The Racist Bacchi Karkaria Please Grow up

This article is specifically directed at Bacchi Karkaria- a racially abusive journalist writer. No offence or reference made to any community in general. If she has a right to comment anything that she dislikes of Maharshtra where she has lived or its people with whom she has lived, I also have a right to criticize.

I am trying to upoad a PPT on Mumbai but some how this does not seem possible through this blogspot. I have copied it down for Mrs Bacchi Karkaria

Dear Kumari Bacchi Karkaria. Please see this and grow up

The Origin of Mumbai We all know you failed miserably in History or used wrong means to pass exams. You need to pass this test so study well and hope that you get over your mental sickness soon.


lMade up of seven isles: Kolbhat (Colaba), Palva Bunder (renamed by British as Apollo Bunder), Mazgaon (derived from Sanskrit word Matsya Gram – fishing village, Parel, Mahim, Worli, Chhota Kolbhat (little Colaba). The bigger island in the North of Mumbai islands was Sashti (renamed by Portuguese as Salsette), also constituted of seven other smaller islands. And the other island to the East was Turbhe (called as Trombay by Portuguese)
Deep-sea fishermen called the Kolis and salt makers called the Aagris were the chief inhabitants The name Mumbai was derived from the form of Maha Amba (Great Mother) Mumbadevi, worshipped by the Kolis
The Mumbadevi temple was built originally by a Koli in 14th century atop Dongri hill. The temple miraculously escaped destruction during the Muslim & Portuguese rules. But British demolished it in 18th century. It was rebuilt at Pydhonie by a goldsmith, Pandurang Shivaji Sonar

Ancient Period
Artifacts found near Kandivali shows evidence of human civilisation since 250 BC
300 BC: Maurya Empire (Kanheri caves, Mahakali

300 BC: Maurya Empire (Kanheri caves, Mahakali Caves, Mandapeshwar caves). Kanheri is derived from the word Krishnagiri (means black mountain in Sanskrit). The present Sanjay Gandhi National Park also existing in this era & was earlier called Krishnagiri National Park
l185 BC: Satvahanas of Telgu region ruled the islands along with Konkan coast
l1st century : Satvahana, then Shaka era
lAD 415, Traikutaka, Kalachuri dynasty (coins of the Kalachuri king Krishnaraja were found in the village Kavel present day Kalbadevi road) build the Jogeshwari caves dedicated to Lord Shiva
l6th – 7th century: Chalukya dynasty (king Pulakeshin) established their capital on Gharapuri island
l9th - 12th century : Shilahara era (Elephanta caves, Walkeshwar temple, Banganga Tank, Ambarnath temple). The Walkeshwar temple was destroyed by the Portuguese & rebuilt by Rama Kamath in 1715

Medieval Period
13th century: When Devgiri was besieged by the invader Allaudin-Khilji, Raja Bhimdev the son of Ramdev (the Yadav king of Devgiri), established his capital Mahikawati on isle of Mahim. Raja Bhimdev & his son Pratap Bimb transformed the island into a city of temples & settlements flourishing with plantations, fishing hamlets & vegetal cover, groves & woods, during the 13th century.
15th century: Mohemmedan invader Mubarak Shah destroyed many temples & cities after defeating Raja Nagardev in a battle at Byculla and thus conquered Mumbai. The Haji Ali tomb & the Mahim mosque were built around this time
16th century : Portuguese defeated the Muhameddans in a battle near the Bandra creek. They imposed their feudal system on the natives, demolished temples & built churches in their place. The temple of Walkeshwar & Mahalakshmi were cast down.
In 1661, during the marriage treaty of Infanta Catherine of Portugal with Charles II of Britain, Portugal handed over the islands of Mumbai to Britain as dowry, but retained Sashti islands
In the year 1668, the English East India Company took over the command of these money-minting islands under a lease agreement of 10 Pounds per annum
In 1737 Sashti was captured from the Portuguese by the native Marathas, but finally lost it to the British in 1774, and was formally ceded to the East India Company in the 1782 Treaty of Salbai

