the newest one," explains Ahmadullah.

The reason why St Thomas (Located near Horniman circle) was chosen too is rather interesting. "Milestones calculate the distance from the centre of the town, which is usually the town hall or the general post office. That time Bombay didn't have any, so the British chose this religious structure, which was the first Anglican church in the city," shares Churchgate-based Rajan Jayakar, a lawyer by profession who has made Mumbai’s history his passion.

Saleem Ahmadullah can be credited for first bringing these figments of history into the limelight. He had to physically locate and document them, as there was no previous records of them.  "I stumbled across a few by chance, and others were located along with a close friend. Yet others we found together, or by using an old map of the city to predict where potential sites for milestones may be," he recalls.

The milestones were crafted of rough hewn basalt, made to brave weather and time. But they were not made to brave the chaos of an expanding metropolis.

The milestones were originally almost four-feet tall. However, with countless occasions of street repair, excavations and pavement building, they have slowly receded into the ground. Today, the entire inscription on them is not even visible. While some milestones have sunk into oblivion, others have mysteriously disappeared.

"There was a milestone at Mohammad Ali Road, which is no longer present there," rues Jayakar. The ones that still exist are put to a myriad of interesting uses. In one case, a roadside vegetable vendor uses the rock as a surface to stock his wares. The 200-year-old milestone is buried under an avalanche of mango crates and apple boxes.

Who is in charge of the milestones? "They are the responsibility of the ward officers of the MGCM," reveals Ahmadullah. Apparently, they were also placed on the 1995 heritage structures list. Several years ago, the idea of relocating all the markers to a museum had been floated. "I had opposed it then, saying the milestone should be preserved in it's original location. But seeing the way things have gone, I regret that decision," admits Ahmadullah.

They may be rather unglamourous, dismissed as ostensible street-side gravel. They may be cold shouldered by the shutterbug tourists, and stonily ignored by MGCM officials. But this does not undermine their significance. "They record some little moment in the broad sweep of history that saw the growth of a large, teeming metropolis from a small settlement," says Ahmadullah. And so Mumbai's milestones stand on — two centuries old, yet fighting a lonely battle for survival.
downtownplus@timesgroup.com