Fashion designer James Ferreira is synonymous with Khotachiwadi, the heritage village in South Mumbai’s Girgaum. It’s no wonder then, that he was the one who got curator Srila Chatterjee to look at Bungalow 47-A, a couple of houses down from Ferreira’s own property, 47-G. Chatterjee used to run Baro, a furniture design store, which transitioned to an online marketplace during the pandemic.
Chatterjee says, “James called me in November to come and see a space here because he knew that we had shut Baro and that Baro Market was online, and he’s spent the last 30 years trying to revive, or not revive, just to keep this place, keep this village the way it is, without developers coming in and tearing down spaces.” Most recently, there’s been a tussle over the redevelopment of a nearby property, Bungalow 28, which is half-demolished.
Bungalow 28 in Khotachiwadi has been half-demolished for redevelopment. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Young artists at Chemould Colaba
If Ferreira thought retail stood a chance at saving the neighbourhood, Chatterjee had some qualms. “I didn’t think Khotachiwadi was a destination. It wasn’t a place that was full of shops and markets, so getting somebody to come here in a crowded, very difficult to park area, just for one shop, was not going to work.”
That’s when she thought about creating “a destination itself”, and decided to approach Mort Chatterjee and Tara Lal of the city’s Chatterjee & Lal to see if Bungalow 47-A could become a gallery.
Houses of wood
The urban village of Khotachiwadi was once made up of 65 houses, though now, fewer than half remain. Its history is at least two centuries old, with Ferreira able to trace his house back over 210 years. The Portuguese-style dwellings made of wood are distinct and were built after a resident Pathare Prabhu landowner sold parcels of land to the local East Indian community.
Fashion designer James Ferreira, an inhabitant of Khotachiwadi, and the president of the Khotachiwadi Heritage Trust.
Over the decades, it has retained its local charm, as the city has expanded around it, but as maintenance costs and calls for redevelopment arise, the Khotachiwadi Heritage Trust, of which Ferreira is president, is working to preserve the neighbourhood’s character.
At the moment, the gallery at 47-A is playing host to ‘This Ground, Plus: Khotachi Wadi in Design Context’, curated by André Baptista, a fourth-generation resident and Ph.D. Spread across the ground floor, the show includes archival maps and images along with architectural elements — most memorably, stained glass arches that can be found in the old-style houses. The previous show, ‘Future.IsNow’, featured upcycled and recycled work by Goa-based architect and industrial designer, Satyajit Vetoskar. Chatterjee says, “Our focus is going to be on design, and on design in various aspects. The history of design, contemporary design, community design — that kind of stuff.”
Hyperlocal outlook
The focus on design runs through 47-A’s curatorial outlook and programming, but Chatterjee emphasises, “I think what is more important is the attempt to ensure that we’re not just gentrifying the area and destroying it and bringing outsiders in to gape. That’s not the idea. The idea is for the community to start really enjoying the gallery as a part of them, embracing it and maybe giving rise to other ideas of the same kind within the community.”
(L to R) Tara Lal, Mort Chatterjee and Srila Chatterjee, who are behind the transformation of Bungalow 47-A into an art gallery.
This osmosis is sure to happen, as the renovated gallery features a large window that lets outsiders get a view into the space, while inside, one can watch as walkers, bikes and carts selling vegetables pass by. It’s a stark difference from the gym and printing press which occupied the ground floor previously. The Crasto family that lives on the first floor, above the gallery, used to run the gym.
Given the investment that the gallery has made, Chatterjee forsees a long-term engagement. “Let me just say, we can be here as long as we want. I think the family, in whose home it is, really appreciates what we’ve done, and the deals that we were able to make is fair to both of us and not something that’s going to kill us or be unfair to them, so it’s not something that is a problem as far as we’re concerned.”
With its unique context, the gallery at Bungalow 47-A could well serve as an inspiration for other such neighbourhoods in the country. Working closely with the community and retaining the distinct characteristics that define the space, 47-A celebrates the area and its unique heritage. Ferreira then has ensured that Khotachiwadi remains relevant.
The Mumbai-based food and travel writer also has a keen interest in design and music.
