Uncover fascinating facts about Crawford Market with this online lecture today

If yoursquove ever looked at Crawford Market as a singular marketplace phenomenon that has served the people of Bombay since the 1800s and continues to do the same for Mumbaikars herersquos a chance to look at market halls as an institution Architect and historian Dr Pushkar Sohoni who is an associate professor and Chair of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research IISER in Pune will conduct a talk called Markers of Modernity Colonial Market Halls on public market halls built across colonial India from the 1870s to the 1940s in an online lecture hosted by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya and the Museum Society of MumbaivKhanderao Market Vadodara Pics CourtesyDr Pushkar SohoniDr Sohoni will take attendees through the history of market halls including Mumbairsquos Crawford Market mdash one of the oldest market halls Kolkatarsquos New Market Madrasrsquo Moore Market Bengalurursquos Russell Market Karachirsquos Empress Market as well as others in the erstwhile Presidency cities as well as speak about those built in princely states for instance Hyderabadrsquos Moazzam Jahi that was built around 1935 He explains ldquoWe think of market halls as being solely utilitarian but therersquos a social and political history to it that broadens our understanding of why these municipal buildings become importantrdquoThe stage is setldquoThere are many seemingly disconnected factors that converge to create a situation for the emergence of this institution of modernityrdquo Dr Sohoni shares This includes the arrival of the railways that facilitated the movement of construction materials and other goods the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and germ theory among other factorsHe explains that after the rebellion the British had to bring in a large number of European soldiers to maintain their hold This set the stage for the introduction of health commissions that recommended sanitary conditions for selling meat and vegetables to ensure the safe health of the regiments since the British were of the opinion that Indian bazaars were crowded and unsanitary Dr Sohoni suggests reading Rudyard Kiplingrsquos Kim which describes the bazaar as dangerous in contrast to the market halls set up by the British0Dr Pushkar SohoniAnother contributor was the germ theory that came about in the 19th Century indicating the importance of keeping good hygiene practices The irony is that these sanitised market halls later became centres for informal local markets and Oriental bazaars that would pop up around the main structureMarker of urban modernityGovernor Bartle Frere in the 1860s declared Bombay an important urban space that needed new institutions of modernity that were previously not built like the General Post Office museums and railway stations A public market became one of these institutions that ushered in a modern age for the cityMarket architectureThese buildings were utilitarian from the inside but they were also landmark buildings that people outside on the street could look at in admiration This also contributed a kind of soft messaging and political propagandaMarket halls look different across different cities There is a subliminal message that the choice of architecture communicates The British built structures in European architectural styles that were fashionable at that time such as the Victorian Gothic style to impress upon the people that local bazaar was dirty and that if you had money you could shop at these marketsRulers and the ruledThe market also became a way of portraying the rulers mdash Queen Victoria mdash as benevolent because they were building modern public amenities especially after the rebellion of 1857 when the British Crown and not the East India Company governed the Indian subcontinentHowever in princely states such as Baroda and Hyderabad market halls were built in the IndoSaracenic style which use Indian architectural elements as a way to affirm their own identity that was distinct from British IndialdquoToday megapolitan cities have become vast and decentralised that no single institution will be at the centre But market halls represent a moment in our history we should be aware of this enriched past which creates meaning about the cities we live inrdquo Dr Sohoni signs offOn September 6 530 pmLog on to Museum Society of Mumbai on Facebook for the Zoom linkEmail museumsocietyofmumbai63gmailcom