Bandra



Bandra (Marathi : वांद्रे) is a suburb of Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), popularly nick-named "Queen Of The Suburbs". It is home to a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Western line.


With a large Catholic population in Mumbai, Bandra is famous for its churches; Mount Mary's Basilica stands out in particular. Bandra also boasts one of Mumbai's most popular shopping destinations, and millions of people troop onto Linking Road every year. Over the years, Bandra has also gained the title of the "Restaurant Suburb of Mumbai". More restaurants open and close in Bandra every few months than any other location in Mumbai.




History


Bandra is a possible corrupt pronunciation of 'Vandre', a Marathi name. There are other views on the origin of the name: that it is derived from a Portuguese princess for one and another more plausible one that it is a corruption of "Bandar-gah" in Hindi, which means port. Vandre in Marathi and Bandar in Hindi both mean port and come from the same Sanskrit root word. This area was under Shilahar dynasty in 12th century. It is referred to as "Bandora" as seen on gravestones in the cemetry of St. Andrew's Church and in the writings of Mountstuart Elphinstone of the English East India Company which describe the endeavours to acquire the island of Salsette.


In 1543, the Portuguese took possession of the island of Bombay by force. The Portuguese gave the Jesuit priests the sole ownership of Bandra, Parel, Wadala and Sion. In 1570 the Jesuits built a college and a church in Bandra which was called St Anne's College, or 'Santa Anna' Church. In the mid-18th century, the traveller John Fryer records that the Jesuit church, which stood near the sea shore, was still in use. The Portuguese built several churches in Bandra, including the famous St. Andrew's Church, which has the distinctive Portuguese-style facade. Bandra has the unique distinction of having the most Roman Catholic churches anywhere in the world: six churches with their own separate parishes, and also the world famous Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, affiliated to the parish of St. Andrew's, Bandra.


In 1733 when the Kunbi farmers migrated to this island from Bombay, because the fish manure they used was banned, they founded St. Andrew's church (which is still standing and in regular use), St. Stanislaus's Orphanage (now St. Stanislaus High School, one of the best boy's school in Bombay) and a monastery of St. Anne. St. Anne's was blown up on the orders of the English to prevent it falling into Maratha hands in the year 1737, and regained in the same year when the Portuguese troops were aided by the English, a slaughterhouse was built on the same spot, and assigned to the Dakhni Muslims for operating it.


There was a section of Kokni Muslims in the present eastern part of Bandra, called Navpada. These kokni have migrated from inner parts of thane districts like Vasai, Nallasopara, Rabodi etc. Here nine prominent Kokni Muslims families were inhabitated, therefore it was named as "Nav" (meaning nine, in Marathi) and Pada (meaning "area"). They built a mosque called Kokni Masjid, and a cemetery and lakes, which are having a history for more than 300 years. The inhabitants of this area were mailny milk business and running cotton hand looms and by the introduction of power looms in Bombay city, this industry died. (as per Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency). The area was then divided as Navpada East and Navpada West, by the indroduction of the Bombay Baroda Central Indian Railway (BBCIR). A major part of land this area was acquired by Railways, where Bandra Station, Bandra Terminus (Earlier Railway yard) and Railway lines exists. The present lake called "Bandra Talao" and "Lotus Tank" was one of the properties of these kokni Muslims, which was later acquired by the Municipal Corporation for maintenance.


The chapel of Mount Mary, was built around 1640. Local tradition has it that this was destroyed in 1738 during a Maratha raid. The statue of the virgin was recovered from the sea by fishermen and temporarily installed in St. Andrews, before being shifted to the rebuilt Mount Mary in 1761. To this day the statue is venerated and many miracles, minor and major, are attributed to the deity by all communities. In her honour, a fair is held for the duration of eight days, (starting on the Sunday following September 8th) during which pilgrims come from as far North as Vasai,Virar and as far East as Thane, to venerate at the Basilica of Mount Mary.


Bandra remained a village with plantations of rice and vegetables in the low-lying areas of the island until getting connected to Mahim by a causeway in 1845. Although many bungalows were built in the boom years of the 1860s and 70s, the fashionable Pali Hill area, now inhabited by members of the film community, saw the first constructions only in the 1880s.


R D National College was originally set up in 1922 in Hyderabad, Pakistan under the guidance of Annie Besant. After the partition of India, it was set up again, in 1949, in Bandra.


