WhereCity.com - Articles - The Town Hall

Amidst the various heritage monuments that dot the cityscape of south Mumbai,The Town Hall is perhaps the most royal and elegant. Its magnificent façade is awe inspiring and finds place in almost all tourist destination travel planners and Mumbai promotional brochures. Hardly anybody misses the pristine whiteness and imposing elevation of the building, with numerous stairs leading to it, in popular ‘Bollywood’ movies.

The building is neo-classical in architectural classification and is heavily influenced by Greek and Roman styles. Colonel Thomas Cowper of the Bombay Engineers is said to have designed it keeping in mind the ultimate purpose of the building. The building was required to house not only the civic offices but also a library and a museum. Colonel Cowper, however, did not live long enough to see his design evolve into a fine architectural piece in 1833.

The building that took 10 years and about 500,000 pounds to complete is at least 200 feet long and 100 feet deep. It is located in the prime Fort area of South Mumbai overlooking the Horniman Circle Gardens and the Reserve Bank of India. The Grecian portico with eight Doric columns forms the façade. A flight of 30 steps leading up to the building completes the royal look of this heritage monument. The Regency staircase in the building is divided by wrought iron and leads to the vestibule. The Durbar Hall personifies the majestic past of India as it was, while the easy chairs in the Periodical Rooms complete with matching footstools provide an unparalleled reading experience fit for the rich and the royal. Read more...

WhereCity.com - Articles - Horniman Circle Gardens

Located in the Fort district of Mumbai, Horniman Circle Gardens is surrounded by office complexes that house some of the country’s premier banks. According to initial plans of the city’s planners, the garden was never meant to be there. It was merely a circle of stately buildings including Town Hall housing the Asiatic Library and the Central Library. Bank of Bombay (State Bank of India) was the first occupant of the first building erected in the Circle. Other buildings in the circle were completed by 1873.

The empty space was developed into the present day garden, due to the efforts of police commissioner Charles Forjett, Lord Elphinstone and Sir Bartle Frère. Trees were planted, walkways were laid out and the empty place was converted into a beautiful garden.

The garden was named after the then Governor, Lord Elphinstone and called Elphinstone Circle. Post independence, the garden saw its name change to Horniman Circle after Benjamin Horniman, an English journalist who was a leading advocate of Indian self-determination at the Deccan Chronicle. Read more...

WhereCity.com - Articles - Nipponzan Myohoji Temple

A few paces away from City Bakery, the Nipponzan Myohoji temple has an aura of serenity that is distinct from the heat, colour and aroma of a classic Hindu temple. Interestingly, the roof is architecturally similar to the shikaras or pyramidal roofs of Indian temples. The coolness of the marbled interiors complements the warmth of the sepia-coloured stone façade and endows the temple with a feeling of in-utero tranquility, akin to some of the classic marble Jain temples. Read more...

WhereCity.com - Articles - Hornbill House

Hornbill House was built by the Prince of Wales Museum with a grant of Rs. 3.34 lakhs from the Ministry of Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs, Government of India, for the exclusive use of the BNHS. The edifice reached completion in 1965. Named after theGreat Indian Hornbill, the idea was suggested in 1938 by the (then) Honorary Secretary. The objective was to make the magazine Journal more attractive on the tables of libraries and clubs by inscribing a coloured illustration on the cover. The Great Indian Hornbill was invariably associated with the Society and so was contentedly exalted to the status of a mascot. Read more...

Makar Sankranti Feast

‘til gud ghya ani goad goad bola’

 

You can hear this Marathi greeting echoing all over the city during the festival ofMakar Sankranti. For those who don't know it means, 'have til (sesame seeds) and gud (jaggery) and talk sweet'. 

 

Makar Sankranti is celebrated on 14th January to mark the end of winter season. 'Makar' means 'Capricorn' and 'Sankranti' means the day when the sun passes from one month to another as per the Hindu calendar. It’s also a celebration of harvest and the beginning of Uttaraayan (the period when sun moves towards north from the centre of the sky). 

 

The festival is celebrated as Lohri in Punjab, Khichdi in Uttar Pradesh,Pongal in Tamil Nadu and Bhogali Bihu in Assam. In Gujarat there is a huge kite flying festival on this day.

 

Like every other festival in India, Makar Sankranti is replete with some traditional recipes. Read more...

