Aamchi mumbai

AAMCHI MUMBAIa Mumbaikar’s heart-throb

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The Origin of Mumbai A Kolin selling fish Made up of seven isles: Kolbhat (Colaba), Palva Bunder (renamed by British as Apollo Bunder), Mazgaon (derived from Sanskrit word Matsya Gram – fishing village, Parel, Mahim, Worli, Chhota Kolbhat (little Colaba). The bigger island in the North of Mumbai islands was Sashti (renamed by Portuguese as Salsette), also constituted of seven other smaller islands. And the other island to the East was Turbhe (called as Trombay by Portuguese) Deep-sea fishermen called the Kolis and salt makers called the Aagris were the chief inhabitants The name Mumbai was derived from the form of Maha Amba (Great Mother) Mumbadevi, worshipped by Mumbadevi Mandir the Kolis The Mumbadevi temple was built originally by a Koli in 14th century atop Dongri hill. The temple miraculously escaped destruction during the Muslim & Portuguese rules. But British demolished it in 18th century. It was rebuilt at Pydhonie by a goldsmith, Pandurang Shivaji Sonar

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 Gharapuri Caves (called as Elephanta by Portuguese) (900 AD) 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 on Gharapuri 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 1715 Mahakali Caves (300 BC), Andheri Jogeshwari Caves

Medieval Period 13th century: When Devgiri was besieged by the invader Allaudin-Khilji, Raja Bhimdev the son of Ramdev (the Yadav king of Devgiri), established his capital Mahikawati on isle of Mahim. Raja Bhimdev & his son Pratap Bimb transformed the island into a city of temples & settlements flourishing with plantations, fishing hamlets & vegetal cover, groves & woods, during the 13th century. 15th century: Mohemmedan invader Mubarak Shah destroyed many temples & cities after defeating Raja Nagardev in a battle at Byculla and thus conquered Mumbai. The Haji Ali tomb & the Mahim mosque were built around this time 16th century : Portuguese defeated the Muhameddans 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 were View of the ghat, Banganga tank & ancient temple of Walkeshwar cast down. In 1661, during the marriage treaty of Infanta Catherine of Portugal with Charles II of Britain, Portugal handed over the islands of Mumbai to Britain as dowry, but retained Sashti islands In the year 1668, the English East India Company took over the command of these money-minting islands under a lease agreement of 10 Pounds per annum In 1737 Sashti was captured from the Portuguese by the native Marathas, but finally lost it to the British in 1774, and was formally ceded to the East India Company in the 1782 Treaty of Salbai

Major Settlements of Mumbai During the Shilahar era (800-1000AD) GharaPuri (present day Elephanta) was the capital and flourishing trade center was established in sashti island During Raja Bhimdev’s reign the main inhabitants were various Maharashtrian castes viz. Palshis, Pachkalshis, Kunbis, Bhandaris, Vadvals, Bhois, Agris, Pathare Prabhus and Brahmins. The Bhandaris were originally 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, a Parsi trader in 1670 In 1757, Kamathis, construction workers from Andhra Pradesh arrived here and set up base. The region was 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 oversome droughts & 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 physically sperated 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.

Greater Mumbai Reclaimed from the Sea In 1782 William Hornby, then Governor of Bombay Presidency, initiated the Hornby Vellard project of connecting the isles, despite resistance from East India Company. By 1845 the seven southern islands had been connected to form Old Mumbai, with an area of 435 sq.km. Railway viaducts and road bridges were built in the 19th century to connect Mumbai island to Sashti, and Sashti to the mainland. The old railway bridges over the Bhayandar & Naigaon creeks can still be seen from the Virar locals. The channels separating Mumbai and Turbhe islands from Sashti Island were filled in the early 20th century. The present day area from Bandra to Dahisar are a part of Sashti island. The ancient Kanheri caves, Jogeshwari caves, Mahakali caves fall in this region (right): Mumbai after reclamation Fact: It took 60 yrs (left): Fort area after reclamation (1784-1845) to merge the 7 islands of Mumbai into one

British Raj (1700–1947 AD) As per the legend, 1784, when the Hornby Project kept failing to fill the breach 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 Right: Mahalakshmi mandir Marine Drive, 1930 Below: Rajabai Towre under construction: Mumbai University Building & Rajabhai tower, standing 260 ft tall and endowed with amazing sculptures, it was financed by Cotton entrepreneur and banker Premchand Roychand in the late 19th century

Some Old Memories Carnac Road, now renamed as Tilak Marg – notice the Kalbadevi Road Crawford market in the back ground Oval Maiden, check the Rajabai Tower in the backgrond

Some Old MemoriesQueens Road Church gate station with Marine drive in the background View from Malabar hill Bullock cart on Mumbai streets

