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| Cuffe Parade at dawn (from Nariman Pt.) |
We spent five days in Mumbai's Cuffe Parade / Colaba area. The timing was fortunate as it allowed Tami some time to recover with no travel. When I lived in Mumbai, in the mid-80s, I spent a lot of time with friends in this and surrounding areas and I wanted to wander around and reminisce. It hasn't changed much in the almost 30 years since I last lived here. Sure, there are new skyscrapers, but most of the old buildings survive. The area retains its vitality and I love walking around deliberately oblivious of the hustle around me. The iconic building in this part of Mumbai is the
Victoria Terminus (now called the Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus), an imposing railway station. See pictures online - it is quite something.
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| The J.N. Petit Library and Reading Hall |
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| The Standard Building |
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| Flora Fountain |
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| The Army Navy Building |
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| The David Sasoon Library |
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| The Majestic MLA Hostel. I love the way Mumbai cabs are decorated. |
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| The Eros Theatre (cinema) - a beautiful Art Deco building marred by that huge billboard |
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| Rajabhai Tower at Mumbai University |
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| Prince of Wales Museum (now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya) |
Marine Drive is a sweeping arc of a road along the bay in south Mumbai. Its broad sidewalks are great for strolling and the parapets a wonderfully romantic place from which to watch the sunset. What I didn't know, was that it is also south Mumbai's exercise yard early in the morning, with people walking, running or practicing yoga. As always, there are chai-wallahs walking among them ready offer a hot cup of sweet, milky tea.
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| Marine Drive in the early hours |
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| At Sunrise |
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| Marine drive remains popular throughout the day |
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| And is lined with a number of Art Deco buildings |
There are many beautiful churches in Mumbai and I visited three of them - the sparse
Afghan Church, the beautifully frescoed
Cathedral of the Holy Name, and
St. Thomas's Cathedral (after which the original Church Gate was named)
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| The Afghan church (1858, Anglican) commemorates the dead in the First Afghan War of 1838. Yes, the west has been fighting there since then & winning? Not. |
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| Afghan Church |
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| The Cathedral of the Holy Name (Roman Catholic) |
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| Holy Name Cathedral |
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| St. Thomas's Cathedral (1718, Anglican). The original church was added to later |
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| This Neo-gothic chancel was added in 1865 |
And best of all, we got to hang out with our friends (unfortunately, no pictures of Zoojar & family)
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| With Pradeep and Jayashree |
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| With my cousin Glynnis |
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| With Mihir |
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