The west-side, called "Bandra (West)", had evolved into one of the more fashionable suburbs by the middle of the 20th century. However, the East soon followed its more popular sibling, & in the mid-to-late 90s emerged as a predominantly commercial zone, consisting of the Bandra-Kurla Commercial Complex. Bandra West is also famous for Pali Hill and Carter Road areas which are home to many movie stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Dilip Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and many more.


Bandra (East) is the capital of the Bombay suburban district. However, it is completely overshadowed by its neighbouring city district with regards to government departments. The most prominent office is the suburban collector's office. Bandra (East) also has State Government Quarters.




Geography


Sunset at Bandra BandstandBandra is known to be split by the local railway-line into Bandra (West) PIN 400050 & Bandra (East) PIN 400051. Bandra (W), has historically grabbed most of the spotlight, and sits snug between the railway-line (on the East) and the Arabian Sea (on the West). Bandra (East) houses the state government employees' homes.


Neighbouring suburbs: Dharavi, Khar, Kurla, Mahim, Santacruz

Arterial Roads: S.V.Road, Linking Road, Turner (Guru Nanak) Road, Hill Road, Carter Road, Navpada (Balsamant) Road, Western Express Highway, Bandra-Worli SeaLink Project




Transport


Bandra railway station is connected via the Western Railway and the Harbour Line, which is an offshoot of the suburban Central Railway. It also has a newly built terminus called Bandra Terminus in Bandra (E) from where trains bound for northern and western India are scheduled regularly. BEST buses, autorickshaws and taxis are abundant. The upcoming Bandra-Worli Sea Link bridge is been connected to the Bandra West shoreline linking it with Worli in central Mumbai. Due to Bandra's central location, most parts of the city are easily accessible..




Landmarks


*Mount Mary's BasilicaJogger's Park: Jogger's Park is a small seaside jogging track where joggers of Bandra congregate. The pretty little park, next to the Otter's Club, another recreation place for Bandra denizens, was where Bombay's first laughing club was launched.

*Bandra Reclamation

*Mount Mary's Basilica

*Castella de Aguada , a seventeenth century fort at Land's End, the southermost point of Bandra

*Bandstand Promenade

Andheri



Andheri (Marathi: अंधेरी) is a suburb of Mumbai city. It is also a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Western line. It is the fifth suburb among the Western suburbs. Like many other suburbs and areas of Mumbai, Andheri too is divided into an East and a West section, separated by the railway line.




History


The oldest settlements in and around Andheri were those of the East Indians, the natives whose villages survive in Amboli, Marol (See St. John the Baptist Church), Chakala, Gundowli, Sahar, Saki, etc.


Another concentration of the native East Indians was located on the former islet of Versova, also known as Vasave.


In the early 1900s, as urbanization spread from Bombay northwards, Marathi, Gujarati and other settlers began to colonize the area.


The English actively encouraged this in order to take off population pressure from the congested city and to increase revenue inflows; however, as a result, the native East Indians came to be swamped, marginalized and their lands were usually expropriated without compensation, even as their access to the sea for fishing was cut, thus destroying their two means of livelihood: agriculture & fishing.


In the 1950s the English built the Versova Causeway (the Versova Road) between Andheri on Sashti Island and the islet of Versova. The area on both sides of this causeway were rapidly filled in to develop areas now known as Dhake Colony, D.N. Nagar, Four Bungalows, Seven Bungalows, etc.


One of the earliest colonies is the Dhake Colony on Versova Road, West Andheri. The five buildings of Dhake Colony were built around 1950, and they served as a landmark until recently. The area is now known as D.N. Nagar.


Another of these early settlements is Bhardawadi. This lane forms a vital link with S.V. Road for the residents of Versova Road. It has been inhabited for the last ninety years. In the past, there were bungalows on this road; these gave way to apartment buildings, although there are still a few old bungalows, which is rare in Mumbai. This lane bustles with the sound of traffic which passes through it to reach S.V. Road.


The popular Ganesha temple, Shree Vanchasiddhi Vinayak Ganesh Mandir, created in 1926, also contributed to the settlement of Andheri.


Before 1945, Andheri was administered by a Collector as the "Suburban District"; in that year, the former Suburban District was absorbed by Mumbai city as Greater Bombay. However, the Suburban District was once again revived in about 2000 as the Mumbai Suburban District.