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 in the 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 First Indian National Congress, 1885• In 1921 (after the death of Tilak) Mumbai’s 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 personnel of 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 camel’s back and forced the mighty British empire to finally announce India’s Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gowalia Tank (The tank has independence Freedom Fighter, Editor, Social been buried and a ground created Reformer over it)

Interesting Nomenclature (origins) … Some of the earlier most inhabitants were Kolis (whose major occupation was fishing), Agris (salt-makers), Bhandaris (who were toddy trappers), Vadvals or Malis (were gardeners). Thus there were a variety plantations on the islands which gave name to quite a few places in mumbai. Elephanta island – original name was Gharapuri (or Puri, place of caves), which was called by Portuguese as Elephanta after seeing a monolithic basalt sculpture of an elephant at the entrance. The britishers made a failed attempt to move take the elephant to British museum (fortunately their crane broke down and the elephant today sits just outside the buyculla zoo) Dhobi Talao – washerman’s 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 in Marathi 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 inThe entrance to the Gharapuri Caves (Elephanta) in ancient Marathi) daysA 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 Khot’s 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 the village). Adjoining Phanaswadi is Cavel (derived from Koli name Kolwar) is located to the north-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 the 16th century. Cavel thus became a Christian enclave Bori Bunder – bori means sacks in Marathi, bunder is port. Port where sacks are offloaded & stored Old Mumbai

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 it comprised 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

Geography & Topology of Greater Mumbai Mumbai peninsula is 2 meters above sea- level the area of Greater Mumbai is 603 km2, comprising Bombay City 157 km2 and Suburbs 446 km2. Greater Mumbai district (smallest in Maharashtra) & covers an area of 437.71 sq. km. that constitutes 0.14 per cent of total area of Maharashtra Greater Mumbai comprises the Mumbai, South Sashti and Turbhe Islands, The entire Greater Mumbai is made of Deccan basalt flows & their acid & basic variants and also some fossiliferous sediments mainly of tufaceous & partly of fresh water origins rich in fauna Almost 50% of the city area and 23% of the suburban area has been reclaimed from below sea-level by infilling, & Greater Mumbai (satellite image) pushing the sea outward through dyke- Mumbai lies over more than 10 seismic fault lines. The coastal plain to the east of Mumbai is prone to earthquakes walls like those of the Back Bay of even higher intensity, upto 7.5 on the Richter scale. reclamation

Mumbai’s Harbours Apollo Bunder (area before Gateway of India was erected)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 coast Kanheri Caves (300 BC), Borivaliof 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 thewest, and Rewas and Mandwa to the south Right centre: Mumbai’s Harbours in present days Right below: Oyester rock in the background

Creeks, Marshes, Tidal Swaps, Lakes, HillsThe 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 todayaccommodates three small fresh water lakes, the Tulsi, theVihar and the Powai, one below the other, that supply the city Tulsi lakewith 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, with Powai lakenumerous rain torrents washing down its slopes in all directions.The largest of them is the Dahisar river that rises on thesouthern flanks of the Kanheri hills, and drains west to join the Harbour in monsoonMarve 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, andnarrowest to the north. In the east, along the Thane creek, sizablestretches of tidal swaps and salt pan areas, especially aroundBhandup, still survive

Old Mumbai’s Transport SystemThe Bombay Tramway Company Limited was set up in 1873. The tram-cars were of two kinds—those drawn by one horse and those drawnby two. In 1905, The Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways CompanyLimited started the first electrically operated tram-car appeared onMumbai’s 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 Early Trams Top: BEST’ first bus Left: a gas street lamp. Mumbai saw its first bus run on 15 July 1926 between Afgan Church and Crawford Market. Double deck buses were introduced in 1937 in order to cope better with the growing traffic. BEST is now The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking. 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. Old Churchgate Rlwy Station Its first train, the first in the country, ran from Mumbai to Thane on 16th April 1853. In 1865, the railway went over the Borghat. By 1870 Calcutta and Madras had been linked with Mumbai by rail. The Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (BBCI) was started in 1855. The first motor car appeared on Mumbai roads in 1901.

Mumbai and Civil AviationIt all began on October 15, 1932. It was on thisday that J.R.D. Tata, the father of Civil Aviationin India and founder of Air India, took off fromDrigh Road Airport, Karachi, in a tiny, lightsingle-engined de Havilland Puss Moth on hisflight to Bombay via Ahmedabad.He landed with his precious load of mail on agrass strip at Juhu.

