our great mumbai

8/14/2019 Our Great Mumbai

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AAMCHI MUMBAI

a Mumbaikars heart-throb


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This presentation is simply a compilation of information gathered from

various sources (books, internet). We are not the authors of any pieceof information & due credit goes to all those who did research & madethis information available for mankind.

The images used in this presentation are also downloaded from varioussites on the internet & due credit goes to the respective creators of

these images.

Disclaimer


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The Origin of Mumbai Made up of seven isles: Kolbhat

(Colaba), Palva Bunder (renamed byBritish as Apollo Bunder), Mazgaon(derived from Sanskrit word MatsyaGram fishing village, Parel, Mahim,Worli, Chhota Kolbhat (little Colaba).The bigger island in the North ofMumbai islands was Sashti (renamedby Portuguese as Salsette), alsoconstituted of seven other smallerislands. And the other island to theEast was Turbhe (called as Trombayby Portuguese)

Deep-sea fishermen called the Kolisand salt makers called the Aagriswere the chief inhabitants

The name Mumbai was derived fromthe form of Maha Amba (GreatMother) Mumbadevi, worshipped bythe Kolis

The Mumbadevi temple was builtoriginally by a Koli in 14th centuryatop Dongri hill. The templemiraculously escaped destructionduring the Muslim & Portugueserules. But British demolished it in 18 thcentury. It was rebuilt at Pydhonieby a goldsmith, Pandurang Shivaji

Sonar

A Kolinselling fish

Mumbadevi Mandir


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Ancient Period

Artifacts found near Kandivali shows

evidence of human civilisation since 250

BC

300 BC: Maurya Empire (Kanheri caves,

Mahakali Caves, Mandapeshwar caves).

Kanheri is derived from the word

Krishnagiri (means black mountain in

Sanskrit). The present Sanjay Gandhi

National Park also existing in this era &

was earlier called Krishnagiri National

Park

185 BC: Satvahanas of Telgu region

ruled the islands along with Konkan coast 1st century : Satvahana, then Shaka era

AD 415, Traikutaka, Kalachuri dynasty

(coins of the Kalachuri king Krishnaraja

were found in the village Kavel present

day Kalbadevi road) build the Jogeshwari

caves dedicated to Lord Shiva

6th 7th century: Chalukya dynasty (king

Pulakeshin) established their capital onGharapuri island

9th - 12th century : Shilahara era

(Elephanta caves, Walkeshwar temple,

Banganga Tank, Ambarnath temple). The

Walkeshwar temple was destroyed by the

Portuguese & rebuilt by Rama Kamath in

1715Mahakali Caves (300 BC), Andheri

Jogeshwari Caves

Gharapuri Caves (called asElephanta by Portuguese) (900 AD)


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Medieval Period 13th century: When Devgiri was besieged by the

invader Allaudin-Khilji, Raja Bhimdev the son ofRamdev (the Yadav king of Devgiri), established hiscapital Mahikawati on isle of Mahim. Raja Bhimdev& his son Pratap Bimb transformed the island into acity of temples & settlements flourishing withplantations, fishing hamlets & vegetal cover, groves& woods, during the 13th century.

15th century: Mohemmedan invader Mubarak Shahdestroyed many temples & cities after defeatingRaja Nagardev in a battle at Byculla and thusconquered Mumbai. The Haji Ali tomb & the Mahimmosque were built around this time

16th century : Portuguese defeated theMuhameddans in a battle near the Bandra creek.They imposed their feudal system on the natives,demolished temples & built churches in their place.The temple of Walkeshwar & Mahalakshmi werecast down.