Major Settlements of Mumbai
During the Shilahar era (800-1000AD) GharaPuri (present day Elephanta) was the capital and flourishing trade center was established in sashti island
During Raja Bhimdev’s reign the main inhabitants were various Maharashtrian castes viz. Palshis, Pachkalshis, Kunbis, Bhandaris, Vadvals, Bhois, Agris, Pathare Prabhus and Brahmins. The Bhandaris were originally toddy trappers; the Vadvals were gardeners
The Portuguese had the primary goal of proselytizing rather than development of mumbai. They carried conversion in the area of Caval, Chaul, Bassein & Thane, thus introducing Christianity in this region.
The Hindus (primarily konkanis) who did not succumb to the oppressions for conversions, migrated to other parts of Mumbai & thus Konkanis became a part of the oldest inhabitants of Mumbai.
During the 17th century, Parsis were one of the earliest immigrants to move to Mumbai. The Parsi community has contributed significantly to the development of the nation. Famous Parsis are Dadabhai Naoroji, Jemshetji Tata, Ratan Tata. The printing press was introducted to Mumbai by Bhimji Parikh, a Parsi trader in 1670 Parsis are also immigrants Please note Mrs Karkaria.
In 1757, Kamathis, construction workers from Andhra Pradesh arrived here and set up base. The region was the low-lying area near present day Mahalaxmi. The region became known as Kamathipura.
Around the same time, many Gujrathis, Kathiawaris, Kutchis & marwaris arrived to mumbai to oversome droughts & famine in their homeland. These communities spearheaded the development of commerce & trade in the city
Almost all settlements were largely along the religious lines. For e.g. locality of pydhonie physically sperated Hindu & Muslim settlements
The Sindhis who were a resident of the state of Sindh, lost their homes during the partition since and took shelter in Mumbai & settled in Sindhunagar (Ulhasnagar) & contributed to the progress of trade & commerce.

Greater Mumbai Reclaimed from the Sea


In 1782 William Hornby, then Governor of Bombay Presidency, initiated the Hornby Vellard project of connecting the isles, despite resistance from East India Company. By 1845 the seven southern islands had been connected to form Old Mumbai, with an area of 435 sq.km. Railway viaducts and road bridges were built in the 19th century to connect Mumbai island to Sashti, and Sashti to the mainland. The old railway bridges over the Bhayandar & Naigaon creeks can still be seen from the Virar locals. The channels separating Mumbai and Turbhe islands from Sashti Island were filled in the early 20th century.
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The present day area from Bandra to Dahisar are a part of Sashti island. The ancient Kanheri caves, Jogeshwari caves, Mahakali caves fall in this region

British Raj (1700–1947 AD)
Below: Rajabai Towre under construction:
Mumbai University Building & Rajabhai tower, standing 260 ft tall and endowed with amazing sculptures, it was financed by Cotton entrepreneur and banker Premchand Roychand in the late 19th century
Mahalakshmi mandir
As per the legend, 1784, when the Hornby Project kept failing to fill the breach at worli, the chief engineer, a Pathare Prabhu, dreamt of Goddess Lakshmi in the sea near Worli. He searched the waters & actually found an idol of the Goddess & built the Mahalakshmi temple in the sea. Only then did the Hornby Project work resumed without failures. Mumbai was made itself by a Marathi Architect. Bacchi Karkaria please take note I am giving some gyaan to you now.