Pioneers of Mumbai … Raja Bhimdev became the earliest pioneer of Mumbai in the 13th century who established his capital Mahikawati on one of the isles called Newale or Barad-bet (deserted island, “bet” in Marathi Dadasaheb means island), present day Mahim. He built his palace & temple of Phalke, the father goddess Prabhadevi in Naigaon (between Wadala & Parel). Even of Indian Cinema today, the same place is called Bhima Raja’s wadi. He built a court of justice in Prabhadevi, as well as the first Babulnath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva named after the Babul trees which were the main components of a forest covering the low-lying areas of this island. He introduced many fruit-bearing trees, including coconut palms to the islandJamshetji Tata – the first pioneer entrepreneur who strived for economic independence of Indiaduring the British rule. He started an industrial revolution for swadeshi manufacturing of iron, steel, textile, electrical power generation. The Tata brand is his tribute to the nation Madame Bhikaji Cama She raised the First Flag of Indian Dr. Homi Bhabha, pioneer of nuclear science, Independence at a Socialist Confernce founder of the Indian Atomic Energy in Germany & was very active in the programme. While India was striving for Indian freedom struggle independence, he spearheaded the country in an advanced field of science & technology. He founded TIFR, which is one of the best Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, school of physics in the world Social Reformer Founder member of Prarthana Samaj Bhau Daji Lad, Educationist, Social Reformer, in Mumbai which engaged in a Sheriff of Mumbai. He was instrumental in Dadabhai Naoroji, Freedom campaign of reformation without the some of the major reconstruction effortsFighter & Founder of the Indian alienating the more orthodox of the city, since 1857. Nation Congress in Mumbai elements of the society

Acharya Pralhad Keshav Atre (Literaturist, Social worker). An active Nana Jagannath Shankarshet, member of the Unified Maharastra Senapati Pandurang Mahadev Bapat, Freedom businessman & entrepreneur Movement. Though he was a Brahmin, he Fighter, Social Reformer He was an Indian philanthropist and educationalist. worked for removing the curse of Major figure in the Indian Independence An active leader in many arenas in Mumbai life. He untouchability struggle, which earned him the title “Senapati” founded many schools, Sanskrit library in Mumbai, member of Mumbai Education Board Dr. C. D. Deshmukh Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Scholar, Social first Governor of RBI , Finance Bharat Ratna Maharshi Keshav Karve, Reformer, Jurist. Minister of India He was the Pioneer of Women’s Education & He spent his whole life fighting against social He was member of Board of Upliftment & the right for widows to remarry in discrimination. He was the chief architect of Governers of IMF & IBRD. An India. He established the first university for Indian Constitution active supporter of Unified women in India in 1916, which is currently known as Maharashtra Movement SNDT Women’ UniversityThese are just a few representational pioneers of Mumbai. There are many more who had a hand in the making of Mumbai as one of the leading cities of Free India

Mumbai’s Life-lineMumbai SuburbanRailways’s operate on 2 zones: CR & WR carry a total of 6.3 million BEST runs a total of passengers every 3,408 buses, ferrying day 4.5 million passengers daily over 340 routes

Mumbai Today … Juhu BeachSiddhivinayak Hutatma Chowkmandir,Prabhadevi Shivaji Park, Dadar Shoe- polish Mumbai’s faithful “night-watchmen” boys Rajabai Tower

Mumbai Today … Wankhede Stadium Taj Hotel, GatewayFact: Jamshetji Tata was denied access toWatson Hotel since he was an Indian. Inretaliation, he set up the Taj Hotel Marine Drive Fact: Nariman Point was named after Khursheed Framji Nariman, a Parsi visionary

India’s Business Capital … Stock Exchange, Dalal Street Hanging Garden, Malabar Hill Dadar Flower Market Vidhan Bhavan Nehru Science Center, Worli Mantralaya High Court Haji Ali tomb BMC Dhobi Ghat, Mahalakshmi Central Library

Mumbai Invincible … Clockwise from right: 1) Dahi handi 2) Women riding bikes during Gudi Padva parade 3) Ganesh Chaturthi festival

Aamhi Mumbaikar … Little Master Sunil Master Blaster- Sachin Tendulkar Gavaskar A Dabbawala The dutiful BEST bus conductor Dr. Nitu Mandke, Lata Mangeshkar with Amitabh Bacchan, Surgeon Balasaheb Thackeray, Sachin Tendulkar Shubha Raul, Mayor Harish Kapadia Himalayan Explorer

The Mumbaikar Spirit … Like a mother whose heart always has space for any number of children, Mumbai has crossed all limits & adjusted herself 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 don’t need a reason to play/talk cricket Where you don’t 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 … this is Aamchi Mumbai Language Spoken: Mumbaiyya Staple Food: Vada-pav Staple Drink: Cutting Fact: Vada-paav was born 35yrs back when Ashok Vaidya a snack seller outside Dadar station decided to experiment

Aamchi mumbai

by drtodkari on May 06, 2012

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