The Mumbai/New York Photo Project: Houses of Worship

It can be hard to get a moment of solitude in a city like Mumbai or New York, where the workplace is often competitive and chaotic, the commute is overcrowded, homes are cramped and the streets are teeming with a bustling populace. In both cities, places of worship often serve as a serene respite.

In the fifth edition of the Mumbai/New York photo project, Nisha Sondhe documents a small sampling of the numerous places of worship and the religious practices found in both these cities with their diverse populations.

Some of the most striking edifices in both Mumbai and New York City were built by religius communities. Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, a landmark of New York City, is one such awe-inspiring structure. The cathedral, which attracts more than 5 million visitors each year, was designed by James Renwick Jr. and opened in 1879. But the idea for the cathedral began much earlier when Archbishop John Hughes announced his plans to erect a cathedral “worthy, as a public architectural monument, of the present and prospective crowns of this metropolis of the American continent.” The cathedral is currently undergoing a three-year, $177 million rehabilitation project started in March 2012.

In Mumbai, the Cathedral of the Holy Name, designed by the British architect W.A. Chambers, is renowned for its gothic ! architecture and was granted the status of a heritage building in 1998. Opened to the public in 1905, the cathedral has witnessed a dwindling of its parish strength from about 15,000 in the 1960s to 500 in 2005. Today, the parish caters to its diverse congregation by offering Mass in Konkani, English and Hindi.

While Saint Michael’s Church, one of the oldest Catholic churches in Mumbai, is unremarkable in its architectural style, the church garnered much attention in 2008 when the appearance of a red stain on the picture of Jesus Christ gave rise to the belief that the portrait was “bleeding.” Though the church authorities said it was moisture that caused the red color of the painting to spread, the “miracle” drew over 20,000 devotees to the church.

One of Mumbai’s most iconic edifices is the Haji Ali mausoleum, an ornate white structure situated about 450 meters (500 yards) fromthe Mumbai shoreline in the middle of the Arabian Sea, housing the tomb of the Muslim Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. A renowned Islamic pilgrimage site, the mausoleum sees about 15,000 visitors daily. In November 2012, the mausoleum attracted controversy when a women’s group protested that women had been banned from the most sacred part of the building.

Like Mumbai, New York City hosts a large number of mosques. A study titled “The American Mosque 2011” found 192 mosques in the greater New York City area. The Masjid Manhattan, a deeply conservative mosque, and the Masjid al-Farah, known for its progressive ideals, are two examples of the ! wide spec! trum of Islamic places of worship in New York City.

As might be expected, Hindus have no shortage of places to worship in Mumbai. While there are countless Hindu temples of every size and shape, the structure of the Ramakrishna Mission Temple, completed in 1965, combines the Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic architectural traditions to create a unique building.

In New York, the Broome Street Ganesh Temple was established in 2001 two weeks after the 9/11 attacks. The temple’s Web site says it aims to provide “both seekers and devotees the unique opportunity to exit the frenetic energy of Manhattan and enter a tranquil and beautiful space, wherein one can feel peace, calm and a connection to the timeless culture of India’s spiritual traditions.”

Among the many synagogues in New York, one that stands out is the Temple Emanu-El, founded in 1845, which blends Moorish and Romanesque styles to create an imposing structure at the juncture of Eastern and Western cultures. The largest house of Jewish worship in the world, the synagogue counts Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg among its 3,000 members.

Mumbai also hosts a thriving Jewish culture, although small, with at least seven synagogues spread across the city. The community, which was most active during the British era, has dwindled since the 1950s as most of the city’s Jewish population has immigrated to Israel or the West. Today, the city is h! ome to ab! out 4,000 Jewish residents.

Of Mumbai’s synagogues, the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue in Kala Ghoda, built in the classical revival style in 1884, is the best known. Its elaborate sky-blue exteriors, colorful stained-glass windows and rich Burma teak wood furnishings still attract many tourists each year.

These religious sites serve several purposes: a place to get a quiet moment in a harried city, a tourist attraction for those interested in architecture and history, a place to host community events and, of course, as a gathering place for those more spiritually inclined. As the slogan of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City puts it, “In the city that never sleeps, everyone needs a place to pray.”