In 1661, during the marriage treaty of InfantaCatherine of Portugal with Charles II of Britain,Portugal handed over the islands of Mumbai toBritain as dowry, but retained Sashti islands

In the year 1668, the English East India Companytook over the command of these money-mintingislands under a lease agreement of 10 Pounds perannum

In 1737 Sashti was captured from the Portugueseby the native Marathas, but finally lost it to theBritish in 1774, and was formally ceded to the East

India Company in the 1782 Treaty of Salbai

View of the ghat, Banganga tank & ancient temple of Walkeshwar


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Major Settlements of Mumbai

During the Shilahar era (800-1000AD) GharaPuri (present day Elephanta) was the capital and flourishingtrade center was established in sashti island

During Raja Bhimdevs reign the main inhabitants were various Maharashtrian castes viz. Palshis,

Pachkalshis, Kunbis, Bhandaris, Vadvals, Bhois, Agris, Pathare Prabhus and Brahmins. The Bhandaris wereoriginally toddy trappers; the Vadvals were gardeners The Portuguese had the primary goal of proselytizing rather than development of mumbai. They carried

conversion in the area of Caval, Chaul, Bassein & Thane, thus introducing Christianity in this region. The Hindus (primarily konkanis) who did not succumb to the oppressions for conversions, migrated to other

parts of Mumbai & thus Konkanis became a part of the oldest inhabitants of Mumbai. During the 17th century, Parsis were one of the earliest immigrants to move to Mumbai. The Parsi

community has contributed significantly to the development of the nation. Famous Parsis are Dadabhai

Naoroji, Jemshetji Tata, Ratan Tata. The printing press was introducted to Mumbai by Bhimji Parikh, aParsi trader in 1670

In 1757, Kamathis, construction workers from Andhra Pradesh arrived here and set up base. The regionwas the low-lying area near present day Mahalaxmi. The region became known as Kamathipura.

Around the same time, many Gujrathis, Kathiawaris, Kutchis & marwaris arrived to mumbai to oversomedroughts & famine in their homeland. These communities spearheaded the development of commerce &trade in the city

Almost all settlements were largely along the religious lines. For e.g. locality of pydhonie physicallysperated Hindu & Muslim settlements The Sindhis who were a resident of the state of Sindh, lost their homes during the partition since and

took shelter in Mumbai & settled in Sindhunagar (Ulhasnagar) & contributed to the progress of trade &commerce.


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Greater Mumbai Reclaimed from the Sea In 1782 William Hornby, then Governor of

Bombay Presidency, initiated the HornbyVellard project of connecting the isles,despite resistance from East India Company.By 1845 the seven southern islands had beenconnected to form Old Mumbai, with an areaof 435 sq.km. Railway viaducts and roadbridges were built in the 19th century toconnect Mumbai island to Sashti, and Sashtito the mainland. The old railway bridges overthe Bhayandar & Naigaon creeks can still beseen from the Virar locals. The channelsseparating Mumbai and Turbhe islands from

Sashti Island were filled in the early 20thcentury.

The present day area from Bandra to Dahisarare a part of Sashti island. The ancientKanheri caves, Jogeshwari caves, Mahakalicaves fall in this region

(right): Mumbai after reclamation

(left): Fort area after reclamationFact: It took 60 yrs (1784-1845) to merge the 7 islands ofMumbai into one landmass


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British Raj (17001947 AD)

Below: Rajabai Towre underconstruction:Mumbai University Building &Rajabhai tower, standing 260 fttall and endowed with amazingsculptures, it was financed byCotton entrepreneur and banker

Premchand Roychand in the late19th century

Right: Mahalakshmi mandir

As per the legend, 1784, when the Hornby Project kept failing to fill thebreach at worli, the chief engineer, a Pathare Prabhu, dreamt of Goddess

Lakshmi in the sea near Worli. He searched the waters & actually found anidol of the Goddess & built the Mahalakshmi temple in the sea. Only then did

the Hornby Project work resumed without failures

Marine Drive, 1930


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Some Old MemoriesCarnac Road, now renamed as Tilak Marg notice the

Crawford market in the back groundKalbadevi Road

Oval Maiden, check the Rajabai Tower in the backgrond


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Some Old Memories

View from Malabar hill

Queens Road Church gate station with Marine drive in the

background

Bullock cart on Mumbai streets


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Mumbai and Indian Independence Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 in a hall

overlooking the Gowalia Tank Maidan In the historical trial of Bal Gangadhar Tilak under the

Bombay High Court (for charges of sedition put forth by

british), Tilak spoke out to the world as to what was inthe minds of the Indian people - Swaraj (independence)

is my birthright and I shall have it. This statement

aroused a sleeping nation to action making them aware

of their political plight under foreign rule Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, arrived in Bombay in

