WALLED CITY OF BAÇAIM, VASAI

Vasai (Bassein) is located in Thane District, 70 km north of Mumbai (Bombay). The city is located on the north bank of Vasai Creek, part of the estuary of the Ulhas River. Taking a passenger train for Surat via Dadar from Bombay Central get down at Vasai Road (Bassein Road) station. The remains of the fort can be reached by bus or taxi from the Vasai railway station (11 km). Of all the Portuguese forts still existing in India, Baçaim (today Vasai), is one of the most imposing.

IMAGE COLLECTION

Vinayak Prabhu, 2001 (www.mumbaibest.com)

Himanshu Sarpotdar, 2008 (paliakara.blogspot.com)

Tanmay Shende, 2010 (Panoramio)

Hitesh Panchal, 2009 (Panoramio)

More pictures...

(Google Images) 


SOURCES OF INFORMATION

São raras as cidades urbanisticamente fundadas ou estruturadas pelos portugueses que completaram o seu ciclo de vida, mais ainda se tiveram uma prestação comparativamente relevante. Assim aconteceu com Baçaim, versão portuguesa de Vasai (Baçaim de Cima). Na prática foram apenas dois séculos (15341739), uma vez que antes e depois da vivência portuguesa a consistência e a relevância urbanas nunca ali coexistiram. Desde logo e em suma, se existiu uma cidade exclusivamente portuguesa no Oriente essa foi, decerto, Baçaim. More...

Only a rare few cities founded or structured as such by the Portuguese completed their life cycle, and even fewer played a comparatively significant role. Such is the case of Vasai, which the Portuguese called Baçaim (de Cima). In practice, this was only for two centuries (1534-1739), since both before and after the Portuguese experience urban consistence and relevance never coexisted there. To begin with, and in sum, if there was one exclusively Portuguese city in the Orient, it was certainly Vasai. More…

Vasai (Bassein) is located in Thane District, 70 km north of Mumbai.(Bombay). The city is located on the north bank of Vasai Creek, part of the estuary of the Ulhas River. Taking a passenger train for Surat via Dadar from Bombay Central get down at Vasai Road (Bassein Road) station. The remains of the fort can be reached by bus or taxi from the Vasai railway station (11 km). Of all the Portuguese forts still existing in India, Baçaim (today Vasai), is one of the most imposing. More...

Today's Vasai-Virar area has rapidly changed and starting in the 1980's, the change is brought about by a large influx of people due to availability of more affordable housing than in Mumbai (Bombay). History of Vasai dates back to Puranic ages. The present day name of Vasai originates from Sanskrit, Sanskrit word "waas" meaning dwelling or residence.  The name was changed to Basai by Muslims who occupied Vasai before the Portuguese. The Portuguese named it Baçaim. The Marathas renamed it Bajipur. The British named it Bassein and today it is called Vasai. The most significant past in Vasai's history is the rein of the Portuguese, since they largely influenced or changed to what Vasai-Virar area is today. Historically, the entire region has attracted traders and merchants from Rome, Greece and Middle East. In 1295 AD the famous Marco Polo visited Thana/Vasai area. More...

Baçaím (actualmente Vasai-Virar) foi um antigo porto no extremo sul de uma ilha, a cerca de 50 quilómetros ao norte de Bombaim, no estado de Maharashtra, no noroeste da Índia. Foi parte integrante do Estado Português da Índia entre 1533 e 1739, quando foi reconquistada pelos Maratas. Constituiu-se numa das mais importantes praças-forte portuguesas na região, chegando a rivalizar com Goa. More...

Vasai (Marathi: वसई), historically known as Bassein or Baçaim is a historical village in the city of Mumbai in the Maharashtra state of India. Vasai has demonstrated religious harmony throughout its history. Having been under Portuguese rule for a long period, Vasai has significant Portuguese cultural influence. More...

By the year 1534 the King of Portugal held the seven islands plus Bassein, which was a chunk of mainland territory north of Bombay also known as Salsette but now as Vasai. Here at Bassein the Portuguese built themselves a walled city overlooking the sea, which remains to this day. Its chancels, creepers smother the gravestones of the some Bombay’s earliest colonialists; it seems to have remained untouched, like Sleeping Beauty’s citadel, since the day the Portuguese were forced to vacate hastily by a local Mahratha army. It is a poignant reminder of what was, and of what Bombay itself might have been today had history taken another turn. More…

Na nossa viagem pelas maravilhas portuguesas pelo mundo vamos agora até à Índia. O nosso destino é a capital da província do Norte da Índia portuguesa, Baçaim, que durante 200 anos controlou Damão e Diu. Rival de Goa em brilho e oponência, esta cidade acabou por ser entregue aos maratas, em 1739, em troca de um acordo de paz que cessasse os ataques à capital do Estado. Baçaim é património arqueológico da Índia, mas ainda não tem qualquer indicação histórica que identifique as suas origens. More…

The history of Vasai is as old as Christianity itself. Tradition has it that St. Bartholomeo, the apostle, came to Kalyan which forms part of Thane district in which is situated the Diocese of Vasai. In the 6th century, Kalyan had a Bishop elected and sent from Persia. Jordenus worked as a Dominican priest for a brief period in a church at Sopara in 1321 in this diocese when he had come just as a Father before he was appointed as the first Bishop of Quilon. In 1534, the Portuguese moved to Vasai from Cochin and Goa. In 1536, they put up a church in Vasai Fort dedicated to Our Lady of Life. There was also a Parish church under the title of St. Joseph. This Church was known as the 'Se' or 'Seat of the Bishop.' Whenever the Bishop of Goa visited Vasai that was the church from where he officiated. More…