Bhagat Singh Road | |
---|---|
Neighbourhood | |
Coordinates: 18°55′N72°49′E / 18.91°N 72.81°E Coordinates: 18°55′N72°49′E / 18.91°N 72.81°E | |
Country | India |
State | Maharashtra |
District | Mumbai City |
City | Mumbai |
Zone | 1 |
Ward | A |
Government | |
• Type | Municipal Corporation |
• Body | Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) |
Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
Languages | |
• Official | Marathi |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
PIN | 400 005 |
Lok Sabha constituency | Mumbai South |
Vidhan Sabha constituency | Colaba (Vidhan Sabha constituency) |
Civic agency | BMC |
Colaba Causeway, officially known as Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, is a commercial street, [1] and a major causeway or land link between Colaba and the Old Woman's Island in the city of Mumbai, India.
It lies close to the Fort area, and to the east of Cuffe Parade, an upmarket neighbourhood in South Mumbai, and close by are Mumbai's famous landmarks, the Gateway of India and Taj Mahal Palace & Tower.
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Fort area and part of older town were overcrowded, as the island of Colaba, the southern tip of the city, [2] had already been declared a cantonment area in 1796, barring all construction by the civilian population. Soon the boat traffic to area increased in the next few decades, and several people died due to the capsizing of overcrowded boats, making the construction of the causeway imperative. [3] What also added to the urgency to its construction was that, Mountstuart Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay (1819–1827), had already built the first home on Malabar Hill, following which the rich quickly started moving into the centrally placed, Fort) area. [4]
The Causeway as it is known to the locals, was constructed by the British East India Company, during the tenure of Sir Robert Grant (1779–1838) as the governor of Bombay (1835–1838), [5] and its construction completed in 1838, which used the Old Woman's Island as a part of it; [6] [7] with this the last two islands of Colaba and Old Woman's Island (out of the Seven islands of Bombay), which were first taken in 1675, got connected with the mainland of Bombay. Until 1839, Colaba was accessible only during the low tide, though soon it saw rapid development in the area, especially after the construction of the Cotton Exchange at Cotton Green in 1844. [8] The Causeway was later further widened in 1861 and 1863. [9]
Horse-drawn tram-cars were introduced here, [10] in 1873 by Stearns and Kitteredge, for their offices on the west side of the Causeway, where the Electric House now stands. [9]
Today, it is termed as the 'Culture Square' of Mumbai. [11] The architecture of the area is reminiscent of old Mumbai, fact highlighted by buildings like, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Regal Cinema, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum and Cusrow Baug, a Parsi residential colony built in 1934, covering an area of 84,000 square yards, which is home to over 500 families. [12] Plus the area is also a hub of various art galleries, which makes this area a natural destination for artist community.
Apart from upmarket retail showrooms, and small shops dealing in electronic goods, cosmetics, clothes and music, it has a pavement book stall dating back several decades, [13] besides having numerous small shops and footpath outlets selling everything from artifacts to shawls, carpets and minor antiques to slippers of all kinds, which makes tourists, backpackers and locals from South Mumbai throng the area all through the year. [11]
Among the restaurants, cafes and roadside eateries that make the street popular with tourists and locals alike [14] are the Indian Mughlai fame Delhi Darbar restaurant, Piccadilly restaurant, Cafe Churchill, Mings Palace, Kailash Parbat and Gokul. Cafe Mondegar, and Cafe Leopold were founded by Iranians in 1871. [15]
Other visitors' attractions in the area are historical structures like Aghan Church in the nearby Navy Nagar, built to commemorate the dead of the disastrous First Afghan War of 1838, and the Sassoon Docks, built in 1875, [9] by Albert Abdullah David Sassoon (1818–1896), son of David Sassoon, a philanthropist Baghdadi Jew. [16] Today, the Sassoon Docks house one of the largest fish market of Mumbai city [14]
Nariman Point is a prominent downtown area of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. Located on the southern tip of the Mumbai peninsula, at the end of the Mumbai's Marine Drive, Nariman Point houses some of India's prestigious business headquarters.
Colaba is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Kolbhat. After the British took over the island in the late 17th century, it was known as Kolio.
Mumbai Central is a major railway station on the Western line, situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra in an area known by the same name. It serves as a major stop for both Local and Inter-City/Express trains with separate platforms for them. It is also a terminal for several long-distance trains including the Mumbai Rajdhani Express. It is one of the five major Terminal stations in Mumbai while others being Mumbai CST, Mumbai LTT, Mumbai BDTS and Mumbai Dadar. Trains depart from the station connecting various destinations mostly across states in the northern, western and north-western parts of India. The station was renamed from Bombay Central to Mumbai Central in 1997, following the change of Bombay to Mumbai. In 2018, a resolution was passed to change the station code to MMCT, with implementation ongoing.
