Mumbai's Marine Drive - A Piece of the "Queen's Necklace"

Mumbai boasts of a gracefully curving promenade called Marine Drive, directly facing the western bay, a natural arm of the Arabian Sea. It's a gorgeous boulevard that spans 4.3 kilometers connecting the central business district at Nariman Point to Malabar Hill and Babulnath. The short drive was originally laid out some 70 years ago, a six-lane highway dotted with a rich boulevard of art deco buildings. The official name is far from poetic: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road while the Marathi people endearingly called it Sonapur. However, travel books have gotten used to calling it the "Queen's Necklace" in reference to how it looks at night when the promenade lights are all lit, and the dreamy breakwater turns into a wondrous piece of royal accouterment .. like a "cluster of diamonds at a pendant," wrote Nita Kulkarni in her blog, "Stock Pictures".

After a seemingly aimless day of unplanned wanderings, I finally reached this promenade all the way from the Gateway of India... and "on foot". I was tempted to rest my tired body the way a gentleman at the promenade had done: he laid there seemingly dead to the world. I walked along the concrete structures for an hour and by the time I got back to the same point, he was still there, fast asleep.

Mindless and dead to the world

I could sit there all day or I could wait for the setting sun from the western horizon, but after a while, I realized I wasn't sure if I could find my way back where I came from.

It had been a long walk and I didn't want to test my luck in Mumbai's dark alleyways. Neither did I want the chance to risk my sanity with a taxi driver (a last resort) if I eventually get lost. With neither a map nor my LP guidebook in my backpack, I finally decided to say goodbye to what could easily be my favorite spot in Mumbai.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on a leisurely walk back to my hotel. I found a Post Office and mailed some postcards back home. There were simple pleasures along the way: two glasses of sugarcane juice (freshly squeezed), grandiose fountain designs, more colonial buildings, black-and-yellow taxi cabs, double decker buses, a last glimpse of the Gateway of India, more acquaintances with anonymous Indian statues. I realized it was a great time to be alive and even greater to be discovering a slice of India that I've always heard about.

As darkness eventually fell into Colaba, I was left with a sense of peace; of a calming ennui that shall take me to a restful, dreamless sleep.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The Queen's Necklace

The Queen's Necklace - This is how Mumbai's scenic Marine Drive is being referred to as night lights make it seem like a necklace studded with diamonds. This photo only courtesy of Nita Jatar Kulkarni. Please visit her site here: http://www.stockpicturesforeveryone.com/2011/01/marine-drive-mumbai-photographs.html

Sugarcane juice near the university of Mumbai and the cricket field.

A post office in Colaba few blocks from my hotel.

Gateway of India up close

Statue of Lal Bahadur Shastri, India's second Prime Minister. Thanks to "Mom with a Dot" for the much needed identification. :)

More of Mumbai: On a Leisurely Trail Across Colonial History - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2013/02/mumbai-walk-on-leisurely-trail-across.html

Mumbai's Elephanta Island - Heritage, History, Beauty

Elephanta Island is 9 kilometers (some say 7 or 10) northeast from Mumbai Harbour. The island is home to a cave system that has been turned into both Hindu and Buddhist temples, with basalt rock carved into pillars and gods, including a 6-meter tall Sadashiva. In olden times, the island was called Gharapuri  which literally means “city of caves”, kept afloat by an arm of the Arabian Sea.

The larger group contains Hindu images – with rock cut stone sculptures representing Shiva, while the smaller one has Buddhist carvings. Sometime in 1534, the Portuguese explorers came and ruled over the region.

What they found was a behemoth statue of an Elephant “guarding” the island, thus they renamed Gharapuri as such. In the caves, all they found were a few Kshatrapa coins from the 4^th century. Nothing else. The aforementioned elephant statue, though still in existence, has since been transferred in the Victorian Garden outside Bhau Daji Lad in Central Mumbai.

Locals believe that these caves aren’t man-made. In fact, some believe that Pandava, a hero (composed of five personages) from Mahabharata, was responsible for the creation of these caves, previously designed as an abode of sorts. Others believe Banasura, the demon devotee of Shiva, was responsible for its construction. Historians however believe that the place served as the capital of the Konkan Mauryas, dating them to the mid 6^th century (635 A.D.) Several other rulers made Elephanta their kingdom.

I paid 250 rupees for my foreigner’s entrance fees (locals pay a measly 10 rupees), plus a 5 rupee tax; then hopped into a boat that soon left the jetty. The ride was a pleasant and refreshing glide into the Arabian Seas, which took about an hour to get there. A miniature diesel train, looking more like a Willy Wonka carnival toy (as it’s painted red), awaits those who want to leisurely take their time (for a 10-rupee fee of course). Otherwise, it’s a short walk through rows of makeshift stalls selling souvenir items (shirts, wood carvings, trinkets, etc.). I had my first proper meal for the day before heading towards the caves. The journey would be a bit uphill, but it was hardly strenuous. It reminded me of the road towards the Perfumed Pagodas of North Vietnam.

Bucher (or Butcher ) Island is a fortress-like structure en route to Elephanta Island. 

A short train ride costs 10 rupees. I didn't bother.

A short walk from here to those establishments. At the back of those structures are the caves. If walking is "too much" for you, you can take the 10-rupee train (above).

Affordable meals at the Elephanta Port Restaurant

Map of Elephanta Island

Though there are close to 10 caves in the complex, tourists gets to practically experience the two cave systems containing intricately carved statues. Taking photos of some of them without people was almost a challenge because of the big throng wandering around. It didn't take me more than an hour to see what had to be seen. There was also a little pictographic museum near the caves: Asi Site Museum, though I feel this was too simplistic, if not misplaced, beside these spectacular rock sculptures.  

It’s easy to understand why the Elephanta Caves have been bestowed the title of a UNESCO World Heritage Site as early as 1987, but India has so many of these grandiose sites. I’d favor many other sites than this one. I loved the boat ride though. In fact, one of my most favorite moments in Mumbai was this boat ride back to the Gateway. It felt peaceful, with most passengers keeping mum and enjoying the gentle late afternoon breeze.

The elephant statue found by the Portuguese guarding the cave. This photo only courtesy of wikipedia.

From a distance, the sun glistened like a fierce bowl of fire, deep orange and seemingly burning. It was a sight to behold. 

Bucher Island looked like a sleeping fortress, with a flag waving languidly in the middle of the island, flapping gently against the wind. While the day seemed like a brisk series of slide shows, the boat disallowed any more movement outside the boundaries of the moving ship. For once, I was stationary. And it wasn't so bad.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Shiva as Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer.

Trimurti (right)

Asi Site Museum

Souvenir shops 

Fiery sun reluctantly sets over Mumbai.

Mumbai Walk - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2013/02/mumbai-walk-on-leisurely-trail-across.html

Mumbai Tales, Greedy Drivers and Losing Cool - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2013/01/mumbai-tales-greedy-drivers-and-losing.html

A Rickshaw Ride in Delhi One Lazy Morning - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-rickshaw-ride-in-delhi-one-lazy.html