Mumbai and Indian Independence
•Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 in a hall overlooking the Gowalia Tank Maidan
•In the historical trial of Bal Gangadhar Tilak under the Bombay High Court (for charges of sedition put forth by british), Tilak spoke out to the world as to what was in the minds of the Indian people - “Swaraj (independence) is my birthright and I shall have it”. This statement aroused a sleeping nation to action making them aware of their political plight under foreign rule
•Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, arrived in Bombay in 1915 after giving a spirited fight against inhuman apartheid in South Africa and thus the concept of “Swadeshi”, “Ahimsa” & “Satyagraha” were introduced in India
•In 1921 (after the death of Tilak) Mumbai’s citizens contributed over Rs. 1 crore to “Tilak Swaraj Fund” which gave a immense boost to entire freedom struggle
•The Quit India Movement took off from Mumbai on August 7, 1942 by the Congress Party in a public meeting at Gowalia Tank Maidan (now renamed August Kranti maidan).
•The Mumbai Mutiny of 18th Feb 1946 marked the first and most serious revolt by the Indian military personnel of the Western naval fleet against the British rule. From the initial flashpoint in Mumbai, the mutiny spread and found support through India, from Karachi to Calcutta and ultimately came to involve 78 ships, 20 shore establishments and 20,000 sailors. This is was the last straw that broke the camel’s back and forced the mighty British empire to finally announce India’s independenceMumbai and Indian Independence
•Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 in a hall overlooking the Gowalia Tank Maidan
•In the historical trial of Bal Gangadhar Tilak under the Bombay High Court (for charges of sedition put forth by british), Tilak spoke out to the world as to what was in the minds of the Indian people - “Swaraj (independence) is my birthright and I shall have it”. This statement aroused a sleeping nation to action making them aware of their political plight under foreign rule
•Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, arrived in Bombay in 1915 after giving a spirited fight against inhuman apartheid in South Africa and thus the concept of “Swadeshi”, “Ahimsa” & “Satyagraha” were introduced in India
•In 1921 (after the death of Tilak) Mumbai’s citizens contributed over Rs. 1 crore to “Tilak Swaraj Fund” which gave a immense boost to entire freedom struggle
•The Quit India Movement took off from Mumbai on August 7, 1942 by the Congress Party in a public meeting at Gowalia Tank Maidan (now renamed August Kranti maidan).
•The Mumbai Mutiny of 18th Feb 1946 marked the first and most serious revolt by the Indian military personnel of the Western naval fleet against the British rule. From the initial flashpoint in Mumbai, the mutiny spread and found support through India, from Karachi to Calcutta and ultimately came to involve 78 ships, 20 shore establishments and 20,000 sailors. This is was the last straw that broke the camel’s back and forced the mighty British empire to finally announce India’s independence

Interesting Nomenclature (origins) …
Elephanta island – original name was Gharapuri (or Puri, place of caves), which was called by Portuguese as Elephanta after seeing a monolithic basalt sculpture of an elephant at the entrance. The britishers made a failed attempt to move take the elephant to British museum (fortunately their crane broke down and the elephant today sits just outside the buyculla zoo)
Dhobi Talao – washerman’s pond until 17th century, its been buried since then
Parel – derived from the Parali Vaijanath Mahadev temple of the 13th century dedicated to Shiva. The Portuguuese demolished this & built a Jesuit church & convent in its place
Elphinstone circle – original name Amliagal (meaning - in front of tamarind tree, even today a Tamarind land exists)


Chinch Bunder (south of Dongri near the shore) – chinch means tamarind in Marathi


Bhendi Bazar – derived from a bhendi plantation


Umerkhadi – derived from a couple of umbar (Ficus Glomerata) trees which existed along the shore of the khadi (creek in Marathi)
On the shores of Umerkhadi was a hamlet Pydhonie (which means foot-wash in Marathi)
A comparatively narrow belt of land to the hills were thickly grown with plantations:
Phanaswadi – phanas (jackfruit in Marathi) plantations
Kelewadi – plantain (banana) groves in Marathi
Khetwadi – khet means farm in Marathi
Khotachiwadi – meaning Khot’s place. It was founded by a local named Khot who leased plots to east indians
Girgaum – gir (mountain in Sanskrit), gaum (village) – village at the foot of mountain (Malabar hill). Nearby was the shrine of Gav-devi (the deity of the village).
Adjoining Phanaswadi is Cavel (derived from Koli name Kolwar) is located to the north-east of Dhobitalao near the Chira Bazaar area. from the Koli name Kolwar. The Kolis of this village were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Cavel thus became a Christian enclave
Bori Bunder – bori means sacks in Marathi, bunder is port. Port where sacks are offloaded & stored

