How the Bombay plague shut down a human book factory: The life and death of Narayan Hemchandra
An extraordinary life of industrial strength writing, cut short by the killer disease. Narayan Hemchandra in the 1880s (left) and in the late 1890s. | Courtesy: Forbes Gujarati Sabha
When one stepped out of the Fort of Bombay, well-worn footpaths led to the Washerman’s Tank or Dhobi Talao located at the verge of the Esplanade, an open ground created by forcefully relocating entire neighbourhoods to get a clear line of fire. Created in 1770s, a “Native Town” located “without the Fort” came into being.