Journey from Bombay to AAMCHI MUMBAI!

May 1, 2011 History post Transformation of MUMBAI

 

 

 

Bombay has no bombs and is a harbor not bay. Today(1st May), in the year 1960, Bombay (now Mumbai) was transformed from a Bombay State to Bombay City and a capital of a newly created state Maharashtra. Life of the present Mumbaikar’s is quite different from the early one’s.

From Stone Age to Sultan of Gujarat:

Anyone living in Mumbai today knows Colaba, Mazagaon, Mumbadevi, Worli, Parel, Mahim as local places of Mumbai. But, did you know that once upon a time they were 7 independent islands. In fact, Mumbai has its mark since stone age. Later it was a part of Magadhan Empire ruled by the Ashoka Maurya. The empire receded and left the Buddhists monks and Kolis, whose stone Goddess – MumbaiDevi, gave its name to the current alpha city in the year 1995.

Mumbai changed hands many times. After Magadha Empire, islands were ruled by the Silhara Dynasty till the middle of the 13th century. Walkeshwar Temple, Banganga, Elephanta caves probably date from this time – under Silhara patronage.

After Silhara’s, King Bhimdev founded his kingdom with “Mahikawati” (Mahim) as its Capital. He was said to be from Anahilavada dynasty of Gujarat. Babulnath Temple was built under his patronage. He brought various communities from Saurashtra and other parts of Gujarat to Mahikawati. Later the islands were wrested by the Muslim rulers of Gujarat. The mosque in mahim probably date from this time.

Deliberate Twirl to West:

Portuguese Period:

Portuguese explorer Fransisco de Almeida’s ship sailed into the deep natural harbour of the island in 1508, and he called it Bom Bahia (Good Bay).  In 1534, Bahadur shah  was forced to sign the treaty of Bassein (at present – Vasai) with the Portuguese wherein Bassein and seven islands were surrendered to the Portuguese thereby ending the Islamic rule in the city. By this time Portuguese had already possessed west coast areas of Panjim, Daman and Diu. With the treaty, they possessed Bombay and named it as “Bom Bahia” meaning a “Good Bay” in Portuguese.

They built numerous churches at the areas where the major population comprised of Roman Catholics. St. Andrews Church at Bandra is the only church that remains with the Portuguese style facade.  Another church is the St. John the Baptist church built by the Portuguese in Mumbai. located inside SEEPZ, Andheri, which is opened only once in a year at present.

They also built forts at Sion, Mahim, Bandra and Bassien which can still be seen.

Dutch and the British:

In 1580, Spain invaded Portugal territories which opened the way for the Europeans to enter India (Possessed by Portuguese then). The Dutch arrived first, followed by the British. Portuguese had monopoly in trade in the 15th and earth 16th centuries. As a result, Battle of Swally was fought between the British and the Portuguese at Surat at around 1612 for the possession of Bombay(one of the seven islands then). The marriage treaty of British King Charles II and Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza in 1661 brought these islands into British as a part of a marriage dowry. Other 6 islands continued to be under Portuguese possession.  British renamed “Bom Bahia” to “Bombay”.

In 1668, according to the Royal Charter of 27th March 1668, an agreement between British Empire and East India Company led to the transfer of Bombay(one of the seven islands then) to the British East India Company at an annual rest of £10.

Company then built harbours and warehouses for trade. Customs house was also built. Fortifications were built around Raj Bhavan (formerly Bombay Castle). The second governor of Bombay saw the opportunity to develop islands into a centre of commerce to rival other ports which were still possessed by the local kingdoms then.  Various business incentives were offered which attracted Jews, Armenians, Brahmins, Gujaratis, Bohras and other communities. Population of Bombay rose approx. 6 times more in a period of 5 years. Ship building industry moved to Bombay from Surat.

In 1782, Hornby Vellard engineering project was started by the just assumed Governor of Bomaby – William Hornby to unite the 7 islands into one single landmass. The Bombay was connected to Salsette by a causeway at Sion, Colaba and little Colaba were connected to Bombay, causeway connecting mahim and bandra followed and so on. All 7 islands were merged to form a state of Bombay. Company built infrastructures like railways, Asiatic Society of Bombay (town hall), Elphinstone college, commercial banks, newspapers. All these activities led to the educational and economic progress and overall development of Bombay city. Victoria Terminus station (now CST) was one of the finest stations in the world then.

