This is the view of a church at Bassein fort (now called Vasai), situated about 60 kms north of Mumbai. It is a remnant of one of many grand church buildings built by the Portuguese inside the fort city. I like this perspective as it shows the details of the old stone architecture. The arches and pillars depict the age and character that transports me back several centuries. In 2016, the majestic ruins of the Bassein fort were made famous by Coldplay’s ‘Hymn for the weekend’, which opens with shots of the fort and a white peacock dancing on its ramparts.

Though now in ruins, the buildings, spread over 110 acres, are grand and so European in style and architecture, that they seem unreal in the surrounding rural Indian landscape. But they are for real, and are witness to stories of the Portuguese settlement in early 16th century. The Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat controlled Vasai till the Portuguese took it over through the Treaty of Bassein in 1534. They built the Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaim, or the Fort of St Sebastian of Bassein. In 1661, along with Bombay (now Mumbai) and other territories along the coast, Bassein was handed over to the British as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza. In 1739, Chimaji Appa, brother of Peshwa Baji Rao II defeated the Portuguese and took control, naming it Bajipur. It was handed to the British through the 2nd Treaty of Bassein signed on 31 December 1802 between the British East India Company and Baji Rao II, the Maratha Peshwa of Pune. The treaty was a decisive step in the dissolution of the Maratha confederacy and led to the expansion of the British rule over the Indian subcontinent.