I once had a letter adressed to Mr. Videsh Sanchar,  the tall building dominating Fort area

Mumbai’s bustling metropolis unfortunately doesn’t have any iconic public spaces that other cities have and most of our open spaces are gradually being encroached upon by street vendors spilling over from the pavements to the adjoining grounds, or being reclaimed as parking lots for the ever growing swell of cars plying on our roads. With the city of Mumbai itself largely transformed from the small island city of Bombay to the larger metropolitan area stretching as far as  Dahisar and Vikhroli, the largest green spot would be the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivili. However, that is really too far for the likes of me ( infact some people I know actually consider North Indians to be those people who live North of Worli!!!)

The Well where you can spot many Parsis in traditional clothes

So it comes as a welcome surprise to know that Cross Maidan has been reclaimed by the city to remain a prime public space in the heart of Bombay. Situated across the street from the Videsh Sanchar Bhavan this once run down maidan has been restored to its former glory by generous contributions from various  Tata Trusts. At the start of this garden which has been cordoned off from potential encroachers by a strong cast iron fence is the Bhika Behram Well that has been built by a philanthropic Parsi for travellers who passed this way. For three hundred years now this well has been considered as part of the Parsi heritage and you can often see several Parsi devotees visiting this place.

The Charkha

At the other end, closer to Churchgate station is an intriguing  30 ft high spiral of twisted Jameshedpur Steel  designed by award winning architect Nuru  Karim. This thoroughly modern sculpture takes its inspiration from the traditional  Charkha or spinning wheel that is symbolic of our Freedom Movement and was unveiled on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in October last year.

Since then the maidan is still undergoing restoration work and is not yet finished. It did however host part of the Kala Ghoda Festival ( which is normally held in January ) and was once again brought back into the main stream of Mumbai’s cultural scene.

For those wondering about the Cross part of the Maidan : it is no where to be seen in this part of the ground. You will find it at the northern most end of the ground which has been parcelled off to various sports associations hence inaccessible through the ground. To get there, you will have to walk along the clothes hanging in your face as you go down Fashion Street towards Metro Cinema. After the traffic signal half way down the road, you will spot a gap in the clothes from where you can see the famous Cross.

p.s. I visited this Maidan last week and found it to be another mess – this time because preparations for a “Indo-German Urban Mela”  scheduled for the coming week  and which will focus on City Spaces, were under way. I’m not complaining though because open spaces are  something my city badly needs.