1915 after giving a spirited fight against inhuman

apartheid in South Africa and thus the concept of

Swadeshi, Ahimsa & Satyagraha were introduced

in India In 1921 (after the death of Tilak) Mumbais citizens

contributed over Rs. 1 crore to Tilak Swaraj Fund

which gave a immense boost to entire freedom struggle The Quit India Movement took off from Mumbai on

August 7, 1942 by the Congress Party in a public

meeting at Gowalia Tank Maidan (now renamed August

Kranti maidan). The Mumbai Mutiny of 18th Feb 1946 marked the first

and most serious revolt by the Indian military personnelof the Western naval fleet against the British rule. From

the initial flashpoint in Mumbai, the mutiny spread and

found support through India, from Karachi to Calcutta

and ultimately came to involve 78 ships, 20 shore

establishments and 20,000 sailors. This is was the last

straw that broke the camels back and forced the

mighty British empire to finally announce Indias

independenceLokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak,

Freedom Fighter, Editor, Social

Reformer

Gowalia Tank (The tank has

been buried and a ground created

over it)

First Indian National Congress, 1885


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Interesting Nomenclature (origins)

Elephanta island original name was Gharapuri (or Puri, place of caves), whichwas called by Portuguese as Elephanta after seeing a monolithic basalt sculpture

of an elephant at the entrance. The britishers made a failed attempt to movetake the elephant to British museum (fortunately their crane broke down andthe elephant today sits just outside the buyculla zoo)

Dhobi Talao washermans pond until 17th century, its been buried since then Parel derived from the Parali Vaijanath Mahadev temple of the 13th century

dedicated to Shiva. The Portuguuese demolished this & built a Jesuit church &convent in its place

Elphinstone circle original name Amliagal (meaning - in front of tamarind tree,even today a Tamarind land exists)

Chinch Bunder (south of Dongri near the shore) chinch means tamarind inMarathi

Bhendi Bazar derived from a bhendi plantation Umerkhadi derived from a couple of umbar (Ficus Glomerata) trees which

existed along the shore of the khadi (creek in Marathi) On the shores of Umerkhadi was a hamlet Pydhonie (which means foot-wash in

Marathi)A comparatively narrow belt of land to the hills were thickly grown with plantations: Phanaswadi phanas (jackfruit in Marathi) plantations Kelewadi plantain (banana) groves in Marathi Khetwadi khet means farm in Marathi Khotachiwadi meaning Khots place. It was founded by a local named Khot who

leased plots to east indians Girgaum gir (mountain in Sanskrit), gaum (village) village at the foot of

mountain (Malabar hill). Nearby was the shrine of Gav-devi (the deity of thevillage).

Adjoining Phanaswadi is Cavel (derived from Koli name Kolwar) is located to thenorth-east of Dhobitalao near the Chira Bazaar area. from the Koli name Kolwar.The Kolis of this village were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese in the16th century. Cavel thus became a Christian enclave

Bori Bunder bori means sacks in Marathi, bunder is port. Port where sacks areoffloaded & stored

The entrance to the Gharapuri Caves (Elephanta) in ancientdays

Old Mumbai

Some of the earlier most inhabitants were Kolis (whose major occupation was fishing), Agris (salt-makers), Bhandaris (whowere toddy trappers), Vadvals or Malis (were gardeners). Thus there were a variety plantations on the islands which gavename to quite a few places in mumbai.


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Interesting Nomenclature (origins)

Up the Malabr hill was a plantation of babul trees which lend the name to famous Babulnath temple. The Worli creek to the north of this island was called Kshirsagar & the khind in the hills got denigrated to Breach

Candy. There were tad (brab) palms below the hills which gave the name to Taddeo (Tardeo) Byculla derived from Bhaya (Cassia fistula) & khala means at ground level At extreme south of Parel island was a tamarind covered valley, hence the name Chinchpokli Parel pronounced as Paral, derived from the Parali Vaijanath Mahadev temple built by the Brahmins of the 13th century

dedicated to Shiva. The Portuguese demolished this & built a Jesuit church & convent in its place North of Parel was the boat hamlet Naigaon derived from Nyaya-gaon (nyay means justice), which was the court of

justice in the days of Raja Bhimdev. Further north were rows of banyan trees, which gave the name Vadala (vad means banyan in marathi Bamnoli (between Vadala & Parel) derived from Baman-aali (baman is Brahman & aali means row) which was a Brahmin

settlement The name of the 7th island was also derived from the rows of banyan (vad) as Vad-ali (aali means row) or Varali (Worli)

