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.