Castella de Aguada - The Bandra Fort

Castella de Aguada or Bandra Fort as it is commonly known is one of the many forts that dot the city of Mumbai. It is located at Land's End in Bandra at an altitude of 24 meters (79 feet). And like the others, this fort too has a history that it is proud of. Even today it is a visitor’s delight offering something to everybody: a muse for the shutterbugs, a sea-view into nothingness for solace seekers, a lesson in history for enthusiasts and an amphitheatre for those seeking entertainment.

 

But the history first... 

 

The Portuguese defeated Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1534 and established a base in the area. They built several sea forts along the western Indian coastline including Castella de Aguada. Read more...

Chai & Bun Maska in Old Bombay

  

Kala Ghoda has been the cultural and literary epicentre of Mumbai since time immemorial. The presence of the Jehangir Art Gallery, David Sassoon Library, National Gallery of Modern Art, Elphinstone College, Max Mueller Bhavan and the historic Regal Cinema ensured that Kala Ghoda ceaselessly buzzed with intellectual repartees. It also ushered in the birth of cafés which blossomed in and around the periphery of Kala Ghoda and the Flora Fountain. These were the shelters of choice for poets, writers, philosophers and even freedom fighters. Bubbling with debates and solutions to life’s dilemmas, these cafés were also zones for recreation, where brilliant ideas were born over a cup of masala chai or bun maska or even some delicious kheema pav. Customers who would spend hours together without continually ordering would be seen instead as patrons.

• Wayside Inn: As luck would have it, the Wayside Inn was located exactly at the centre of Kala Ghoda. This ensured its patronage by eminent figures including Dr. Ambedkar, J.R.D. Tata and even Mohammad Ali Jinnah. From the more recent times, Poet Arun Kolatkar and actor Amol Palekar could be seen sipping and dunking here. Today the Wayside Inn has reinvented itself to keep up with the times and is now called Silk Route and specialises in Southeast Asian Food. What remains is a tiny stall selling little munchies like rolls, pattices and cold drinks.

  

• Café Britannia: Established in 1923, Britannia was frequented by authors, activists, scholars and ambassadors like Nani Palkhivala, Minoo Masani and Pramila Dandavate. However it was the berry pulao, made from specially ordered Iranian berries that drew the rich and poor, the famous and infamous to Café Britannia. Running strong today, the café has still managed to preserve its taste and its dignity.

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Mazgaon, Girgaum, what's the difference?

Know your neighbourhood names

Living in Mumbai, you might have wondered about the origins of names of neighbourhoods. Listed below are some of them, researched from must-read books like City of Gold by Gillian Tindall and Anchoring a City Line by Rahul Mehrotra and Sharada Dwivedi.

The list below is incomplete and to be continued…

Mazagaon
The name is derived from
- Maza Gaon – which means ‘my village’ in Marathi
- Maccha Grama – meaning ‘fishing village’
Mazagaon was an ancient Portuguese township which now houses the Sales Tax office as well as the Mathapacady village, a heritage ‘quartier’ with quaint houses struggling to survive beside the huge, ugly skyscrapers in the neighbourhood. Mazagaon was one of the original seven islands that Mumbai comprised of.
It is very close to the Dockyard Road railway station.

Umarkhadi
This name was derived from the fig trees which must have been growing in abundance in the creek.
Umbar (a fruit from the fig family) and khadi (creek).
This neighbourhood is near Dongri.

Chinchpokli
This locality was named........


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A look at: The Afghan Church Colaba Mumbai

Mumbai's oldest church! In the quieter lanes of Mumbai, just a kilometre before the southern most part of the city, a quiet, unassuming yet dignified structure stands in all its magnificence, peeping from behind a curtain of greens – St. John the Evangelist. The church is more popularly called The Afghan Church and is one of the oldest churches in Mumbai. This quintessential symbol of English architecture, with wide Gothic arches and beautiful stained glass windows, is actually a memorial to commemorate the death of officers and private soldiers in the first Afghan War in 1838. The bloodbath in the war spared just one soldier amongst the 1600 men who were sent to fight the war. The church had its humble beginnings as a small thatched chapel close to ‘Sick Bungalows’ where the Indian Naval Hospital ‘INS Ashwini’ now stands. The infrastructure was so basic that patrons actually had to bring their own chairs for mass and other gatherings! Later, the church was given land at its current location by the British government. After construction, the church was duly consecrated on January 7, 1858, by Bishop Harding. It may be interesting to note that the only condition imposed by the British government on the architects was that the spire of the church should be so high that it could be seen by all ships coming into the Bombay Harbour Read More.