Current


Andheri today has a population exceeding four million, and as per record is by far the most populous suburb of Mumbai.


Contemporary West Andheri is largely a residential area, whereas East Andheri is has a mixture of commercial and residential areas, including MIDC-SEEPZ (Santacruz Electronic and Export Promotion Zone), Saki Naka (an industrial area), etc.


The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai's International Airport is in Andheri East. Many Call Centers and BPOs are located in Chakala area of Andheri.


The World Bank has many plans for the development of the largely industrial East Andheri. Work on the project of connecting Versova to Ghatkopar (a central suburb) by an elevated Metro railway line has begun by expanding the existing roads so that spaces can be created for the railway's pillars, etc. After the Metro becomes operational in about 2011, travel time will be reduced from the present 1 hour 45 minutes to about 20 minutes.


East Andheri also has pockets of attractive residential areas, with quiet, tree-lined streets, easy connectivity to the Western Express Highway, and without the congestion and pepetual traffic jams that afflict most residential areas in suburban Mumbai.




Important Places


*In Andheri East, there are ancient caves, named after the Goddess Maha Kali. They are now in ruined condition but recently they have caught the attention of the government, which is working to restore them.


*The Vanchasiddhi temple of Lord Ganesh has the second highest number of devotees everyday after the Siddhivinayak temple in Dadar.


*SEEPZ (Special Electronic and Export Promotion Zone) is a very important SEZ (Special Economic zone) in Mumbai. SEEPZ is located in MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation). MIDC also hosts various small and medium scale industries.


*Vijay Nagar, on Marol Maroshi Road is an important landmark in Andheri (East). Its a colony resided by employees of Larsen and Toubro Ltd. at Powai. Although not exactly an L&T quarters as such, it is called by many as L&T colony, because of the names of thirty buildings that starts as LT1, LT2 ..., LT29 uptill LT31. Although many of the employees have retired or taken voluntary retirement from L&T, it is still resided by the L&T veterans and is a major landmark in Marol. The VijayNagar Colony was inaugarated by none other than Mr. Barrister Rajni Patel, who is the grandfather of Ms. Amisha Patel, popular bollywood actress. The colony was almost completey resided in 1977. Major bus routes to VijayNagar Society are 186, 434, 398, 341 and 326. The bus stop is called VijayNagar and the buses arrive from Andheri East Station, Mulund Station and Kurla Station respectively. VijayNagar is a popular destination for its annual Ganesh festivals and Govinda Matki-Fod festivals which are celebrated with pomp and gaiety. VijayNagar Co-op Housing Society, as it named on the three wide gates that enclose the society, has an LTECHS office which stands for (Larsen and Toubro Employees Co-op Hsg Scty). A new flyover connects Vijaynagar to the very famous SEEPZ area of Mumbai. Vijaynagar is the nearest residential society besides SEEPZ. Hence it is the most sought after residence for many software professionals working in SEEPZ and MIDC area, due to its walkable distance towards SEEPZ. VijayNagar is known for its solid construction of buildings. The walls and beams are difficult to penetrate through normal drills due to its very high quality cements used during construction. Very few societies in Mumbai has been known to have such a high degree of quality construction today. Originally the two VijayNagars in Andheri East, were part of one society. But was dissociated somewhere in the 70s. Marol VijayNagar and Andheri VijayNagar are how the two are recognised today.


*Bhawani Nagar, on Marol Maroshi Road, is another residential landmark in Andheri (East). This colony contains 18 clusters of buildings, called plots. The earliest plot in this colony was developed in 1977 by Deepak Builders.


*The Marol Maroshi Bus Depot is a major bus terminus.


*Vijay Nagar & Chandrashekhar Society (विजयनगर आणि चंद्रशेखर सहनिवास)on Swami Nityanand Marg (Sahar Road) is an important place in terms of cultural/Educational activities. It's also home to Paranjape Vidyalaya (परांजपे विद्यालय) a branch of Famous Parle Tilak Sanstha.


*Andheri's East and West areas house some of the biggest and well know mall's and software companies in the whole of Mumbai. The biggest mall of Andheri, Infinity mall in the West houses on of India's biggest FM stations BIG FM and India's largest gaming portal Zapak, which is a Reliance ADA undertaking.

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