Saint Peter’s Church, Bandra – A treasure of History, Heritage and Community spirit.

The city of Mumbai has always prided itself to be a Westernized and cosmopolitan city whose people are both belonging to varied faiths and strata of emotional and literal intelligence. And though this financial hub, of the seventh largest nation in the world, is fast becoming a haven for the hard workers and the wealth inheritors, the city has overtime, amassed many a story whose tales have both contributed and inspired the social and economic fabric of a modern metropolis.

Nestled just beyond the reach of the original seven islands of the now city that never sleeps, Bandra or Bandora was the last outpost of the Portuguese on mainland India. Bandra only developed as a trading post in 1505 when the then Portuguese Viceory Dom Francisco de Almeida enroute to finding the Lisboa of the East [Panjim], set up base here.

Bandra came into full Portuguese possession with the Sultanate of Cambay ceding the region in the Treaty of St Matthew signed aboard the Portuguese brig St. Matthew in Baçaim harbor in 1534. The first Christian missionaries however to set foot on this land were the Jesuits [Society of Jesus] upon receiving a Royal Confirmation of Permission in 1570 by the Portuguese Crown.  They built St. Anne's (Santa Anna) College and Church in Bandra, the first church here.

The Portuguese then built additional churches in the area following the transfer of the Bombay Islands in 1661 [Not including Bandra] to the British as a part of the Marriage treaty between Catherine of Bragança of Portugal and Charles II of England. Upon learning the local languages and through their works of social service, the Jesuits today enjoy the support of six catholic parishes; Mount Carmel St. Peter's, St. Andrew's, St. Theresa's, St. Anne's and St. Francis D'Assissi, that lie within an area of four square kilometres of each other.

The Jesuits controlled Bandra till 1739 when they approached the British for help against the invading Maratha Army. This led to, against their will, the destruction of many Portuguese bastions including St. Anne’s college and Bandra Fort as precaution against the Marathas using them as bases to attack the then islands of Bombay.

Statues brought in by German Missionaries are more than a hundred
years old each and in good condition

Today Bandra, has retained its distinct identity of being a quaint hamlet with its open spaces, historic and colourful buildings of varied eras intertwined with bikes and people who criss cross the inner lanes riddled with antique Christian crosses and East Indian Homes. One can even spot a taste of Bollywood being splashed by artists onto the public walls of heritage houses in a bid to maintain and decorate a village of simple folk who have seemed to be lost in a world oblivious to the construction boom that soon will threaten their very existence.

But among the varied monuments Bandra has to offer the discerning tourist, Saint Peter’s Church and community does stand out. Originally built in 1852 and then redone in 1938 in the Romanesque style, Saint Peter’s started out as a shrine nestled among fishing villages. It has today become the pride of a Christian Community whose values encircle around service and community spirit. Even amongst Christian communities in the rest of the city, such tight nit bonds and ties among families led by the service and works of the Jesuits who lead them has been exemplary.

Being an innocuous tourist wandering in search of a story of a rich past, I ended up being welcomed in open hands by a community I would now proudly call my own. From the youth who proudly showcased to me the wealth of art and sculptured that were amassed by the once Swiss-German Missionaries who stayed here and who were either detained or deported by the British during the First World War, but whose statues have stood the test of time, being worshiped a hundred years since their arrivals; to the gentle embrace and family like attitude of the elderly whose hospitality and kindness could inspire many a poet. Its not uncommon to be invited to a home for tea or even convert passers-by into friends. The gaothans nestled in Chapel Road, Veronica Road and Rebello Road among many are simply a place of joy and a time lost serving as gentle reminders through the beauty of their architecture and the attitude of their people on what a community should be and what we stake to loose with the rise of a concrete jungle.

 I felt I was truly in a simple quaint neighbourhood where people were more one than many. This being an irony when I come from the city beyond where as the cold winds blowing through the skyscrapers, one does feel lonely even if in a crowd. There is a sense of love and community spirit irrespective to who or what you are for here you are first human then the identity of your choice.

I would always treasure my maiden visit to Bandra as a townie and this hamlet, one among many, has shown me a new way of living my life; a lesson we all need in world where the Rupee replaces the Divine.