The heritage mass market

In a city where the skyline has long been defined by massive hoarding boards, there was one on Marine Drive a few years ago that captured Bombay's ethos perfectly. Restless to get ahead, it proclaimed, and that is exactly what the much-touted spirit of this megalopolis is all about – getting on, getting ahead. Yet, in all of its hasty, focused march towards the future, Bombay remains a city that continues to look to its past with much sentimental fondness. 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus' it may be to those who decide these sorts of things, but it is still Victoria Terminus – or more correctly, VT – to those millions who walk in and out and past the iconic railway station every day. For that matter, Mumbai itself remains Bombay to many of those who live and work in it.

And so it is with Crawford Market. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market announces the arch marking the entrance to this sprawling area, but it is by the name of Arthur Crawford, who as the city's first Municipal Commissioner established this market in 1869, that it is still known to all. But Crawford's creation, which has been declared a Grade I heritage building and precinct, could currently be seeing its last days.