Heritage walk in South Mumbai

South Bombay is of course, my favorite part of town with the beautiful buildings and colorful activities on the street. A Facebook post is all it took me to call Nikhil and shown my interest to join with him for South Mumbai Heritage walk. The focus of the walk was to see the architecture of Neogothic, Mughal-influenced, Neocolonial, and Art Deco buildings built during the colonial period.

According to the tour itinerary, our meeting point was at CST station.  When all the team members arrived, we moved to Kyani & co restaurant which is one of the oldest Irani cafe in South Mumbai. The physical appearance of the restuarant still keep the old Bombay vibes. There was a huge rush even in the early morning. We ordered bun masks, Kheema pav, egg bhurji, cakes pastries and Irani Chai. I enjoyed vitage ad posters and aromatic smell of the restuarant.

After a fabulous Iranian breakfast, we started our walk. Since it was a Sunday,   wide roads turn into vanues for gully cricket and you can lazily amble through the streets, camera in hand. 

Victoria Terminus was built by the British, to commemorate Victoria Jubilee Day in 1887 when India's first steam engine puffed out to neighboring Thane. Built in Gothic architecture with carved stone friezes,  stained glass windows and flying buttresses, it is one of the finest architectural wonders in Mumbai. The dome is an octagonal ribbed structure with a colossal female figure symbolizing Progress,  holding a torch pointing upwards in her right hand and a spoked wheel in her left.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus)-UNESCO World Heritage Site

Municipal Corporation Building, Mumbai

Azad Maidan offers a great place for people in different age groups to play various games - cricket, hockey, football etc.  

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Azad Maidan, South Mumbai

Bombay Gymkhana is one of the premiere gymkhanas in Mumbai. The Gymkhana Grounds lie in the southern end of the Azad Maidan.

Bombay Gymkhana, South Mumbai

Located opposite to Bombay Gymkhana, fashion street is famous for the latest and the trendiest cloths. With over a varied array of 150 shops, Fashion Street is famous for it best bargain sale of ready made clothes and artificial fashion jewellery. Bargaining and bargaining hard is the name of the game here. One can easily spend a couple of hours here navigating through the dozens of street stalls.

Fashion street 

Flora Fountain at Martyr's Square is a  beautiful fountain with magnificent architecture and sculpture and is surrounded by business centers and heritage buildings . Constructed by the Agri –Horticultural Society of Western India in 1864, out of a donation by Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh, the iconic fountain has been carved out of white Portland stone. 

  

Flora Fountain at Martyr's Square  or Hutatma Chowk

Statue of  "Martyr with a Flame" at Martyr's Square  or Hutatma Chowk

There is a small ground near to the Flora Fountain which serve as gathering hubs for locals and tourists alike.  Looking around, one can see a series of interesting events. The area is lined with painters and artists busy drawing portraits or creating caricatures.

Near to Flora Fountain is second hand book stalls, that lines the nearby pavements, boast of a collection of decades old original copies, some new pirated books ranging from literature to science fiction to best-sellers.

Outdoor book market stalls

Oriental Buildings

East of oval maidan is the Big Ben like Rajabai Clock Tower riding from the Mumbai Universty Library.  

Rajabhai clock tower 

The Rajabai tower was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, an English architect. There is an interesting story about this tower. The entire cost of the tower was defrayed by Premchand Roychand, a prosperous broker who founded the Bombay Stock Exchange on the condition that the tower be named after his mother Rajabai. Premchand Roychand's mother was blind and as a staunch follower of Jain religion and was supposed to consume her dinner before evening. The evening bell of the tower helped her to know the time without anyone's help.

Buit in 1874, Bombay Universty looks very much like one of the older British universities. To the left of the university is Bombay High Court.

Central Telegraph office

There are many places to visit around Kala Ghoda. Kala Ghoda is a creative arena which housing Jehangir Art Gallery to the National Gallery of Modern Art. The area hosts an Annual Kala Ghoda Arts Festival where you can spot the installations of trending artworks.

It is said that, in 1847,  a group of young mechanics and foremen of the Royal Mint and Government Dockyard established a museum and library for mechanical models and architectural design. Sir David Sassoon,  contributed majorly for the cause and was completed in 1870. It is built in yellow Malad stone and above the entrance portico is a white stone bust of David Sassoon.

DavidSassoon Library

The Elphinstone College building is an architectural composition  of stone turrets with tiled pyramid-shaped roofs,  stone balconies and balustrades.

