Thread by @atulMbhatnagar

@IndiAves #Matheran
Nostalgic charm of the old dilapidated houses & bungalows of Matheran.
Belonging to the English, Parsees and Bohras from the late 19th/early 20th century, most of these old houses are now in stages of decline and neglect not withstanding their heritage value!

Forlorn they stand today,but they were hubs of opulence in the era gone by. Peering at the bungalows you can picture scenes of evening parties, with their the laughter and the music,the clinking of the glasses and cutlery, and bustling about of the liveried servants and butlers !

Here is a beautiful villa near Monkey Point, proudly built by a rich shipbuilder’s family. Nobody knows who it belongs to now.
You prowl around the grounds & can smell the food the caretakers are cooking somewhere in the backside of the building. But you leave depressed !

Then, this is Parsi gymnasium which was built somewhere in 1912 to rival the Gora’s club where Indians were not allowed to step in .There are two huge sprawling lawns (or what remains of them) in front, terraced at two levels. Must have been an spacious venue !

And, here is a facade of what must have been once an imposing bungalow ! This is quite close to Ram Baug point.
The owners reportedly stay in Mumbai!
The compound boasts of a garden with a semblance of some maintenance. Wish to buy it but औक़ाद nahin hai !

Finally, a fairy tale Villa, the stuff dreams are made of, owned by one Sir Shantidas Askuran! The building is done in white, panelled in glass and relatively well preserved. The grounds are liberally dotted with Greco-roman statues of exquisite beauty in white marble.

Alas! But for the romance of these old buildings, nothing remains ! Those days of glory have gone, faded away !

Reminds you of GuruDutt’s “Kaagaz KePhool” !

देखी ज़माने की यारी,
बिछड़े सभी बारी बारी
वक़्त है महरबां,
आरज़ू है जवान
ये खेल है कब से जारी,
बिछड़े सभी बारी बारी l

@NMatheran

Oooops, autocorrect…..it is gymkhana !

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