The church where it all began

As Borivli’s IC Colony prepares for Christmas, a look at its history and its church.

For hundreds of years, the Church of The Lady of Immaculate Conception stood lonely at what is today known as IC Colony. It is said that Father Antonio Do Porto and his companion Father Antonio Do Casol first built the church in 1544, and worship started in 1547.

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The church was built in the Portuguese style of architecture and lined with rich carved wood panelling. With the defeat of the Portuguese in 1739, during the Maratha invasion, the church was, however, razed.

The ravaged structure that stands right besides the present church is witness to that collapse. Originally consisting of 400 villagers, the parishioners converted by Padre Antonio do Porto grew in number and soon a settlement for them was built around the church.

Around 1630, the parish counted some 1,500 parishioners. In 1818, worship was permitted in the church, and after 70 years of lying in ruins, restoration work began on it in 1888. Rebuilt in Indian architectural style, it got its vicar in 1912.

It was in 1949 that a few employees of Mackinnon Mackenzie, a shipping company with its office at Ballard Pier, got together and acquired 40 plots here. And IC Colony was born.

Spread across 2.5 lakh sq ft, the early IC Colony had a number of small and big bungalows that were used as holiday homes by their owners, who stayed in South Mumbai. Mervyn Cardozo (67), who came to live here in 1956 when he was a 14-year-old, remembers, “It was a jungle out there in 1956.”

Oldtimers talk of the cool breeze, the wailing of wolves in the forest nearby and the view of the Dahisar river from their windows.

Continues Cardozo, “There was some habitation before IC Colony was formed. Some people stayed in the Tuscano and Candice compounds and there was also the St Francis D’Assisi School (established in 1908). But it was IC that injected life into this silent suburb.”

The first building to come up in the colony was the three-storey Mathew’s Mansion in 1959. “It stood out from the rest as it was tall and one could see the bungalows from its terrace,” says Cardozo. “I can proudly say that I own a shop in this building.

The two-storey Ludovic Mansion followed in 1960. Gradually, the LIC Colony and Holy Cross and IC Extensions came up to surround IC Colony from all sides, making it a township of sorts.

“What gives IC Colony a separate entity and a unique charm is its Goan feel. When you enter it, you feel you have just stepped out of a noisy metropolis called Mumbai and stepped right into a locality in Goa,” says Savvin D’Costa (67) who has been staying at Holy Cross for 50 years now.

The lack of restaurants in the vicinity in the early days prevented the place from getting too commercialised, believe many IC residents.

Says Willie Shirsat (65), who’s been living in the LIC Colony since 1973, “Those were the good old days. Now it is a concrete jungle. The last 15 years have seen an influx of hawkers and proliferation of slums.”

Tall buildings started coming up only after 1975, says Cardozo. “That’s when developers started acquiring plots and constructing buildings here. And that’s when the era of bungalows in IC Colony ended,” he says.

Though 50 and more tall structures dot the colony now, it is still a peaceful residential locality. “In spite of it being a concrete jungle, you can still hear the chirping of birds,” remarks Jairzinho Carvalho (30), who bought a house here in April this year.

And of course, there is the church. Proximity to it remains one of the major attractions for the 4,500 families and approximately 20,000 parishioners of IC Colony.