lThe Worli creek to the north of this island was called Kshirsagar & the khind in the hills got denigrated to Breach Candy. There were tad (brab) palms below the hills which gave the name to Taddeo (Tardeo)
lByculla – derived from Bhaya (Cassia fistula) & khala means at ground level
lAt extreme south of Parel island was a tamarind covered valley, hence the name Chinchpokli
lParel – pronounced as Paral, derived from the Parali Vaijanath Mahadev temple built by the Brahmins of the 13th century dedicated to Shiva. The Portuguese demolished this & built a Jesuit church & convent in its place
lNorth of Parel was the boat hamlet Naigaon derived from Nyaya-gaon (nyay means justice), which was the court of justice in the days of Raja Bhimdev.
lFurther north were rows of banyan trees, which gave the name Vadala (vad means banyan in marathi
lBamnoli (between Vadala & Parel) derived from Baman-aali (baman is Brahman & aali means row) which was a Brahmin settlement
lThe name of the 7th island was also derived from the rows of banyan (vad) as Vad-ali (aali means row) or Varali (Worli)
lThe northern most main island (present day Bandra-to-Bhayandar) was called Sashti (which means 66), since it comprised of group of 66 villages. It was called as Salsette by Portuguese
lThane – derived from Sthan or Sthanaka, capital of Shilaharas. Slabs & copper plates of this era were discovered in Thane
Mazgaon – derived from Machchagram (machcha – fish, gram-village)
Bhuleshwar – named after the temple of Shiva (Bholenath)
Trombay – original name Turbhe. Trombay given by Portuguese
Pydhonie – feet-wash in Marathi – indicating that this was once a creek. This was one of the first piece of land to be reclaimed from the sea
Khar – (salty in Marathi) for its vicinity to the sea near Khar Danda
lDharavi derived from daar (which means the door of the island)
Khumbarwada – kumbhar means potter. Potters from Saurashtra lived here
Sewri derived from Sivawadi
Versova – original name Vesaave which was a koli hamlet
Bandra – original name Vandre (which means Bunder or port)
Santa-cruz – named by Portuguese. Local name Shantinagar
Goregaon is named after the Gore family who lived there since ages
Geography & Topology of Greater Mumbai

Mumbai peninsula is 2 meters above sea-level
the area of Greater Mumbai is 603 km2, comprising Bombay City 157 square kilometers and Suburbs square kilometers. Greater Mumbai district (smallest in Maharashtra) & covers an area of 437.71 sq. km. that constitutes 0.14 per cent of total area of Maharashtra

Greater Mumbai comprises the Mumbai, South Sashti and Turbhe Islands,
The entire Greater Mumbai is made of Deccan basalt flows & their acid & basic variants and also some fossiliferous sediments mainly of tufaceous & partly of fresh water origins rich in fauna
Almost 50% of the city area and 23% of the suburban area has been reclaimed from below sea-level by infilling, & pushing the sea outward through dyke-walls like those of the Back Bay reclamation.

Mumbai’s Harbours
Kanheri Caves (300 BC), Borivali
The Harbour Bay is studded from south to north with many islands:
Kansa or Gull islet (easter side)
Karanja islan,
Cross or Gibbet island, (situated opposite the Victoria Dock)
Butcher island
Elephanta island
Oyster Rock
Hog island (1km east of Elephanta),
Henery and Kenery.
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Ferry Wharf is a wharf along the Thane Creek, along the coast of Dockyard Road on the Eastern seafront of Mumbai. The wharf serves as the port for numerous fishermen who bring in their daily catch. Ferry services link up JNPT, Uran to the west, and Rewas and Mandwa to the south

Creeks, Marshes, Tidal Swaps, Lakes, Hills
lThe central horse shoe valley in the hills used to be drained south by the Mahim river in the past. This river has been dammed in its upper reaches, so mruch so this valley today accommodates three small fresh water lakes, the Tulsi, the Vihar and the Powai, one below the other, that supply the city with 3 per cent of its domestic and other needs of water supply. Below Powai, the river today is mostly a storm drain and a gutter of sewerage, blocked off by the construction of the Santacruz airpoit at its Kurla end. The lower reaches is a shallow, fastly silting up drain of industrial wastes emptying into the Mahim Bay.
lThe Kanheri hill complex has a radial drainage system, with numerous rain torrents washing down its slopes in all directions. The largest of them is the Dahisar river that rises on the southern flanks of the Kanheri hills, and drains west to join the Marve creek; this river, however, has been blocked to form the Dahisar project, to augment the water supply to the city to a small extent.
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Juhu, Varsova, and Marve, are sand bars pushed inland by the sea, and resting on knolls, Dharavi and
Rai Murdhe. Today they form together a single land mass, off the Ulhas mouth.

