Churches of Mumbai Series | St Thomas Cathedral

It all started when last month I came across an article in the MIDDAY newspaper. A three hundred years old church was celebrating its tri-centenary. Naturally I was all inquisitive to know where was this church, what was the history behind and as I started my research I was getting more and more immersed into the past of this church. What got unveiled left me dumbfounded!.

Present Churchgate Station

For all these years passed, I never knew why Churchgate Station was called Churchgate and over that we always enjoyed Kishore Kumar crooning in the movie DON, Ee hai bumbai nagariya tu dekh babuwa....jaha churchgate ka  church hai lapata. 

Well the good news is I found the missing Church.

Jokes apart, St Thomas cathedral is in fact that missing church which gives Churchgate its name and another interesting fact about this church is that it is Point Zero spot where the pin falls in "Bombay"from where distance in the city was measured in milestones.

History:
St Thomas Cathedral stands testimony to the colonial past. The times when there was actually a fortified British settlement of Bombay which we call as Fort area in present times except that today there is no fort, no bastions or fort walls. What we see today is bustling commercial hubs yet being a commercial hub the British era can still be felt,looking around the buildings in these areas which are converted to Govt offices or bank premises. 
Till the 19th century the Bombay was fortified settlement with a fort wall and a moat.

The city had three gates 

Apollo gate- at Apollo bunder
Bazaar Gate- That is where today chhatrapati Shivaji Bus Terminus 
Churchgate- Where the flora fountain stands today
stands. 

Old Church gate,where the present day Flora Fountain stands
 (Pic source Wikipedia)

All the gates along with the city wall was demolished in the year 1860.

As the city of Bombay was inhabited by the Britisher they needed a place to worship so in the year 1676 the foundation stone was laid by the Governor Gerald Aungier  the same year that Emperor Aurangzeb began building Badshahi Masjid or mosque in Lahore. Unfortunately after the death Gerald Aungier the construction of the church was abandoned,however as the construction of the church was underway so the structure stood half way at 5 metres high for half a century. In 1710 Richard Cobbe the Chaplain adopted this unfinished Church and got the construction completed and finally the church was thrown open to the general public on the Christmas day 1718. 

The Church was named after St. Thomas, the Apostle, one of the 12 Disciples of Lord Christ who is believed to have come to India.

In the year 1837, the Church was consecrated as a Cathedral and Rev. Thomas Carr was appointed the first Bishop of Bombay. The Church underwent lots of  additions and renovation and took its present form in the year 1865.

In the 18th and 19th century the Cathedral was divided on the basis of different classes of society.There were even separate rooms for "Inferior Women" ( Now don't ask me what does that mean, I always felt that all humans are equal in the eyes of God, yet why this discrimination...probably another creativity of humans to divide the humans )

My Journey :

Armed with all the info that I can gather I was very eager to have a first hand experience of seeing the St Thomas Cathedral. So Weekend wanderer that I am, I set out one Sunday afternoon to visit this church. Let me share my experience from here on.

I took local train from Andheri to Churchagate and it was 4 pm when I reached the Churchgate station. Coming out of the station I started to walk towards Hutatma Chowk aka Flora Fountain and from there towards Horniman circle, just before that you see a Clock tower like structure and you can be forgiven if you mistook it for a clock tower. Its not a clock tower but the church, St Thomas Cathedral. I have come to Horniman circle for upteem times I fact I must have savoured the coffee at Starbucks  just opposite to it and yet missed this so important monument.

As I was entering the church I noticed a beautiful ornate fountain in front of the main entrance.

In 1864, Sir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney, a Parsi philanthropist, had gifted this Gothic fountain to this church, because he wished to donate one in the vicinity of his residence, still known as Readymoney Mansion. 

ReadyMoney Mansion (It still exists)

This kind of donation was nothing unusual gesture for Sir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney, because he had donated 40 iron fountains to Mumbai, of which only six can be found now. This ornate fountain actually compliments to the beauty of this Cathedral.

Made for each other

 This fountain was brought from London in parts."The local Parsi community were unhappy that such generosity was wasted on 'Unbelievers' and hence they disparagingly nicknamed the fountain the 'Cowasjee Cross'."( Source Times of  India Report)

Lobby at the entrance of the church

From here I moved to enter the Church. As we enter the Church we find a small lobby, what is noticeable here is the designed flooring, a designed wrought iron gate and the visitor book lying on the right side of the lobby.

Designed flooring in the lobby

Next we enter the main hall, What I saw was very imposing and grand.The inside of the church is painted in white.There was these  beautifully designed huge wrought iron brackets which holds the fans in the church.

