Bombay evolved from being a set of seven islands and a dispersion of fishing villages to the cosmopolitan city it is today. The origins of the city can be traced back to the 15th century when the Portuguese arrived in India to capture what they called “Bom Bahia” (the Good Bay). The land was passed to the British Crown as part of the dowry of the marriage of Portuguese princess Catherine Braganza and Prince Charles II in1661.
The history of Bombay recounts its growth from being a marshy land to a strategic trading port to a manufacturing center and now in its present state, the commercial and financial hub of India.
Bombay became famous for its cotton textile industry during the 19th century, with the first cotton mill set up in 1856. This was mainly due to the Industrial Revolution of the west. The era brought with it new sources of power and modern technology. The planners at the time envisioned the textile boom to continue for centuries and so former traders seized the opportunity of the generous incentives being offered by the government (minimal lease rents for massive acreages of land) and set up textile mills in central Bombay.
People from villages across the state of Maharashtra came to the city to escape oppression and inequality. Some came just to explore new options. A bulk of the work force however, were people from drought stricken areas of Satara, Kolaba and Ratnagiri. (Dwivedi, Mehrotra, Bombay: The Cities Within, 2002)
The mill owners went to great lengths to set up their units from employing the best architects of the time to enticing workers with cheap housing accommodation. As the workforce grew, the demand for housing also increased.

The structure used to house mill workers came to be known as Chawls. Chawls were usually constructed 2 to 3 stories high and had single rooms with lofts. The multipurpose room was used as a living room and bedroom, with an allocated space for the kitchen which also doubled as the dining area. Each floor shared a block of toilets situated at the end of the corridor.

The chawls were almost a replica of the villages where the people came from. But instead of a cluster of huts, the chawls provided for residences, with the courtyards and markets providing for community meeting places.

With the increase in the workforce, more and more chawls were constructed to meet the growing need for housing. The areas in which the workers and families settled, which was close to the mills were Tardeo, Byculla, Mazagaon, Reay Road, Lalbaug, Parel, Naigaum, Sewri, Worli and Prabhadevi. Together they came to be known as Girangaon, Village of the Mills.

The demand for workers housing was first met by private entrepreneurs. The chawls were small, but still housed 300 to 400 single rooms. These structures in their initial years were home to single castes or creeds. Initially workers settled into the city alone, but gradually brought their families along.
A group of 3 to 4 chawl buildings were usually built around an open space. This space served as a location for games, sports, weddings and community festivals. This conglomeration of events, celebrations and community specific identities, stirred among the residents a magnificent sociability, despite cramped living conditions and the lack of private space. The culture built around the growth of the textile industry became a huge part of Bombay’s unique identity.

The Textile Strike of 1982 however saw the beginning of the end of Bombay’s textile boom. During the 1970’s and 80’s, the mills began loosing money, for various reasons. The government had to step in to subsidize the continuation of the industry or declare the mills “sick”, eventually taking them over. The strike was seen as one of the longest and largest in history spanning 18 months, and where nearly 60,000 workers eventually lost their jobs. (Dwivedi Sharada, Mehrotra Rahul. Bombay: The Cities Within). The effects of the strike on life were large, encompassing not just unemployment, but also the once famous Girangaon culture, architecture and way of life.

The area of the mills spans almost 600 acres and is situated in the heart of Mumbai. In a city where horizontal expansion is not possible and where real estate is literally hot property, the mill area gained prominence for its ideal location. Today, the mills have shut shop and the massive mill workforce have been rendered unemployed. The girni culture that was once part of Bombay’s DNA, is now replaced by a consumerist culture represented by sprawling malls and sophisticated offices.