Khotachiwadi, an ancestral neighbourhood in South Mumbai’s Girgaum area, is a rare artefact among the scads of signalling skyscrapers.
The promenade’s successive narrow lanes, colourful Portuguese bungalows, and designily-placed, heavily ornamented wooden balconies reveal echoes of the past.
One house, in particular —the 200-year-old home of fashion designer James Ferreira —holds special significance, as it is a living museum of Mumbai’s layered history.
Constructed around 1820 by Ferreira’s forebears, this structure is one of the last remnants of East Indian-Portuguese architecture. The corners of this ancestral home echo with historical moments that trace Mumbai’s evolution from a colonial port to its status as a modern cosmopolis.
Yet Ferreira’s home carries and exudes more than architectural remnants of an earlier time; it is a salon of stories. Over the decades, Bollywood icons, artists, and socialites have been hosted here.
Ferreira, himself, was one of the first famous fashion designers in India, hosting legendary figures, from Parveen Babi to Madhuri Dixit. His home has hosted countless collaborations and whispers of film secrets and moments of synergy that have shaped Mumbai.
Image source: LLB Mumbai, Architectural Digest, Conde Nast, Homegrown
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