On some mornings, the drive out of Mumbai begins with glass towers, flyovers and the low-grade impatience of traffic before letting loose into the long, engineered sweep of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. It is a road with tunnels and bridges, banking turns and sudden slopes, which cuts through the basalt layers of the Western Ghats.
As the climb towards Khandala begins, the mood changes. The Bhor Ghat section – historically an important rail and trade route – remains one of the most dramatic stretches of the route. During the monsoon months, waterfalls flow down the cliffs; Fog comes without any warning. Travel is efficient by design, but the landscape refuses to remain neutral. You move from whirlwind to whirlwind to a certain suspended peace.
One of the entrances to the chapel. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
It is within that peace where AB 301 now stands.
The chapel, named after the area’s postal code, predates the expressway by nearly two centuries. Run by the Kotak family since 1973, the nearly 200-year-old black basalt chapel has entered a new chapter under Kamini Kotak and architect Adil Dholakia of Five Crosses Architects, who led its recent restoration.
The property was acquired by the late Bhagwanbhai Kotak, the patriarch of the family, who inherited the former Anglican chapel when its congregation dwindled in the post-independence years and the building was closed and locked. With deep roots in the Sahyadris, the family already considered the region their home. Attracted by the grandeur of the chapel, Bhagwanbhai persuaded the church to sell it, having initially envisioned it as a library for his personal collection.
What began as a private act of conservation has evolved into a broader gesture of cultural reform.
“Abbey 301 began with a simple question: What would it mean to restore a historic structure not as an object of nostalgia, but as a living space for listening and exchange?” Kamini says. “The founding idea was never scale but depth.”
A musical act in performance Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Conversation with Kausar Munir – Poet of our times. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
building a legacy
The depth in this matter is as much philosophical as it is architectural. Churches were built for congregational meditation. The nave is, at heart, a long room calibrated for listening. Vaulted ceilings and reflective surfaces transmit sound so effortlessly that modern halls often attempt to simulate it electronically. The chapel’s stone masonry, timber roof-truss structure and generous volume were considered non-negotiable during the restoration.
Adil describes a conservation approach guided by minimal intervention and reversibility. The biggest concern was over the roof, where prolonged exposure to moisture had weakened the wood joints and allowed water to seep in. “Each truss was individually documented and assessed; wherever possible, the original members were retained and strengthened through consolidation and splicing. Only elements beyond recovery were replaced with matching sections. Roof slope was corrected, drainage was addressed, and interior spatial character was retained. The objective was structural longevity without erasing the building’s accumulated sound,” he says.
Modern systems were carefully inserted and services were laid underground throughout the site. The weathered wooden surfaces of the chapel already offered acoustic richness, so heavy treatment was avoided.
Safala Shroff, chair of AB 301’s steering committee, says, “The chapel environment is not decorative; it shapes behavior.” “Technically, this means prioritizing acoustic performance over excessive amplification, subtle lighting over dramatic rigging, and reversible occupant modular intervention. Contemporary performance does not require dominance of space – it requires clarity.”
Creative director, Pushan Kripalani, talks about the building almost as a colleague. “The space lends itself to intimate ceremonies from one human heart to another. We have no neutral space like a traditional theater lobby or lobby, so the experience begins immediately. Other spaces try to tear down the metaphorical fourth wall. We simply decided not to create one.”
That absence – no buffer, no proscenium distance – shapes the programming. The chapel seats only 100. Can’t stand this spectacle; It depends on attendance.
The opening weekend in late January reflected that sensibility. It began with Kausar Munir’s reflections and poetry, interspersed with Shanaya Rafat’s readings, before moving into Nikhil D’Souza’s acoustic textures. This was followed by jazz performances with the Sanjay Divecha Trio and the weekend concluded with morning ragas on flute by Rakesh Chaurasia. In a room with only 100 listeners, every change in tone is clearly registered.
Sanjay Divecha Trio Live at Abbey 301
Of course, feasibility depends on geography. Khandala is about 80 kilometers from Mumbai – close enough for a weekend drive, far enough to prevent a casual appearance. There is regular traffic throughout the year on the Mumbai-Pune corridor, yet the ferries impose seasonal moods: monsoon fog, holiday crowds, the occasional advisory of landslides. Abe can’t rely on 301 walk-ins, but he must develop intent.
“We’ve just started. It’s a slow process,” Pushan says of the curatorial vision. Outreach and collaboration is underway and residencies have been envisioned. “Abbey 301 is a place where people can develop new ideas, entertain audiences, and bring the historical and the contemporary to co-exist across time. Our goal is to be by and for the community.”
This ambition extends beyond ticketed evenings. The venue’s outreach initiative, Setu, is already active in local schools. “It goes beyond arts instruction to strengthen language skills, confidence and empathy through drum therapy and spoken word,” says steering committee member Kate Currawala. The objective of the program is to identify and support resource persons from the area to conduct workshops in schools and the wider community, thereby creating artistic engagement as well as employment.
Sanjay Divecha Trio
A restored chapel in a hill station can easily become picturesque – another backdrop for a cosmopolitan holiday. The difficult task is to integrate it into the rhythm of the field. Using Abbey 301 is somewhere between pilgrimage and participation: a place worth driving to, and a place worth standing by.
For upcoming shows and ticket details, visit www.abbey301.org
published – February 27, 2026 05:13 PM IST