Bandra
|
|
Template:Mumbai - Suburban Railway, Header It is a suburb of Mumbai.
Bandra had one of the largest Catholic population in Mumbai. It is famous for its churches, especially Mount Mary's basilica. Bandra is also known as the "Queen of the suburbs in Mumbai".Bandra also boasts of one of Mumbai city's most popular shopping destinations and millions of people troop in to 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.
Bandra (East)is the capital of Bombay suburban district. However it if completely overshadowded by its neighbouring city district with regards to government departments. The most prominent office is the suburban collector's office.
| Contents |
History
Legend has it that the name Bandra comes from the Marathi word Bandar meaning port .
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. 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 churches anywhere in the world- 5 Churches and also a Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount.
In 1733 when the Kunbi farmers migrated to this island from Bombay, because the fish manure they used was banned, they found St. Andrew's church (still extant), St. Stanislaus's Orphanage and a monastery of St. Anne. After this was destroyed in a Maratha raid in the year 1737, when the Portuguese troops were aided by the English, a slaughter house was built on the same spot.
There was also a chapel of Mount Mary, build 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.
Bandra remained a village with plantations of rice and vegetables in the low-lying areas of the island until it was connected to Mahim by a causeway in 1845. Although many bungalows were built here in the boom years of the 1860's and 70's, the fashionable Pali Hill area, now full of film stars, saw the first constructions only in the 1880's.
R D National College was originally set up in 1922 in Hyderabad (Pakistan) under the guidance of Dr. Annie Besant. After the partition of India, it was set up again, in 1949, in Bandra.
Bandra (West) became one of the most fashionable suburbs already by the middle of the century. Bandra (East) is regarded as a commercial area, consisting of the Bandra-Kurla Commercial Complex.
Geography
Neighboring suburbs
Arterial Roads
Transportation
Bandra railway station is connected via the Western Railway and the Harbour Line which is an offshoot of the suburban Central Railway. BEST buses, autorickshaws and taxis are abundant here.
Bandra also being centrally located makes it easy to move to different parts of the city.
Educational Institutions
(See List of Bombay Colleges)
Schools
- St. Anne's
- St. Stanislaus'
- St. Andrew's
- St. Theresa's
- Arya Vidya Mandir
- Apostolic Carmel Convent
- St Joseph's
- St. Aloysius
- Mount Mary's
- IES,New English School. Bandra (East)
Colleges
- St. Andrew's
- National College
- Rizvi Educational Campus (consisting of various colleges including an engineering college)
- Thadomal Shahani Engineering College
- Fr. Concesiao Rodrigues Engineering College
- Mithibai Motiram Kundnani College Of Commerce And Economics
Entertainment
- Theatre
- St. Andrews Auditorium
- Rang Sharda Auditorium
- Cinema Halls
- Suburbia (formerly Bandra Talkies)
- Gaiety, Galaxy (G7 Multiplex)
- Globus (formerly New Talkies)
Places of Worship
Catholic places of Worship
- St. Andrew's Church, Hill Road.
- St. Peter's Church, Hill Road.
- Our Lady Of Mount Carmel, Chapel Road.
- St. Anne's Church, Pali Hill.
- St. Theresa's Church, 24th. Road, TPS-3.
- St. Francis Of Assisi Church, Khadeshwari Mandir Marg.
- (All above are Roman Catholic Churches.)
- St Stephen's Church, MountMary Road. (Church of North India.)
- Basilica of Our Lady Of The Mount, Mount Mary Hill. (Roman Catholic Basilica).
Islamic Places of Worship
- Bandra Jamatkhana-Ismaili (Hill Road)
- Bandra Masjid (SV Road)
- Bandra Masjid (Bandra Station)
Hospitals
- Lilavati Hospital
- Holy Family Hospital.
- Bhabha Hospital.
Parks
- Jogger's Park: Jogger's Park is a little 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.
- the new promenade at the Reclamation
- Bandstand Promenade
- Patwardan Garden at Linking Road, opposite National College. It has a good jogging track and a nice inner lawn garden to relax.
External links
- Lilavati Hospital official website (http://www.lilavatihospital.com/home.aspx/)
- Goldenbandra - Bandra Past and Present (http://www.goldenbandra.com/)