The Gateway Of India.

The inscription reads "Erected to Commemorate the landing in India of their Imperial Majesties King George V and Queen Mary on the Second of December MCMXI.

Wonder why the Gateway of India is called so. It is pretty simple. This was the "Gateway" to any governors or Viceroys to land in Mumbai, India. 

Its Architecture had traits of Roman Triumphant Archs as well as it is a perfect blend of Hindi-Muslim styles of architecture.The Gateway has four turrets and has intricate designs of lattice work. The cost of its making was 2.1 lakhs then.

Also the last of British troops and Sails had ironically set out from the Gateway of India on February 2nd, 1948.

Dating back then ironically it was the significance of British Majestic Powers, and today is a hotspot for tourist attractions and a significant pride of Mumbaikars. 

All of us agree we have seen the Gateway, probably even taken a ferry, but has any of us ever wondered why actually was it built, named so, what was inscribed, why are we not allowed "inside" of the Gateway. 

What lacks probably today is the "want to know" the "inquisitiveness", about your own homeland! 

Afghan Church

Afghan Church:

The Church of St John the Evangelist, better known as the Afghan Church is located at the Navy Nagar, in Colaba.

It not only commemorates British Soldiers as well as Indian Soldiers such as the Bombay Army, the Madras Army, and Ranjit Singh's army from Lahore. Records also mention that only one person, one Surgeon William Brydon - a medical officer - out of 16,000 men, returned safely to Jalalabad to tell the tale of a war in which the British suffered their heaviest defeat yet.

The architecture is built of limestone and basalt.

This picture is not of the current era, but it astonishes me how Mumbai encompasses EVERYTHING.
I would definitely wonder how Mumbai, the financial capital of India manages to store in her, a heritage site like Afghan Church which dates back to the 1880s and 1890s.

Banganga Tank, Walkeshwar.

Banganga Tank, Walkeshwar, Mumbai.



It is hidden behind one of the posh areas in Mumbai,Banganga Tank has holy significance dating back to the 14th century. It is situated in Walkeshwar temple complex on the southernmost tip of Malabar Hill in South Mumbai.

As the legend of the holy book Ramayana goes, overcome with fatigue and thirst, Rama asked his brother Lakshmana to bring him some water. Laxman instantly shot an arrow into the ground, and water gushed forth from the ground, creating a tributary of the Ganges, which flows over a thousand miles away, hence its name, Banganga, the Ganga created on a baan (arrow).

The tank was rebuilt in 1715 AD.

One astonishing fact is that the water of the tank is sweet, considering the fact that it is so near to all the gallons of salt water.

It is a rectangular shaped water tank with a temple crowning it on the western flank built by the Silhara Kings.

It always astonishes me how Mumbai manages to encompass EVERYTHING. You might think such things would happen only in Varanasi, but no! Mumbai has it!

 THE PAINTER.
Last two weeks were such a holiday. You would wonder if any place is worth a Holiday within this busy city.
YES there is ! I stayed with a cousin right opposite the Marine Drive. It was the most "fresh" and noise free area to stay in. It was intriguing to see how hundreds of people would walk by the sea to keep themselves free, and more over how many sat there facing the horizon, lost in their creative thoughts. Walking back home, I had an opportunity to meet one of the finest artists( considering I haven't come across many). He was the stereotype of any painter. Lost, creative, almost ragged clothes and  paint all over his body. He was using his hand to paint the beautiful scene of the sunset. He just used 3 colors - orange, blue and white. The smallest of ripples was drawn by him with his fingers. Noticing me notice him for so long, he managed a smile and asked me if I wished to join him. Luckily I did. I managed to see his rest painting on his Mobile - All were MUMBAI. A picture can actually speak a 1000 words. It was amazing. Telling him of Explore Mumbai - impressed he was. Gave me very valuable tips and ideas too - creative after all, its a matter of seconds for them.
I wish to come across him very soon.


P.S : Back home - I Want to go back to Marine Drive ASAP !!

Town Hall

                                                  In the olden days....


Asiatic Town Hall.

Established as earlier as the 19th Century.

• The library contain thousands of books out of which 15,000 are proudly classified as rare and valuable.
• It has innumerable artifacts.
• It has more than 3,000 ancient manuscripts in Persian, Sanskrit and Prakrit.
• It has a collect of 11,829 coins out of which an important and one-of-its-kind Gold Mohur of Akbar stand out.
• Has a collection of 300 maps, taking you through the forming of Mumbai.

Probably you might wonder a library to be one of the most dull and boring places to be. You never know ALL the history, conspiracy, legends and myths that lies beneath these libraries. 

You might wonder - WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS !!

It is nothing but as simple simple as some-ones home !! Do no ridicule this fact - it is Mr. Mukesh Ambanis House in Mumbai called ANTILLA.

It is recorded to be the WORLDS most expensive house!

It is a 27 storey building - impossible to put your finger on, what facility is NOT there!

I got a good chance to get a close look at its top floor. My Uncle stays in a building namely "Kshitij" and his room faces the upper floors of this building. Having very powerful binoculars I innocently tried to 'peep' in their house - without realising that very obviously they have taken care of their privacy! Their walls are strongly double layers - preventing any sort of laser entry and their glasses are again layered - preventing any 'peeping' inside.

Its current value is much more than 20 Billion Dollar.

Also factually, it is the ONLY billion dollar house in the WORLD.

What else did Mumbai need!

Dinner at Copper Chimney

We managed to go for a family dinner after what seems ages. We decided our always preferred Copper Chimney. 20 minutes from our house it is perfectly located at Oberoi Mall, Goregaon. The mall was crazily full of people being a Sunday. There were queues waiting to get a seat in one of the restaurants. Also to cherry the cake IPL (Indian Premier League) is on. Mumbai, where cricket is played in ever nook and corner, when IPL arrives the TRP goes triple higher!! Luckily getting a seat at preference, 10 of us took our seat right in middle of the restaurant. Copper Chimney would earlier serve their food also in classic copper plates and vessels, so it was a sad sight to see those cliche glass plates being artistically laid in front of us.
Ultimately food mattered more than the cutlery. Years by gone have seemed to always add on to the taste of their menu. With their classical Maharaja Dal (Black Lentils) and a great variety of Chicken cooked with Indian spices its a perfect places for all taste buds.
In a lump some 1 hour we managed to finally convince ourselves to leave. What we probably really missed then was the famous Indian Paan (leafed after-food re-freshener)!
Letting one single leaf not get the better of our moods, we simply returned home lazily and plopped on our beds and slept like stones - ONLY TO BE SURPRISED THE NEXT DAY ;)