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Jahangir Public Hall, Sir Cowasji, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mantralaya, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400032
National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai
The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai is at Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall, M.G. Road, Fort. It is a regional centre of India’s National Gallery of Modern Art, under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
The building has a fascinating history
1. It was originally a public auditorium, not an art museum.
The building was designed by British architect George Wittet and completed in 1911. It was commissioned/donated to Bombay by Sir Cowasji Jehangir. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
2. It was once one of Bombay’s major cultural venues.
The original Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall (C.J. Hall) hosted concerts, political meetings, art exhibitions and Parsi community events. The NGMA’s own history mentions performances by Yehudi Menuhin, Paul Robeson and the Bombay Symphony Orchestra under Mehli Mehta, father of conductor Zubin Mehta. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
3. Freedom-movement meetings took place there.
The hall also hosted political gatherings associated with major national leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, according to NGMA’s historical account. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
From grand auditorium to neglected hall
By the 1950s, C.J. Hall had begun losing its position as Bombay’s premier auditorium because newer venues offered better acoustics, lighting and air-conditioning.
The building subsequently deteriorated. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was even used for things such as boxing matches, trade-union meetings, wedding receptions and discount sales. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
Artists and cultural figures, including sculptor Piloo Pochkhanawala and art patron Kekoo Gandhy, protested against this decline and pushed for the building to be converted into a museum of contemporary art. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
The really cool architectural fact
The facade of the old 1911 building was retained, but the interior was essentially transformed.
Architect Romi Khosla designed a “structure within a structure”, inserting new galleries inside the enormous old auditorium. The result is the distinctive central staircase and semicircular/spiral arrangement of galleries you see today. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
So you’re actually looking at two architectural eras at once:
1911 George Wittet exterior → modern 1990s museum interior
When did NGMA Mumbai open?
The Mumbai NGMA opened to the public on 23 December 1996. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
Its collection includes paintings, sculptures, graphics and photographs, with particular emphasis on artists associated with the Progressive Artists’ Group, including:
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S.H. Raza
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V.S. Gaitonde
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F.N. Souza
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Akbar Padamsee
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Ram Kumar
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and other important modern Indian artists. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
“NGMA Mumbai wasn’t built as an art gallery. The present museum occupies the former Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall, a 1911 George Wittet-designed auditorium that once hosted concerts, political meetings and cultural events. After decades of decline, its historic facade was preserved while architect Romi Khosla inserted a completely new gallery structure inside it.” (National Gallery of Modern Art)
Don’t miss
If you’re visiting, look specifically for:
Central staircase & curved galleries
Original historic facade
Progressive Artists’ Group works
Modern Indian art collection
The auditorium’s transformation from a public hall into a museum
Current official visitor information: NGMA Mumbai lists Tuesday–Sunday, 10 AM–6 PM, closed Mondays and national holidays; Indian adult entry is listed as ₹20, while students/children up to Class 12 with ID are free. (National Gallery of Modern Art)