Elphinstone College

The erstwhile Watson’s Hotel, now called Esplanade Mansion, the 150-year-old structure, was Mumbai’s introduction to luxury hotels  and is in ruins now.   It is said that, when Watson’s Hotel first made the transition into Esplanade Mansion, its earliest tenants were advocates who opted the easy commute to their daily workplace.

John Watson, an English businessman, presented first luxury hotel in Mumbai. It hosted travellers like the British explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton, Hawaii’s King Kalakaua, Muhammed Ali Jinnah. After Watson’s death, the hotel passed through many hands, until it finally closed in the 1960s. Further the building was divided into smaller sections, which were rented out as residences and office spaces.

Esplanade Mansion

Bombay Stock Exchange

Opened in the year 1718, the St. Thomas Cathedral Church is the first Anglican church in Mumbai.  This is the huge church in the street. There were few people inside, so we just stepped inside.

 St.Thomas Cathedral

Horniman Circle

Next to Horniman Circle is the building that you may saw in Bollywood songs.  Asiatic Society Library is one of the most well-maintained and popular libraries in the country.

The Asiatic Society Library    

The walk ended at Colaba street market or Colaba Causeway, which is the iconic street for shopping and foodies.  The end of the street is the Gateway of India  and the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Gateway of India was constructed along the Mumbai Harbour in 1924.  Located at the tip of Apollo Bunder, this massive structure was constructed in honour of King George V and his wife Queen Mary when they were on their tour to India.  Constructed with a mixture of indissoluble concrete and yellow basalt, Gateway of India portrays Indo-Saracenic architectural style. The central dome of this magnificent structure measures around 48 feet in diameter. It has got 4 turrets explicitly carved with intricate latticework.

Gateway of India

Taj Hotels and Gateway of India

Popularly referred to as the Queen’s Necklace, Marine Drive is a 4 km long promenade and is one of the most beautiful roads in Mumbai.  

Marine Drive

The place comes alive in the evenings when people relax and admire the brilliant view or take a walk on the promenade overlooking the Arabian Sea. Chai-wallas, chat-wallas are common sight in this place.

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Backyard birding at Uran and Bhandup Pumping Station,Mumbai

  

This was my first bird watching trip in Mumbai.  Even though I am not so much enthusiastic for bird watching, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to do something different from my regular travel.

Wetlands form an integral part of the ecosystem of Mumbai city. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, these amazing patches of marshy land are home to a wide variety of biodiversity.

One fine Sunday morning, our group gathered at Vashi. The plan was to bird on Uran area. We headed towards Uran,  there we managed to see quite a number of wetland birds.  We walked towards the creek which has big water reservoir on one side and  other side filled with trees and mangroves.

Lesser Flamingoes, Greater Flamingoes, Cormorants, white cheeked Bulbul, Pied starlings, Pond heron, Egrets, Painted stork, Dove, Kingfisher and Blacked winged Stilts are some of the birds we spotted from this area.

It took us few hours to explore the whole area. By the time we were ready to leave, I found that it a paradise for local and migratory birds. We halted for breakfast on the way to Panje village, Jasai grasslands and other marshy areas in the vicinity. Although our guide explained to us the name of the birds, it is difficult to remember all those names.

Finally as we reached the Bhandup Pumping Station area, which is again a huge wetland, we saw a number of wetland birds.  This is the place where the sewage from the city ends up, and finds its way into the waste water management system.

This is one of the popular among birders not just for its wetland birds but also for scrubland species and raptors that are often sighted here. We made our way through tar road, stopping every now and then to click with our cameras at the variety of birds.

Sightings included  Black Winged stilts, Black eared kite, Kite, Booted eagle, Marsh Harrier, Green bee eater, Painted Stork, Spoon bills, Black head IBIS, Glossy Ibis, Brown headed Gulls, Common terns, River terns, Little Egret, Greater Egret, Common sandpiper, Garganey, Shrike, Ashy Prinia, Plain Prinia, Rock pigeon, Barn swallow and Alpine swift.

We could manage some good shots of butterflies as well.

Soon we returned to Vashi and bid goodbye each other. I hope that this lovely piece of grasslands remains intact and throws more surprise at us in the years to come.

A day well spent!

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Night Trek to Naneghat

Naneghat pass

NaneGhat is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats in Pune, in the Indian state of  Maharashtra.  As decided, we gathered at Kalyan Bus Depo on 8th November night.  At around 10.30 PM, we took a bus from Kalyan Bus stand to Naneghat. 