The northern most main island (present day Bandra-to-Bhayandar) was called Sashti (which means 66), since itcomprised of group of 66 villages. It was called as Salsette by Portuguese Thane derived from Sthan or Sthanaka, capital of Shilaharas. Slabs & copper plates of this era were discovered in

Thane Mazgaon derived from Machchagram (machcha fish, gram-village) Bhuleshwar named after the temple of Shiva (Bholenath) Trombay original name Turbhe. Trombay given by Portuguese Pydhonie feet-wash in Marathi indicating that this was once a creek. This was one of the first piece of land to be

reclaimed from the sea Khar (salty in Marathi) for its vicinity to the sea near Khar Danda Dharavi derived from daar (which means the door of the island) Khumbarwada kumbhar means potter. Potters from Saurashtra lived here Sewri derived from Sivawadi Versova original name Vesaave which was a koli hamlet Bandra original name Vandre (which means Bunder or port) Santa-cruz named by Portuguese. Local name Shantinagar Goregaon is named after the Gore family who lived there since ages


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Geography & Topology of Greater Mumbai

Greater Mumbai (satellite image)

Mumbai peninsula is 2 meters above sea-level

the area of Greater Mumbai is 603 km2,

comprising Bombay City 157 km2 andSuburbs 446 km2. Greater Mumbaidistrict (smallest in Maharashtra) &covers an area of 437.71 sq. km. thatconstitutes 0.14 per cent of total areaof Maharashtra

Greater Mumbai comprises the Mumbai,

South Sashti and Turbhe Islands, The entire Greater Mumbai is made of

Deccan basalt flows & their acid & basicvariants and also some fossiliferoussediments mainly of tufaceous & partlyof fresh water origins rich in fauna

Almost 50% of the city area and 23% of

the suburban area has been reclaimedfrom below sea-level by infilling, &pushing the sea outward through dyke-walls like those of the Back Bayreclamation

Mumbai lies over more than 10 seismic fault lines. Thecoastal plain to the east of Mumbai is prone to earthquakes

of even higher intensity, upto 7.5 on the Richter scale.


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Mumbais Harbours

Kanheri Caves (300 BC), Borivali

The Harbour Bay is studded from south to north with manyislands: Kansa or Gull islet (easter side) Karanja islan, Cross or Gibbet island, (situated opposite the Victoria Dock) Butcher island Elephanta island Oyster Rock Hog island (1km east of Elephanta), Henery and Kenery.

Ferry Wharf is a wharf along the Thane Creek, along the coastof Dockyard Road on the Eastern seafront of Mumbai. Thewharf serves as the port for numerous fishermen who bring intheir daily catch. Ferry services link up JNPT, Uran to the west,and Rewas and Mandwa to the south

Right centre: Mumbais Harbours in present daysRight below: Oyester rock in the background

Apollo Bunder (area before

Gateway of India was erected)


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Creeks, Marshes, Tidal Swaps, Lakes, Hills

The central horse shoe valley in the hills used to be drainedsouth by the Mahim river in the past. This river has beendammed in its upper reaches, so mruch so this valley today

accommodates three small fresh water lakes, the Tulsi, theVihar and the Powai, one below the other, that supply the citywith 3 per cent of its domestic and other needs of water supply.Below Powai, the river today is mostly a storm drain and a gutterof sewerage, blocked off by the construction of the Santacruzairpoit at its Kurla end. The lower reaches is a shallow, fastlysilting up drain of industrial wastes emptying into the Mahim Bay.The Kanheri hill complex has a radial drainage system, withnumerous rain torrents washing down its slopes in all directions.The largest of them is the Dahisar river that rises on the

southern flanks of the Kanheri hills, and drains west to join theMarve creek; this river, however, has been blocked to form theDahisar project, to augment the water supply to the city to asmall extent.