Surrounding the central hilly region, are extensive lowlying plains, that are reclaimed tidal marshes and flats just above tidal levels. They are widest to the west and south of the central hilly region, and narrowest to the north. In the east, along the Thane creek, sizable stretches of tidal swaps and salt pan areas, especially around Bhandup, still survive.



Old Mumbai’s Transport System

Mumbai saw its first bus run on 15 July 1926 between Afgan Church and Crawford Market. Double deck buses were introduced in 1937 in order to cope better with the growing traffic. BEST is now The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking.
The Bombay Tramway Company Limited was set up in 1873. The tram-cars were of two kinds—those drawn by one horse and those drawn by two. In 1905, The Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company Limited started the first electrically operated tram-car appeared on Mumbai’s roads in 1907. The passing years aggravated the problem of rush-hour traffic and to ease the situation, double decker trams were introduced in September, 1920.
Dadar TT is Dadar Tram Terminus
Its first train, the first in the country, ran from Mumbai to Thane on 16th April 1853. In 1865, the railway went over the Borghat. By 1870 Calcutta and Madras had been linked with Mumbai by rail. The Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (BBCI) was started in 1855.
The first motor car appeared on Mumbai roads in 1901.
Mumbai Suburban Railway is the oldest in Asia established in 1847, then known as The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company (G.I.P., for short) was established in 1849.



Mumbai and Civil Aviation
It all began on October 15, 1932. It was on this day that J.R.D. Tata, the father of Civil Aviation in India and founder of Air India, took off from Drigh Road Airport, Karachi, in a tiny, light single-engined de Havilland Puss Moth on his flight to Bombay via Ahmedabad. He landed with his precious load of mail on a grass strip at Juhu.


Mumbais Pioners are the following people sadly bacchi its not Karan Johar or Bacchi Karkaria


Senapati Pandurang Mahadev Bapat, Freedom Fighter, Social Reformer
Major figure in the Indian Independence struggle, which earned him the title “Senapati”
Dr. C. D. Deshmukh
first Governor of RBI , Finance Minister of India
He was member of Board of Governers of IMF & IBRD. An active supporter of Unified Maharashtra Movement
Acharya Pralhad Keshav Atre (Literaturist, Social worker). An active member of the Unified Maharastra Movement. Though he was a Brahmin, he worked for removing the curse of untouchability
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Scholar, Social Reformer, Jurist.
He spent his whole life fighting against social discrimination. He was the chief architect of Indian Constitution
Nana Jagannath Shankarshet,
businessman & entrepreneur
Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade
JRD Tata
Homi Jehangir Bhabha also worked for Mumbai rather than writing racially abusive articles about Maharashtrans like you.
He was an Indian philanthropist and educationalist. An active leader in many arenas in Mumbai life. He founded many schools, Sanskrit library in Mumbai, member of Mumbai Education Board
Bharat Ratna Maharshi Keshav Karve, Dear Bacchi Karkaria grow up and learn that women like you who are preveliged to write all that nonsense that you write in the Times of India owe it to this reformer. I bet you do not even remember him on "Womens Day"
He was the Pioneer of Women’s Education & Upliftment & the right for widows to remarry in India. He established the first university for women in India in 1916, which is currently known as SNDT Women’ University
These are just a few representational pioneers of Mumbai. There are many more who had a hand in the making of Mumbai as one of the leading cities of Free India

Do you think still Mumbai should be called Bombay , In that case we should rename you as Budhi Kumari Karkaria . Why dont you call yourself by some other name while writing articles.

Even the clothes that you wear are probably woven by Marathi weavers. The chappals that you wear are woven by Marathi workmen.

It is only because of Marathi people that Mumbai is a safe city. Had it been Delhi would you have been able to go any where and anytime and drink as much as you do in Mumbai?