After 2 hours journey, we reached the entrance of Naneghat.  This was the starting point of the trek. We went in a circle listening to everyone’s introduction, one by one. Later we started our trek towards Naneghat via Vaishakhare route at around 12.30 AM. The huge gate showed the way for Naneghat.  Nice cool breeze spread across the valley making our walk enjoyable. The moonlight was helping us with the route.

We could see Nanacha angatha (Thumb shaped pinnacle of Naneghat), the peak of Naneghat, from the starting point of trek, which motivated us. After walking for few minutes, we reached a small plauteau where we took rest for some time.

Thumb shaped mountain peak

We had to make stops at regular intervals to rejuvenate ourselves. As we moved further into the forest, the path started to turn into big stones.  Every time we reached a certain point, we would shout out to our group members, so that they would know where to go.  The climb to final patch over uneven rocks which turned into flight of stairs, was tiresome.

It was around 3.30 am.  After climbing for about 3 hours, we reached the Naneghat  pass which is a narrow entrance carved in rocks.  There were few caves, at the edge of the rock which were artificially made and provide a place for temporary rest and shelter for travellers and traders.

Naneghat Caves

We  were all very tired. There were other groups also sleeping inside the cave.  We put all our luggage down and found some place to sleep until sunrise. The air was chill and crisp. I went to sleep.

water tank near Naneghat Caves

After taking rest for around 2 hours, we could see some ray of light.  By that time somebody made black tea by taking water from the water tank and a common pot used by other travellers. Then we went to see sun rise. The sun was spreading in a mix of orange and red colour light all over the horizon. All of us were busy capturing this beautiful scenary.

 Sunrise

After clicking in and around the plateau, we headed to a nearby village house for breakfast.  They had arranged poha and tea. At  around 10 am we went ahead to explore the plateau.

REVISITING HISTORY

According to the legend, Naneghat is the one of the ancient trade routes between Kalyan and Junnar. Naneghat pass was  extensively used to transport goods arriving at Junnar which was then a flourished market place.

view of Naneghat pass from the plateau

Nane means "Coin" and ghat means "pass". The name was given because this path was used as a tollbooth to collect money from traders crossing the hills. The entry to  Naneghat is marked by a single earthern jar, that was used to collect toll.

Rock cut pot used to collect toll money from the travellers in ancient times

Further  Brahmi script was seen carved on the cave wall. This script consists of Numeric information, detailed information on Satvahan kings.

Ganpati murti carved in a small cave

We spotted lot of birds during our walk. We began to climb to the top of Nanacha angatha which we saw at the beginning of the trek. The climb was quite steep. From the top we got the view of the entire valley and the plateau. The beauty of the place stunned me. We sat on top of  Nanacha angatha for sometime and had a group photo.



distant view of Nanacha angatha

In the distance, I could see one of the amazing carvings by nature.  Such tremendously beautiful formation of nature is something to cherish.

beautiful carvings by nature

Just opposite, we could see Jivdhan fort. We took rest for a while enjoying the fort and the scenery.

view of Jivdhan fort from Naneghat plateau

After exploring the plateau, we headed for lunch. They had arranged bhakri, koshimbir, papad, bhajya, aamti and pithla etc. Everything  served  was hot and fresh. Post lunch, we started our descend via Borandyache Daar at around 1.30 pm.

Naneghat plateau

Descending was not easy over big uneven rocks. There was a small rappelling patch which we crossed  with the help of a rope.

By around 5 pm, we reached the base village Bhoir wadi.  By dusk we reached back to Kalyan. A memorable trek with a wonderful experience that can be cherished for long.

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Durgadi Fort When it Twinkles

After a busy day of work, I took a cab from Ghansoli to reach the Hotel. As the cab arrived at the hotel, I hurried inside and after  quickly freshening myself  rushed to Kopar Khairane station on my way to Kalyan. Upon reaching Kalyan, I walked around to find a place to eat. The sidewalks were filled with vendors selling cloths, sweets and  everything you could think of. After having snacks and tea, I waited there for my group members to arrive.

We were on  our way to Durgadi Fort -  Kalyan city's most adored historical monument.  There is a temple of Durgadi Devi on the fort. The  fort is named after Goddess  Durgadi Devi.

Every year on Tripurari Purnima (also known as Kartik Purnima), the Durgadi Fort is illuminated with hundreds of brightly-lit earthen lamps ('Diya') as a symbolic welcome to the Gods as they descend on Earth. This happens to be 15 days after Diwali.  The fest is also known as Dev-Deepavali ( Deepavali of Gods).

Entrance of Devi Durga's Temple on Durgadi Fort.