The concept of Dabbawalas originated during this period. Britishers in Bombay who did not liked the local food, set up the service of dabbawalas to carry lunch to their workplace straight from their home.

Bombay-Map-With-Reclamation-Areas, Mumbaibombay, mumbai

Post-Independence Period:

In 1950’s there was a demand from the United Maharashra Committee (Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti) to create a separate Marathi speaking state “Maharashtra” from the state of Bombay with city Bombay (now Mumbai) as its capital.

On 1st May 1960, state of Bombay was portioned into the Marathi speaking state (Maharshatra) and Gujarati speaking state (Gujarat).

In 1995 Bombay was renamed to “Mumbai”, after Mumbadevi, a stone goddess of deep-sea fisherman.

Indian Folk Music

April 26, 2011 post

I just get thrilled when i hear Indian folk songs – India has awesome collection of songs – be it Bollywood or Folk. India is blessed to have varieties of folk songs due to its cultural diversity. Each Region of India has its own archetype and distinctive style of folk music. Each have their own charm and appeal.

The present era may not like or enjoy all the folk songs but some are just exception and evergreen. Listened to the Bengali jhumur and baul, Maand and pihari folk songs of Rajashthan, Kashmiri folk songs. Indeed folk songs have their own status and mark in the field of music. I am not from music industry, but still can taste and share the sweetness of the Indian folk Songs.

Just before writing this article, I was listening to “Pasaayadan”. It’s considered as a prayer, written by Sant Dnyaneshwar. I now wish to hear some tribal or tribal folk music of india. Have heard that in the remote areas of India, music is a natural learning process which almost seeps in into any individual. Metros miss their charm. I guess, metros will makeavailable its bollywood or remixed version to the listeners. Heard Koshur’s Kashmiri folk song “Rind posh mal”, many of us would be knowing this famous song from the movie “Mission Kashmir”. We probably heard the bollywood version of this Kashmiri folk song.

Many Indian folk songs are difficult to find. With the present scenario where “main karun toh saala character dheela hai” and “taaza mutton” type songs… our folk music are not so liked or wanted by a quite a good amount of crowd, but they remain to be India’s identity and most loved and missed songs.

A Lesson to Teach

April 13, 2011 post

Her name was Mrs. Thompson. As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie.

Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs.Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn’t play well with the other children that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs.Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X’s and then putting a big “F” at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s past records and she put Teddy’s off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners… he is a joy to be around.”

His second grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.”

His third grade teacher wrote, “His mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren’t taken.”

Teddy’s fourth grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.”

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy’s. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag.

Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume.

But she stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.

Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, “Mrs.Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to,” After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children.

Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded.

By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her “teacher’s pets.”

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer — the letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story doesn’t end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he’d met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs.Thompson did.

And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs.Thompson’s ear, “Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.”

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, “Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t really know how to teach until I met you.”

Please remember that wherever you go, and whatever you do, you will have the opportunity to touch and/or change a person’s outlook.

Please try to do it in a positive way:
“Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”

Every daughter’s finger may b small, bu…

April 13, 2011 status

Every daughter’s finger may b small, but she can still wrap her daddy around it.

Daughters are like flowers, they fill d world with beauty .

Daughters can never be charged of thoughtless mischief. They plan it.

A daughter will own her parents all her life.

She may outgrow your lap, but wont outgrow your heart.

B proud 2 have a daughter or b 1 urself.

Life Without Challenges

April 2, 2011 post

A life without challenge would be like
going to school without lessons to learn.

Challenges come not to depress or get you down,
but to master and to grow and to unfold your abilities.

Life’s Struggles

April 2, 2011 post

A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On the day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force the body through that little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck. Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then
emerged easily.

But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life
crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets.

There is no limit to the good and valuab…

March 14, 2011 quote

There is no limit to the good and valuable things you can accomplish to fulfill your own purpose and to lovingly serve the needs of others. Doing your authentic best, right now, in this moment, is more than enough to change the world for the better.

Citation

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On YoutubeVisit Us On LinkedinVisit Us On Instagram