Front Bay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Front Bay is the official name of the waterbody that is now more usually known as Bombay Harbour. It is where the wharfs and docks of Bombay are located.

The name is because the city was originally a very tiny settlement facing the harbour.

The city was built around the nucleus of the Casa da Orta, a Portuguese castle that was renamed as and expanded into Fort St. George, Bombay town and finally the City of Bombay.

The waterbody behind this settlement, forming an arc between the [former] islands of Colaba and Bombay island, going up to the Malabar Hill promontory or peninsula, is called Back Bay.

After India's independence, ironically, the docklands have been walled-off and rendered out-of-bounds to common citizens and as a result, the city has re-oriented so that it faces Back Bay rather than Front Bay!