Dominating the Mumbai skyline with its clock tower and steeple, Crawford market showcases the legacy of British India. Characterised by Lockwood Kipling's decorative horizontal bands on its outside walls and stone fountains outside, it was the main wholesale market for fruits in the metropolis until March 1996.
Today, winds of development have finally caught up with it.
The market, which came up in 1869, was donated to the city by Cowasji Jehangir. Named after Bombay's first municipal commissioner, Arthur Crawford, the cavernous spaces inside are divided into sections for fruits, vegetables, meat, beef, fish, poultry, pets, exotic birds, ornamental fish, and a huge fish market.
The heritage structure, which would have been treasured in a country with a sense of history, will soon be demolished to make way for a shopping mall.
Reportage: A Ganesh Nadar | Photographs: Rahul Patel
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