History says that Shivaji had built this fort near the Ulhas river and used it as a dock to build boats.The top of the entrance gate is colored orange, to commemorate the orange used in the flag during Shivaji’s regime. The entrance and side walks were filled with people.  People had come from everywhere. With our cameras, we scurried along the busy sidewalks. The whole area was illuminated with diyas. It was  interesting, so exciting.

The illuminated Durgadi Fort

After crossing the entrance a tar road that goes to the top of Durgadi fort. Then a well laid stairs that going upto the temple. You can see a Ganesh Mandir before reaching the temple.

In the day time,  you will get a amazing view of Retibunder, Kalyan-Bhiwandi Bridge and Ganesh Ghat from the top of the fort.

An ancient seal (written in Sanskrit) inscribed on front saffron colored wall of goddess Durga's temple

The temple itself is a small structure with a dome. It is said that, in 1876, the original Durga idol from the temple was stolen, and new idol was placed in 1974 as part of the rennovation of the Durga temple and the fort. The old idol is placed beside the new idol. The idol is four-armed, three and half feet in height, with a lion resting at its back.

After walking around for about two hours, we finally found our way back to Kalyan station.

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Jambhulmaal Point Trek - SGNP, Mumbai

On a Sunday morning, I reached the gate of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. There was a huge crowd in front of the gate waiting for the park to be open. Those who  already had a pass for morning walk were passing through the gate. The park is a dream for anyone in  Mumbai  for morning walk,  treking and sighting of birds, mammals, butterflies and more than a thousand specious of trees.

The Sanjay Gandhi National Park is spread over an area of 104 sq.km on the northern fringes of suburban Mumbai.  The park  houses Kanheri Cave complex and three lakes - Tulsi, Vihar and Powai Lake that provides water to Mumbai city. 

The  park is divided into three parts- recreation areas, periphery of core area and then core area .  Our  trail was in the core area and the final destination is  'Jambhulmaal'  which is considered as the highest point in Mumbai City at a  height of 846 meters above MSL.

Our meeting point was at S.G.N.P gate at 7.15 am. After taking pass, we walked till SGNP office. The road was filled with morning walkers. The  trek starts from Kanheri Caves which is situated around 6kms from the gate of Sanjay Gandhi National Park . After breakfast and introduction session, we moved to Kanheri caves by a hired car .

After 6 kms ride, we reached the Kanheri Caves complex.  After puchasing entry ticket from the caves's gate, we started to explore the caves, led by three savvy coordinators.

It was a surprise to see the caves carved from a single piece basalt rock, ages back which demonstrates the Buddhist influence on the art and culture of India.

Kanheri Caves 

Total of one hundred and nine caves have been carved in the same way. Most of the caves were used as viharas,  for living, studying and meditating by Buddhist monks ages ago.

Kanheri Caves 

When you go up the hill, one can see  canals and huge tanks which were used to store rain water. Here, you can see Buddhist carvings all around which are mostly formed out of  Black Basaltic rock.

Cave sculpture of Buddha

Enroute we saw ruins of a temple .

Further we walked through the jungle which was a pleasant change from the usual sights, attractions, rush and glamour of the big city.

Further we walked through dried grass. 

Soon we reached Gaumukh Plateau. On the way we found lot of cave structures. It is said that there was a Gaumukh temple earlier, now in ruins.

Gaumukh Plateau

Furher trial is through jungle of Bamboo grass and we walked through canopy of bamboo grass.   Soon we reached lush green forest. Walking quietly, we carefully peered into trees, looking for some surprises.  It was nice to see the trees grown in such a way that it entangled each other creating a sort of natural art installation.

The region has a wealth of biodiversity and it houses more than 800 species of flowering plants and providing shelter to nearly 300 species of birds which makes the park attractive for nature lovers. As we walked deeper into the forest, we could spot some butterflies , birds and lizards.

Soon we reached an open plateau. After a few minutes walk,  past streams,  rocky hill slopes and bamboo jungles , we reached  Jambhulmaal Point. There was a watch tower and I climbed to the top of the watch tower. The view of the surrounding was fantastic. I could see Tulsi, Vihar and Powai lakes in sequence.

It was interesting to see the Powai Hiranandani skyline and on the left Thane creek and Thane skyline. 

Most of the members brought home made food - chappathy, theplas with sweet pickle, sandwich, idli with chatni  etc. We sat under the tree and shared the food. After having a yummy lunch and rest, we descended back to Kanheri Caves.  The descending was quite easy.

Overall the trial was wonderful and am happy to experience the hidden surprises within Mumbai city.

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