Mumbai's Crumbling Mansions Include Jinnah's Former Home

Mumbai: Hidden behind a blanket of trees at the back of a university in Mumbai lies the dilapidated, but once grand, former home of writer Rudyard Kipling.

Fallen branches, discarded chairs and even empty whisky bottles surround the 19th-century building, while bird droppings mar a bust of Mr Kipling, author of such beloved novels as "The Jungle Book" and "Kim".

"The bungalow is in very bad condition and needs desperate help," the college's principal, Rajiv Mishra, said to news agency AFP.

The "Kipling Bungalow", as locals affectionately call it, is one of several mansions in the teeming city, once associated with famous residents but now in ruin.

A few kilometres away in plush Malabar Hill sits the previously imposing residence of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and its first governor-general.

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The stately home hosted critical talks between Mr Jinnah and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the partition of India, but today its downtrodden appearance belies its historical significance.

Mr Jinnah's house has been embroiled in a long-running legal dispute over ownership between his daughter, India and Pakistan. It lies empty in thick forest behind a padlocked gate.

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Heritage campaigners lament the demise of such buildings, blaming red tape and claiming politicians and developers are more concerned with constructing sparkly new luxury towers than preserving Mumbai's architectural history.

"The Kipling Bungalow is just a very sad reflection of bureaucratic hurdles... creating the death of a historic building," said renowned architect Abha Narain Lambah, who specialises in conservation.
 
The building has been caught in a tug-of-war between the college and the government for years over what its restoration should look like.

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In the arty Kala Ghoda district, a 147-year-old mansion, formerly the resplendent Watson's Hotel, frequented and written about by Mark Twain, is a ramshackle shadow of its former glory.

Now called Esplanade Mansion, it shows no signs of being restored despite ten years having passed since it was placed on a global list of endangered monuments by the New York-based World Monuments Fund.

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Watson's, completed in 1869, is believed to be India's oldest caste-iron building and was the hotel of choice for colonialists and visiting dignitaries during the British Raj.

According to legend, the hotel went into decline after industrialist Jamsetji Tata built Mumbai's iconic Taj Mahal Palace because he was denied entry to Watson's, which had a "Europeans-only" policy.