Juhu, Varsova, and Marve, are sand bars pushed inland by thesea, and resting on knolls, Dharavi andRai Murdhe. Today they form together a single land mass, offthe Ulhas mouth.

Surrounding the central hilly region, are extensive lowlying plains,

that are reclaimed tidal marshes and flats just above tidal levels.

They are widest to the west and south of the central hilly region, and

narrowest to the north. In the east, along the Thane creek, sizable

stretches of tidal swaps and salt pan areas, especially around

Bhandup, still survive

Harbour in monsoon

.

Powai lake

Tulsi lake


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Mumbai saw its first bus run on 15 July 1926 between AfganChurch and Crawford Market. Double deck buses were introducedin 1937 in order to cope better with the growing traffic. BEST isnow The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking.

The Bombay Tramway Company Limited was set up in 1873. The tram-cars were of two kindsthose drawn by one horse and those drawnby two. In 1905, The Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways CompanyLimited started the first electrically operated tram-car appeared on

Mumbais roads in 1907. The passing years aggravated the problem ofrush-hour traffic and to ease the situation, double decker tramswere introduced in September, 1920.Dadar TT is Dadar Tram Terminus

Its first train, the first in thecountry, ran from Mumbai to Thane on16th April 1853. In 1865, the railwaywent over the Borghat. By 1870Calcutta and Madras had been linkedwith Mumbai by rail. The BombayBaroda and Central India Railway(BBCI) was started in 1855.

The first motor car appeared onMumbai roads in 1901.

Mumbai Suburban Railway is the oldest in Asia established in 1847,then known as The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company (G.I.P.,for short) was established in 1849.

Early Trams

Left: a gas street lamp.

Old Churchgate Rlwy Station

Old Mumbais Transport System

Top: BEST first bus


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Mumbai and Civil Aviation

It all began on October 15, 1932. It was on this

day that J.R.D. Tata, the father of Civil Aviation

in India and founder of Air India, took off fromDrigh Road Airport, Karachi, in a tiny, light

single-engined de Havilland Puss Moth on his

flight to Bombay via Ahmedabad.

He landed with his precious load of mail on a

grass strip at Juhu.


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Pioneers of Mumbai

Jamshetji Tata the first pioneer

entrepreneur who strived foreconomic independence of India

during the British rule. He startedan industrial revolution for

swadeshi manufacturing of iron,steel, textile, electrical power

generation. The Tata brand is histribute to the nation

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade,Social ReformerFounder member of Prarthana Samajin Mumbai which engaged in a

campaign of reformation withoutalienating the more orthodoxelements of the society

Dadabhai Naoroji, FreedomFighter & Founder of the Indian

Nation Congress in Mumbai

Madame Bhikaji CamaShe raised the First Flag of Indian

Independence at a Socialist Conferncein Germany & was very active in the

Indian freedom struggle

Dr. Homi Bhabha, pioneer of nuclear science,founder of the Indian Atomic Energy

programme. While India was striving forindependence, he spearheaded the country in

an advanced field of science & technology.He founded TIFR, which is one of the best

school of physics in the world

Bhau Daji Lad, Educationist, Social Reformer,Sheriff of Mumbai. He was instrumental in

the some of the major reconstruction effortsof the city, since 1857.

Raja Bhimdev became the earliest pioneer of Mumbai in the 13thcentury who established his capital Mahikawati on one of the islescalled Newale or Barad-bet (deserted island, bet in Marathimeans island), present day Mahim. He built his palace & temple ofgoddess Prabhadevi in Naigaon (between Wadala & Parel). Even

today, the same place is called Bhima Rajas wadi. He built a courtof justice in Prabhadevi, as well as the first Babulnath temple,dedicated to Lord Shiva named after the Babul trees which werethe main components of a forest covering the low-lying areas ofthis island. He introduced many fruit-bearing trees, includingcoconut palms to the island

Dadasaheb

Phalke, the father

of Indian Cinema


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Senapati Pandurang Mahadev Bapat, FreedomFighter, Social Reformer

Major figure in the Indian Independencestruggle, which earned him the title Senapati

Dr. C. D. Deshmukhfirst Governor of RBI , Finance

Minister of IndiaHe was member of Board of

Governers of IMF & IBRD. Anactive supporter of Unified

Maharashtra Movement

Acharya Pralhad Keshav Atre(Literaturist, Social worker). An active

member of the Unified MaharastraMovement. Though he was a Brahmin, he

worked for removing the curse ofuntouchability

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Scholar, SocialReformer, Jurist.

