Bombay, the capital of Maharashtra,
facing the Arabian sea, is also known as Bollywood, because it outranks
Hollywood as the world's largest producer of films. Bombay is urbane, jazzy,
and as hip as India can get. But beneath its Westernizing exterior, Indian
preferences still reign, as a stroll through its strikingly different
neighborhoods will reveal. The district referred to as Fort is the city's
commercial heart, with busy, narrow streets lined with small shops and office
buildings. Kemp's Corner is a chic, new area popular for expensive boutiques,
restaurants, and high-priced living. An older, expensive residential
neighborhood is Malabar Hill, lovely, leafy, and breezy, with the fine old
stone mansions of wealthy industrialists. If you enjoy shopping and
people-watching, go to one of Bombay's chaotic bazaars, such as Chor Bazaar or
the Zaveri (Jewelry) Bazaar.
Sights and Sounds in Bombay:
Gateway of India
Elephanta
Caves
Marine Drive
Sanjay Gandhi
National Park
Mahalashmi Temple
Siddhi Vinayak Temple
ISKCON (International Society for
Krishna Consciousness)
Gateway of India
When
George V and Queen Mary arrived in India on a royal visit in 1924, they were
greeted by the Gateway of India, vaguely reminiscent in shape of the Arc de
Triomphe in Paris. But the shape is where the resemblance ends. The Gateway is
based on 16th century Gujarati architecture. There was, as always, a colonial
agenda to this construction. It was supposed to be a monument to the
indestructibility of the empire. And so perhaps it was ironic that a stone
throw away from the place where the Empire first gained control of Mumbai, the
last British troops (a contingent of the Black Watch) departed in 1948.
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Elephanta Caves
(Allow
four hours) Ignore the somewhat less than ideal safety measures on the boat
out to Gharapuri or the Elephanta Island. You are, after all, headed to an
island devoted to the God of Destruction. Ignore the domes of two of India's
nuclear reactors, which can be seen across the water at Trombay. Lord
Shiva in the Trimurti waits for you. The first
impressions are of a murky, quiet rock cave until your eyes get accustomed to
the gloom and the spectacular faces of the Trimurti emerge from the shadows.
This is always a moment. Savour it. Your first view of the Trimurti will not
come again in this lifetime. Move on to Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance;
Shiva as Gangadhara, catching the holy river as she plunges towards the earth;
Shiva as Ardhanarishwar, half man, half woman, all God.
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Marine Drive
A
great walk along the sea front. The reclaimed land of Nariman Point is to the
south and as you turn your back on it. And you should for it is an ugly
concrete mess. You will be walking towards Chowpatty beach. This is a
typically Indian beach. It is deserted during the day when the sun beats
furiously down on the city, middle-class in the evening when hordes of parents
bring their children to play by the sea and distinctly seedy at night when the
masseurs (Mumbai's gay rough trade) and prostitutes take over.
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Sanjay Gandhi National Park
This park located in the northern suburbs of the city is named after Sanjay
Gandhi former congress leader and the grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru. In spite
of the rampant encroachment, the park boasts of a Lion Safari, Kanheri
Caves and a Toy Train.
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