Wrought Iron fan brackets in the hall catches your eyes

 The next thing that interested me a lot was the many memorials made of marble stone that adorned walls of the church. These memorials tell different stories of the different people and look very ostentatious.

Memorial for 300 Passengers
who perished on steamship Cleopatra

The first Memorial that I saw was for the 300 passengers of the Steamship called Cleopatra, who perished when the ship sank of the coast of Malabar on 15th April 1847. the ship was en-route from Bombay to Singapore.The monument was erected by the officers and the seaman of Indian navy as per the plaque 

The next interesting memorial was this huge memorial for Jonathan Duncan.

Memorial of Jonathan Duncan

Jonathan Duncan was the longest serving governor (16 years)The memorial comprises of a Dhoti clad Brahmin and a statue depicting the symbol of justice and this was all set against the backdrop of Banyan Tree with the smiling Chirubs.

In the words of  Reverend Avinash Rangayy the Church Priest "Duncan was a visionary who abolished infanticide in India… those cherubs denote this good deed. He was an Indophile — the Brahmin and the banyan tree depict his deep association with India, while the statue portrays his fairness in judgement despite being a colonial ruler."

Memorial for Captain George Nicholas Hardinge

Another interesting and beautifully carved monument of horses with a fairy and waves caught my eye. On closer observation I noted it was a memorial to Captain George Nicholas Hardinge
As per the plaque Captain George commanded the ship called "San Fiorenzo" considered to be terror of Indian seas which had 36 guns and 186 men on it.

 He chased and fought for three successive day the enemy frigate "La-Piedmantaise which had 50 guns and 566 men on it. Yet The Captain along with his crew achieved a brilliant conquest but unfortunately fell in the last and critical, part of this heric battle. It is said that he was very much inspired by his hero Lord Nelson. Captain George dies in the year 1808.  
last but not the least i liked this peculiar kind of memorial which looked like a coffin with a statue of a priest lying on it. This memorial belonged to the Rev. Thomas Carr  The first bishop of Bombay.

Memorial of  First Bishop of Bombay

Other than this there are many more exotic memorial some of which are in brass form each telling a different tale. Do visit and read each epitaph probably you may find some new secret unveiled.

After going through all the memorials I came down to the central of the church and started to walk down the nave. Just as I was to about to approach near the chancel,on my right side on the first row of the seating chairs I saw these two iconic chairs . Iconic because these chairs were occupied by King George and the queen on 3rd Nov, 1911.

Copper plate on the seats

Just before that there is this pew on which was used by Mother Theresa on 08.01.1989. I get goosebumps when I find myself so near the history and could actually feel the presence of this blessed soul.

After this I move towards the altar area or rather the chancel, what catches your eyes is the lovely stained glass windows with colour paintings of St Thomas and many others.

Some beautiful designed stained glass windows 

The chancel

One of the paintings at the cathedral shows St Thomas with a Bible in his hand and a T square in the other hand perhaps reminding the viewers  that at on time he was a builder by profession standing next to him on both his sides are archangels St Gabriel holding a lily symbolising purity and truth. and St Micheal holding a double edged sword, symbolising truth and justice.

No wonder that such beautiful Church is considered as a heritage site and is a recipient of UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award.

Stained glass window of St Thomas,St Gabriel and St Michael

I was simply overwhelmed by what I experienced here. I sat for sometime soaking in all the grandeur and the peace the place had to offer. Paid my respect to the lord and came out of the Cathedral as a contented man.

Thank You

Revdanda Fort

We had just finished our visit of Rameshwar temple at Chaul. (You can click on this link to read about our earlier part of the travel)

At Rameshwar Temple, Chaul

As we were leaving the Rameshwar temple, I asked the local villager to guide us to Revdanda Fort. He said Its around 1kms from the temple so we better take an auto and go to Revdanda Fort. Femina just like me, is a travel freak so she said "Aashish why don't we walk the distance, its just one Kilometre" and I too readily agreed to this because when you walk the village roads you often get to see village life more closely, chances of connecting with the local folk is so refreshing and interesting that you never know you make catch up with some local folklore.

Do Bechare

So, do bechare bina Sahare , Uparse Dhoop se mare, apni manzil ki aur chal pade 

Moving little forward on the road outside the temple we saw the road going straight and one village road diverting on the right,Following my intuition we started to  walk on it. little ahead of us one villager was also walking so I stuck a conversation with him and asked him to guide us to Revdanda fort. What followed was a little happy chat and an exchange of ten rupee note 😛 and set of directions.

Following the directions given by the villager we were on our path towards the Revdanda fort. Lonely but lovely path had lots of coconut trees providing the necessary shades, the breeze blowing was very cool and we were dying to rush toward the Revdanda Beach. Beach! did I say Revdanda  beach and not fort.

