Cuffe Parade

This guide to Cuffe Parade in Mumbai tells how a stretch of the Arabian Sea became one of Mumbai's most valuable neighborhoods, through separate reclamation attempts spanning a century. It opens with an 1860s scheme launched on the strength of the American Civil War cotton boom, and its collapse when that war suddenly ended. From there it follows T.W. Cuffe's smaller, successful reclamation of the early 1900s, which gave the seafront promenade his name. Walk the seafront today and picture the open water that once covered every building beside you.