Mumbai wakes up to #EqualStreets

Woke up to the loud cheers down the street, drew the bedroom curtain and saw road converted to ‪#‎EqualStreet Children skated in the middle of the road, cyclist did acrobats on their cycle wheels, musician played tunes. The street was bustling with excitement, it seemed like a street party. All the traffic was diverted to one side of road while the other side of linking road was converted to sporting ground during the early hours of this Sunday morning..

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The idea behind this #EqualStreet is to take back street from oppressive traffic. It has become impossible for pedestrians to walk freely on the road because of lack of footpaths and cycle lanes.

In an attempt to help reclaim streets for people, EMBARQ India has initiated “Equal Streets – A Citizens’ Movement” with the help of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and Mumbai Traffic Police, and with support from the Times of India Group.

Equal Streets is here to stay and will be held every Sunday at different streets of Mumbai.

Do visit their Facebook page to know about the events taking place on Sundays.

Durga Mata Idol in Western Suburbs of Mumbai

At Lokhandwallah

at Bandra

At Seven Bungalows

at Powai

Ganesha Festival In Mumbai

Every year, Ganesha festival is celebrated with much pomp and show. It is the most important festival of Maharashtra. At the work place , there is not much activity happening except celebration of this festival. Many people don't report to work because they are busy visiting pandals all over the city, eating prasadam and enjoying the festival. The stage and decorations are very innovative and creative and most of the streets are decorated with twinkling rows of lights for miles.

If your are in Mumbai, you can see people dancing on streets, with loud music at every street. There are traffic jams because of the large procession during arrival and departure of Lord Ganesha.  The festival lasts for 10 days during which people get attached to the idol and you may even see people weeping  when they finally go to the seashore to drown the idol in the sea.

Truly this is the festival not to be missed if you are visiting Mumbai in the month of September.

Photo Trail Through Mumbai Metro

Mumbai Metro is finally here after seven years of construction and Mumbai city is proud of it.

A big crowd waited excitedly at the railway platform, young, old, women with children. 

Everybody wanted to experience the fun ride in chak-a-chak, cool metro between Versova to Ghatkopar

 Train arrived..people jumped in and they soon realized that metro travel experience differed from Mumbai local..

People prefered to stand and enjoy the view from big glass windows and watch mumbai city as metro moved through the shiny glass buildings, through cluster of slums on the hills, above express highways and crowded market places.

Up above,were the huge airplanes taking off at regular intervals, down below, were the familiar roads where ppl had spend hours cursing traffic hazards

The Children preferred to sit on the little seat by the window

There were graphic and art everywhere, even at ticket counters

It felt good to float freely above...In 20mins ride..the story of mumbai unfolded, exposing its true belly....

Touring the city - Part 2 - Beyond The Cultural Square of Mumbai

Bhagat Singh road is termed as cultural square of Mumbai because the architecture of the area is reminiscent of the old Bombay.

Just opposite across the Prince of Wales museum is National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA)

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Fabulous work of Indian as well as foreign artists is displayed here. Initially known as the Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall, it was converted into a national art gallery in 1996. There are as many as four floors dedicated to art and works ranging from Pablo Picasso’s to Amrita Shergill’s are exhibited here.

Opposite NGMA, across the square is the Regal Cinema

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The Regal Cinema is an Art deco Movie theater located at Colaba Causeway, in Mumbai, India. Built by Framji Sidhwa, the first film to be aired at the Regal was the Laurel and Hardy work The Devil's Brother in 1933. Opened in 1933, Regal was designed by Charles Stevens, the son of the famous 19th century architect, F. W. Stevens. Its interiors with extensive mirror-work were designed by the Czech artist Karl Schara. The main auditorium had a motif of sunrays in pale orange and jade green. Its interiors were designed to create an impression of airiness, coolness and size in harmony with the modern simplicity of the exteriors.

As you walk up the Colaba road, there are many shopping centers and restaurants found at this stretch.

Further down the road is the famous Parsi colony called Cusrow Baugh

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Cusrow Baug was built in 1934 after two years of construction. In present day Mumbai, it may seem totally unbelievable, but the Baug covers an area of 84,000 square yards and is home to over 500 families. The houses are all on a rental basis and cannot be sold. There is a designated trust looking after maintenance of the place. This ensures that the place remains exclusive to the community.

Further up the street is Afghan church

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The building of the church is declared as a heritage building, the church is a Presbyterian church built on 7^th January 1957 by British. The Church is a mute testimony to the brave men who sacrificed their lives for the glory of the Empire. Built in the Gothic style, it was meant to be a garrison church to observe the memories of the British Soldiers who lost their lives during the First Afghan War.

As you walk further, you get a strong fishy smell, you are approaching Sassoon Docks

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Sassoon Docks was built on reclaimed land by David Sassoon and completed in 1905. The docks today play host to the local fishing fleet. The auction of the day's catch takes place early in the morning around 5:30 am.

To be continued…….. 

Touring the city - Part 1 South Mumbai

I am starting a series on touring the city of Mumbai. Will be posting one part of the city per week. Do give me your feedback on what interests you.

We start our Mumbai tour from South Mumbai. We will walk from V.T station to Prince Charles Museum.

V.T. station (Victoria Terminus) now known as C.S.T (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus)

CST is a popular railway station connecting Mumbai with the suburbs and with all parts of the country. Its Victorian-Gothic style of architecture has earned its ‘World Heritage Site’ by UNESCO in 2004. The main architecture of the building reflects the design of 19^th century; its style and ornamentation were acceptable to both Indian and European culture.

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 From CST, we walk towards D.N. Road (Dadabhai Naroaji). The structures, built in the boom years from 1885 to 1910, were allowed diverse styles, but under strict design control. It was mandatory for all buildings to be of same height as well as have an arcade opening up over the pavement.

Flora fountain is the big open space, is now called Hutatma Chowk or Martyr's Square to honor those who died in the tumultuous birth of Maharashtra State. Opposite the square you are likely to find rows of street book-shops that have rare collection of books.

The Gothic structure continues as you approach Kala Ghoda. This square becomes vibrant in the month of February when an art and cultural festival is held in this area. 

The kiosks selling art and craft materials, books, clothes line up on the either side of Rampart Row. There are street installations screaming a social message. There are talk shows and cultural shows at different venues around KalaGhoda.

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It is difficult to miss this famous Jahangir Art Gallery. It’s a main hub for painters and artist. There are exhibition halls for paintings and other art exhibits. A restaurant Samovar is known for its most economical and tasty cuisine.

Prince of Wales Museum now known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya, houses approximately 50,000 exhibits of ancient Indian history as well as objects from foreign lands categorized primary into three sections: Art, Archaeology and Natural History.

To be continued……..