Well it was not a typo. Its indeed Revdanda beach. The fact is that Revdanda Fort is on the Revdanda beach only.




























 Come lets brush up our history of the fort.

History

Revdanda fort was a beach facing fort built in 1558 by a Portuguese captain Soj to watch over their trading interests. It is located in lower Chaul, which one comes across on the Alibaug-Murud road (17kms away from Alibaug). During the Portuguese times it was called Santa Maria de Castelo, but the locals called it Revdanda after Revati the spouse of the Yadava king Balrama.

(PC Nitin Nimbalkar) 

The Portuguese defended this fort against many invasions namely in 1570-71 and in 1594. It was captured by the Marathas (by the Angres, during the time of Nanasaheb Peshwe) in 1740 (Note.an earlier attempt in 1683, during the time of Ch.Sambhajiraje had failed). In 1806 it was ceded to the East India company and remained in brief control of the Angres in 1817.

(PC Nitin Nimbalkar) 

Revdanda-Chaul (Chenwal in Konkani language) has a history of 2000 years. Chaul (Simul,Champavati were some of its old names) was ruled in the medieval times by kings like Bhoja (12th cen) and Bimbadev (13th cen).Chaul came under Tughluq in the 14th century , the Bahamani sultans in the 15th century, Nizamshahi in 16th century, Portuguese in the 16/17th century (1505 onwards. In 1508, an combined army of Egyptian Mamluks and Gujrat sultanate defeated the Portuguese. The first Portuguese settlements started in 1521 with the permission of Nizamshah), the Marathas in the 18th century and the British in the 19th century. Chaul always remained a major trading port during the rules of all dynasties.

(PC Nitin Nimbalkar) 

There were also other forts in Chaul like Agarkot of the Nizamshah (destroyed by the Portuguese) , Rajkot built by Sambhaji (destroyed by the Angres in 1748) and Korlai (known to the Portuguese as Morro de Chaul or Rock of Chaul) which still exists in the vicinity on a nearby cliff. Korlai was captured by the Portuguse till 1739 until it was seized by the Marathas.

Revdanda had a chapel where St Francis Xaviers delivered one of his earliest sermons in the Indian subcontinent. Revdanda was also the first place in India where Afanasy Nikitin, the first Russian traveler landed .

Deserted Revdanda Beach

One look at the Revdanda beach and I was zapped. not a soul to be seen except for few deserted boats where Femina and myself we took turns to click pictures.Its very rare that we mumbaikar get to see such clean and lonely beach.

Making the most of Lonely beach

Standing on the revdanda beach we can see Korlai fort perched on the hill on the opposite side. We enjoyed a short splash in the sea and after coming out of the sea we started to move towards our right along the beach to go to Revdanda Fort. As we were walking We saw a group of people getting down from the jeep and just behind them I caught a glimpse water scooters.

 Wow so they have water sports here!

Water scooters at Revdanda Beach

We kept walking for another 5 minutes and we were standing near the Revdanda fort. All the crowd that was missing at the Revdanda beach were actually here 😂.

Missing crowd of Revdanda beach found at last

Though Revdanda Fort may have a great history but what lies today is just a dilapidated fort. The walls of the fort is completed eroded due to the sea water.

Broken walls of the Fort

As a fort it may not look so formidable in its present state but its a photographers delight to capture various moods of the fort and the sea. I think this wss the reason that we saw hordes of photographers doing pre-wedding shoots here).

Maine bhi mauke per chauka mara and chupke se ek pre weddind shot ka long shot le dala 😜😜😜

We spent some time clicking the pictures from outside the fort. There was a  small window type opening in the wall so we decided to enter through it so that we can explore the fort from inside.

There is not much to be seen in the fort  and as we went inside the fort we found it was completely covered with coconut trees and bushes.

Dense Vegetation inside the Fort 

Seeing the dense bushes we started to walk carefully and moved towards the tower like structure which we could see at far thru the trees.

Tower like structure within the Fort

 As we were walking through the bushes, towards this tower like structure, we realised our folly that the entrance route was from other side and not from where we were venturing. But then adventurous species that we are, both of us climbed the wall and jumped to the other side.

Pachpan me bachpan yaad aagaya 😜😜😜(of course for me only! because Femina is lot younger and fitter soul.)  

Once inside the compound we saw this tall tower. This tall structure is actually a Franciscan Church Tower inside the fort.

Franciscan Church Tower inside the fort
(PC Nitin Nimbalkar) 

Just outside this tower we find scattered cannons, another reflection of the past glory.

Scattered Cannons

We explored little bit and moved to Jesuit Monastery

(PC Nitin Nimbalkar) 

Ruins of Jesuit Monastery. (PC Nitin Nimbalkar) 

 which is in ruins and neglected state too. Other than this there was not much to be explored so we moved on from here to go to Kulaba Fort.

