Our Great Mumbai
Transcript of 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