He spent his whole life fighting against socialdiscrimination. He was the chief architect of

Indian Constitution

Nana Jagannath Shankarshet,businessman & entrepreneur

He was an Indian philanthropist and educationalist.An active leader in many arenas in Mumbai life. Hefounded many schools, Sanskrit library in Mumbai,

member of Mumbai Education Board

Bharat Ratna Maharshi Keshav Karve,He was the Pioneer of Womens Education &

Upliftment & the right for widows to remarry inIndia. He established the first university for

women in India in 1916, which is currently known asSNDT Women University

These are just a few representational pioneers of Mumbai. There are many more who had ahand in the making of Mumbai as one of the leading cities of Free India


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BEST runs a total of3,408 buses, ferrying4.5 million passengersdaily over 340 routes

Mumbai SuburbanRailwayss operate

on 2 zones: CR &WR carry a total

of 6.3 millionpassengers every

day

Mumbais Life-line


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Mumbai Today Juhu Beach

Siddhivinayakmandir,Prabhadevi

RajabaiTower

Shoe-polishboys

Shivaji Park, Dadar

Mumbais faithful night-watchmen

Hutatma Chowk


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Mumbai Today

Marine Drive

Wankhede Stadium

Taj Hotel, Gateway

Fact: Jamshetji Tata was denied access toWatson Hotel since he was an Indian. Inretaliation, he set up the Taj Hotel

Fact: Nariman Point was named after Khursheed Framji Nariman, aParsi visionary


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Indias Business Capital Stock Exchange,Dalal Street

Haji Ali tomb

Nehru Science Center, Worli

Hanging Garden, Malabar Hill

Central Library

High Court

Dhobi Ghat, Mahalakshmi

Vidhan Bhavan

BMC

Mantralaya

Dadar Flower Market

M b bl


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Mumbai Invincible Clockwise fromright:1) Dahi handi2) Women ridingbikes during GudiPadva parade3) Ganesh Chaturthi

festival

A hi M b ik


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Lata Mangeshkar with Amitabh Bacchan,Balasaheb Thackeray, Sachin Tendulkar

A Dabbawala

Dr. Nitu Mandke,Surgeon

LittleMasterSunil

Gavaskar

Shubha Raul,Mayor

Master Blaster- Sachin Tendulkar

The dutifulBEST busconductor

Aamhi Mumbaikar

Harish KapadiaHimalayanExplorer


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The Mumbaikar Spirit

this is Aamchi MumbaiLanguage Spoken: Mumbaiyya

Staple Food: Vada-pavStaple Drink: Cutting

Fact: Vada-paav was born 35yrs back when Ashok Vaidya a snack

Like a mother whose heart always has space for any number of children, Mumbai has crossed all limits & adjustedherself to accommodate all those who beseeched her

A confluence of many varied cultures of the country a mini India in the true sense Where two natives (Maharashtrians) tend to speak Mumbaiyya with each other, instead of Marathi Which does not rest for a moment even after being hit by worst disasters riots, bomb-blasts, floods, strikes,

accidents, terror-attacks Where there is always scope for adjusting one more commuter continuously even in a jam-packed local, defying the

laws of Mass & Volume Where distance is measured in minutes/hours .. For eg. the distance b/w work-place & home is usually 2hrs Where your driving skill ought to achieve a precision of 0.5mm (bumper-to-bumper) with 0% tolerance, even while

manouvering around a pothole Where you need to be skilled in jumping off/on a bus/train few secs before it stops, if you happen to be in the first

row near the door while alighting/boarding a bus/train Where 8 people can share a 6ftx6ft kholi & can still make space for more Where you dont need a reason to play/talk cricket Where you dont need your own vehicle to commute from one end of the city to another at any time (thanks to the

nearly 24hr coverage of BEST buses, Locals, black-n-yellow metered rides) Where the cheapest, quickest & most exciting shopping of varied items can be done in the train itself

our great mumbai

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