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Rameshwar Temple | Chaul

Sunday was around the corner,so naturally I had to plan something to satisfy my wanderlust. Thus I planned a day trip to visit Rameshwar Temple at Chaul, Kulaba Fort Alibag, and Revdanda Fort near Revdanda beach.

During my last visit to Vasai Fort (click here to read my blog on vasai Fort) where I was accompanied by my friend Femina, She had told me that if I plan anything in near future then she would be interested in joining me for my next trip. Hence I called her up and she agreed to join me.

We took 5;38 am churchgate bound local train and it was 6,09 am when we reached Churchgate station. In order to reach Alibag one has to catch ferry from Gateway of India to Mandwa and from Mandwa there is a connecting bus till Alibag. We quickly started to walk down till gateway of India. A 15 -20 minutes of early morning brisk walk we were at Gateway of India

We bought the Ferry tickets which cost us Rs 120 per person. As it was very early in the morning so there was hardly anyone at Gateway of India. we took advantage of this and clicked few pictures and then moved on to the ferry section. There were hardly few people before us so we were soon whisked away in the ferry where we ensured that we get the top deck.

Eyeing the Top Deck of Ferry launch

The advantage of the top deck is that one can get fantastic view of morning sunrise with the blurring view of the Taj hotel and the majestic Gateway of India as the Ferry launch leaves the shores.The ferry launch  left by 6.54 am and we were on our way. The coolness and the calmness of the morning is always amazing and imagine if you throw in the sea to compliment it the whole atmosphere becomes electrifying.

The blurring Taj and Gateway of India as we leave the shores

Our ferry launch was moving forward cutting the sea, The music of Bangra rap was been played out and across the horizon the sun was beginning to make its presence felt. The view was simply mesmerizing. One can see the golden sheen on the waves of the sea.

Golden Glow of the morning

Its the kind of moment when you want everything to stop. As were launch moved we were surprised by our morning guest and yes they were none other than the lovely Seagull flapping their wings and encouraging us to give them food.

Seagulls chasing us

The time simply passed away watching the beauty of the morning, that I didn't realize that our one hour plus journey is coming to an end and we have reached the Mandwa Jetty. We moved from the jetty to catch the connecting bus to Alibag. This bus ride lasted for 45 minutes so I thought of having a cat nap till we reach Alibag. 

Upon reaching Alibag , we went to auto stand where sharing autos go to revdanda. Luckily for us as one Sitara or big auto was standing at the auto stand and we were on our way to Rameshwar Temple. Again an auto ride of 20 minutes and we were at Rameshwar Temple. One can also take ST bus to Revdanda and get down at Chaul Naka to reach this temple.

First look of Rameshwar Temple

Rameshwar Temple is an ancient temple located in Chaul in Revdanda Maharashtra. Its an ancient temple of Lord shiva. I was given to understand that Chaul region is known for many temples.

Old temple but rebuilt again 

There are 365 temples in this region, One temple for one day I presume. This temple as per the local villager was built little in over a day by pandavas, however they couldn't complete it  otherwise according to him it would be only temple like Kashi which was built in a day but they couldn’t complete it. Later, Kanhoji Angre, A Maratha Navy Admiral completed the remaining work.

Ruins behind the temple

One must visit an elaborate entombment behind the temple. It is said that the memorial belongs to one of the Angres.(Though I didn't find any placard or sign saying so) There was only ASI board proclaiming that its a protected heritage site.

Ruins behind the temple

Rameshwar temple just like all Shiva Temples has Nandi in front of the main temple. 

Nandi in front of the temple

The temple complex is spread over a large acre of land. The temple dome stands 7.62 m tall. A huge pond is seen in front of the temple which is known as Pokhran.

Pokhran Pond

 There are two tall Deep jyoti stamb in front of the Temple. ( Its a tall pillar on which small lamps are kept and it adds to the illumination of the temple) 

Deep Stamb

Just as we enter the temple there is a large prayer hall supported by the colourful wooden pillars.

Colourful Pillars

Next to the prayer hall is another hall having arched pillars and  a shiviling in the center enclosed room.

Shivling in an enclosed room

and on the left side of the shivling room there is a Ganpati idol and on the right side there was Lord vishnu's idol and there are three kunds.   

There is a huge pond outside the temple which gives it a grand looks. During the local festivals aartis are down along this pond.

It was now time for us to visit Revdanda fort which is only a kilometre away from this temple. We paid our respect to the gods and moved on.

Thanks for reading the blog and stay tuned to visit Revdanda Fort and beach with me in my next blog.