Cotton Green is a suburb of Mumbai, and a noted residential and commercial area east of Parel, in central Mumbai, 8 km north of Colaba. It is also the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway, which lies along the Harbour line, which is a part of the Central Railway.
Byculla is an area of South Mumbai.
South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Anglo-Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahim and Sion neighbourhoods, and comprises the city's main business localities, making it the wealthiest urban precinct in India. Property prices in South Mumbai are by far the highest in India and among the highest in the world.
Kala Ghoda is a crescent-shaped art district/neighborhood in Mumbai, India. It hosts several of the city's heritage buildings including museums, art galleries and educational institutions like the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, the Jehangir Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Modern Art, and The Arts Trust - Institute of Contemporary Indian Art.
The Taj Mahal Palace is a heritage, five-star, luxury hotel in the Colaba area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, situated next to the Gateway of India. Built in the Saracenic Revival style, it opened in 1903 as the Taj Mahal Hotel and has historically often been known simply as "The Taj". The hotel is named after the Taj Mahal, which is located in the city of Agra approximately 1,050 kilometres (650 mi) from Mumbai. It has been considered one of the finest hotels in the East since the time of the British Raj. The hotel was one of the main sites targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
David Sassoon was the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829. He became the leader of the Jewish community in Mumbai after Baghdadi Jews emigrated there.
Isle of Bombay was one of the Seven Islands of Bombay, an archipelago of islands that were, in the eighteenth century, connected to form the area of the modern city of Bombay in India. The island was the main harbour and the Base of the British from where the city expanded.
Navy Nagar is a cantonment area in Mumbai, India, and was established in 1796. The area is owned and managed solely by the Indian Navy and entry to this area is highly restricted. Entry and exit points to the area are heavily manned by Naval Police.
The Old Woman's Island, also known as Little Colaba is one of the seven islands composing the city of Mumbai, India, and part of the historic Old Mumbai.
The Knesset Eliyahoo, also Knesset Eliyahu, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located in downtown Mumbai, India. It is the city's second oldest Sephardic synagogue. It was established in 1884 by Jacob Elias Sassoon, son of Eliyahoo David Sassoon and grandson of David Sassoon; the latter had immigrated from Baghdad to India in 1832 due to persecution and had settled in Mumbai, then known as Bombay. It is maintained by the Jacob Sassoon Trust. The building's significance is attributed to its Jewish traditions as well as Indian and English colonial influences.
Cuffe Parade is a historic and significant business district of the city of Mumbai, India. It is home to a collection of commercial and office high-rises. It is bordered to the north by Nariman Point which, along with Cuffe Parade, forms the greater CBD region of the city.
Colaba Observatory, also known as the Bombay Observatory, was an astronomical, timekeeping, geomagnetic and meteorological observatory located on the Island of Colaba, Mumbai (Bombay), India.
Indigenous tribals have inhabited Mumbai (Bombay) since the Stone Age. The Kolis and Aagri were the earliest known settlers of the islands. The Maurya Empire gained control of the islands during the 3rd century BCE and transformed them into a centre of Hindu-Buddhist culture and religion. Later, between the 2nd century BCE and 10th century CE, the islands came under the control of successive indigenous dynasties: the Satavahanas, Abhiras, Vakatakas, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Silharas& Cholas.
The Leopold Cafe and Bar is a restaurant and bar on Colaba Causeway, in Colaba area of Mumbai, India, located across from the Colaba Police station. It was the location of one of the 2008 Mumbai attacks as it was one of the first sites attacked.
Sassoon Docks, built in 1875, is one of the oldest docks in Mumbai and was the first wet dock constructed in Bombay. It is one of the few docks in the city open to the public. It is situated in Mumbai harbor in South Mumbai area of Colaba. It is one of largest fish markets in the Mumbai city. Its neighboring features are Mumbai Port Trust Garden and Offices of Fisheries Department, and it overlooks Oyster Rock, an island in the Mumbai harbour, at a distance.
Churchgate is the southern terminus on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is located in Churchgate in South Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Cusrow Baug is a Parsi residential colony in Colaba Causeway, Mumbai, India. The residential blocks of the colony were built between 1934 and 1959. The colony also houses an agiary, a computer centre, a gymnasium and a sports club. It was designed by Claude Batley.