Yearly Archives: 2014

The Gateway of India Beautiful Landmark of Mumbai

The Gateway of India is one of the distinguishing landmarks of Mumbai. Set at the tip of the reclaimed land of the Apollo Bunder, it adjoins the Mumbai Harbour and the Arabian Sea in the Colaba area of the city. The Gateway of India is a monument built during the British Raj in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. Located on the waterfront in the Apollo Bunder area in South Mumbai, overlooking the Arabian Sea. The gateway is a basalt arch, 26 metres (85 feet) high. It lies at the end of Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg at the water’s edge in the harbor of Bombay. It used to be a crude jetty used by the fishing community which was later renovated and used as a landing place for British governors and other prominent people. In earlier times, the gateway was the monument that visitors arriving by boat would have first seen in Mumbai. The gateway has also been referred to as the Taj Mahal of Mumbai, and is the city’s top tourist attraction.

The monument was erected to commemorate the landing on the Apollo Bunder of their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary when they visited India in 1911. Built in Indo-Saracenic style, the foundation stone for the Gateway of India was laid on 31 March 1911. The final design of George Wittet was sanctioned in 1914 and the construction of the monument was completed in 1924. The gateway was latterly the ceremonial entrance to India for Viceroys and the new Governors of Bombay. It served as allow entry and access to India.

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Elephanta Caves in Mumbai

About Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves are a  great tourist attraction in the vicinity of the large Mumbai meteropolis. The Elephanta Caves are a network of sculpted caves located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally “the city of caves”) in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the east of the city of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The island, located on an arm of the Arabian Sea, consists of two groups of caves—the first is a large group of five Hindu caves, the second, a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The Hindu caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the god Shiva.

The rock cut architecture of the caves has been dated to between the 5th and 8th centuries, although the identity of the original builders is still a subject of debate. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. All the caves were also originally painted in the past, but now only traces remain.

The island was called Gharapuri and was a Hindu place of worship until Portuguese rule began in 1534. The Portuguese called the island Elephanta on seeing its huge gigantic statue of an Elephant at the entrance. The Statue is now placed in the garden outside the Bhau Daji Lad (erstwhile Victoria & Albert) Museum at the Jijamata Udyan (erstwhile Victoria Gardens) at Byculla in Mumbai. This cave was renovated in the 1970s after years of neglect, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 to preserve the artwork. It is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

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Safdarjung’s Tomb a marble mausoleum

The tomb was built for Safdarjung, the powerful prime minister of Muhammad Shah who was the weak Mughal emperor from 1719 to 1748. The central tomb has a huge dome. There are four water canals leading to four buildings. One has an ornately decorated gateway while the other three are pavilions, with living quarters built into the walls. Octagonal towers are in the corners. The canals are four oblong tanks, one on each side of the tomb

Safdarjung’s Tomb is a garden tomb with a marble mausoleum in New Delhi, India. It was built in 1754 in the late Mughal Empire style, and was described as “the last flicker in the lamp of Mughal architecture”. The top storey of the edifice houses the Archaeological Survey of India. The garden, in the style evolved by the Mughal Empire that is now known as the Mughal gardens style influenced by Persian gardens style, is entered through an ornate gate. Its facade is decorated with elaborate plaster carvings.

About Tomb

Safdarjung’s tomb was built by Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah, the son of Safdarjung. Safdarjung was the governor of Awadh and later became the Prime Minister of Muhammad Shah, the Mughal emperor. Built in 1753-1754, the Safdarjung tomb lies at the Lodi road, New Delhi. Safdarjung’s tomb is set in the middle of a garden, which spreads over an area of 300 sq m. The garden of Safdarjung’s tomb is laid down on the pattern of the Mughal Charbagh style. The Safdarjung tomb was erected roughly on the pattern of Humayun’s tomb.

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Lodhi Tomb (Lodhi Gardens)

Lodhi Gardens is a park in Delhi, India. Spread over 90 acres (360,000 m2), it contains, Mohammed Shah’s Tomb, Sikander Lodi’s Tomb, Sheesh Gumbad and Bara Gumbad, architectural works of the 15th century Sayyid and Lodis, a Pashtun dynasty which ruled much of Northern India during the 16th century, and the site is now protected by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).

The gardens are situated between Khan Market and Safdarjung’s Tomb on Lodi Road. It is beautiful and serene, and is a hotspot for morning walks for the Delhiites.

About Lodhi Garden

Lodi Garden in Delhi is the combination of picturesque gardens and the 15th and 16th century monuments. It possesses gems like the tomb of Muhammad Sayyid and Ibrahim Lodi and is quite famous among the morning walkers of the nearby South Delhi area. In British times, the park was called Lady Willingdon Park. In 1968 the garden was re-landscaped to its present condition by J A Stein and Garrett Eckbo.

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Beautiful and Historical Flora Fountain

Flora Fountain, at the Hutatma Chowk (Martyr’s Square), is an ornamentally and exquisitely sculpted architectural heritage monument located at the southern end of the historic Dadabhai Naoroji Road, called the Mile Long Road, at the Fort business district in the heart of South Mumbai, Mumbai,India. Flora Fountain, built in 1864, is a fusion of water, architecture and sculpture, and depicts the Roman goddess Flora. It was built at a total cost of Rs. 47,000, or 9000 pounds sterling, a princely sum in those days.

About Fountain

Flora fountain is beautifully adorned stone fountain which is located in the Fort area in South Mumbai. The fountain was built in 1864. It represents the Roman Goddess Flora which is the ‘Goddess of Abundance’. Today, Flora fountain is a heritage structure. The total cost to build this structure was Rs. 47,000 which was a considerable amount during that time. It was constructed by the Agri-Horticultural Soceity of Western India. A donation of Rs 20,000 by Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh was used to erect this fountain. It was designed by R. Norman Shaw and it was sculpted by James Forsythe.

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