A look at: Babulnath Temple Mumbai

Mumbai is a city that has been blessed by the presence of a large number of temples of historic significance. Of these, Babulnath Temple is perhaps one of the most venerated temples of the city. Its convenient location at the end of Marine Drive, just a little south of Malabar Hill, makes it an easy and a very tranquil stopover for the rushed life of the inhabitants of the city. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The name Babulnath means ‘Lord of the Babul Tree’, as Lord Shiva is also sometimes referred to as. The babul tree belongs to the Acacia family of plants. It is a thorny tree commonly found in low lying areas and is also known as ‘Kikar’ in several parts of the country. Though the tree grows in the wild, its components find use in several Ayurvedic medicines. The temple is thought to have been built around 1780 by Raja Bhimdev. Though the king’s antecedents are somewhat vague, some say he might have belonged to the dynasty of Yadavs in Deogiri. His capital was Mahikawati (Mahim for Mumbaiites) and his palace and a court of justice was in Prabhadevi. Read More.

A look at: The Bombay Municipal Corporation Building CST Mumbai

The Bombay Municipal Corporation building is another fine example of the British Raj buildings that came into being in 19th century Mumbai. Constructed in 1893, the 255 feet tall Gothic architectural marvel became yet another landmark of ‘Governor Frere’s high Victorian dream’ Town. The building also stands testimony of the importance the English gave to constructing new buildings and civic amenities, in a planned manner. The orders for the construction of the BMC building came soon after the successful completion of the Victoria Terminus station. The Municipal Authority was promoted to the corporation status for its exemplary work, and the building was a just reward to celebrate the same. Though this was a well deserved pat on the authority’s shoulders, a lot of things went back and forth before the building could actually see the first spade go into the earth. Changes in architects, architectural styles and the site for the building itself underwent a change, causing the project to be delayed.

The first architect to design the BMC building was R. F. Chisholm, whose design conformed to the Indo-Saracenic architectural style. The form perhaps did not match the preferences of the decision makers. And F. W. Stevens was awarded the project. (Stevens was one of the most acclaimed architects of that time, who also had to his credit the design of the Victoria Terminus station).

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An Intellectual Flashback

It is difficult to imagine Mumbai, a city with stardust sprinkled all over it, as having had a thriving intellectual life. But a brief look at the past reveals that the city once had a dynamic cerebral milieu. Especially the years between 1822-1857.

Angry Young Men: Young intellectuals of Colonial Bombay

Though the European hand in the development of Bombay’s intellectual life cannot be denied, education truly impacted society, thanks to the efforts made by some indigenous intellectuals like Sadashiv Kashinath Chattre, who was the native secretary of the Bombay Native School Book and School Society. He encouraged numerous Hindu students to join the society’s school. Among them were Balshastri Jambhekar and Bahu Mahajan, who later became leaders in the social and intellectual life of Bombay.

The establishment of Wilson College in 1832 by Reverend John Wilson also contributed to the formation of a group of youngsters with a corporate identity. Called the “Young Bombay”, they had read the works of philosophers of the French Revolution and questioned the validity of the British rule as ‘Divine Providence.’

The vernacular press prospered. In 1822, The Bombay Samachar, a Gujarati weekly was started by two Marathi brothers, Janardhan Vasudev and Vinayak Vasudevji. Bal Shastri Jambhekar started the first Anglo-Marathi newspaper, the Bombay Durpan, in 1832, aiming at free public discussion of relevant matters.

Read More.

Histroy of Mumbai

With so much fuss going on about the city's name, how much do you really know about how Mumbai came to be?

Do you know about the story that led to the formation of the Bombay and subsequently to Mumbai?

Was it a dreamland before the English arrived?

The reasons behind Mumbai being India's cultural melting pot since time immemorial.

A Brief History Of Mumbai

..........It is little surprising that the name of the city has also undergone several changes. The Arabs called it 'Al Omanis' and the Portuguese called it 'Bom Bahia' meaning 'Good Bay', as the islands provided an excellent and deep harbour enabling great trade. The English however shortened the name to a much convenient ‘Bombay’. This name stuck to the city for a long time...........

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