Thursday, July 28, 2016

Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai

I was wondering what other new places to visit, when a friend spoke about how the mills in Mumbai had all become malls, and one of them was the infamous Phoenix Mills... Story goes that the Phoenix Mills was erected back in 1905 to manufacture cotton textiles. Owned by the Ruia family., it was intact listed in the Bombay Stock exchange as well. But then sometime in 1938 during the British government rule, quite a few workers were fired. This led to a protest in 1939 that lasted for a few months. Business was affected tremendously and eventually the mill became just a loss making business. The management in turn chose to redevelop the land and this began with the establishment of the Bowling Co. Workers were unhappy with the management's decision, alleging that it was illegal. 

And today that is where you find the Phoenix Mall, also known as High Street Phoenix. The mall is spread across 3,300,000 square feet. Apart from shops and restaurants, cafes, the campus also has a five-star hotel, a multiplex, commercial space and a residential tower.
The mall is divided into three zones- The Palladium, SkyZone and Grand Galleria.  This mall is also where the country's first Big Bazaar was opened. 

[image courtesy: mumbai.mallsmarket.com]

                                                [image courtesy: www.uppercrustindia.com]


Friend of mine raved about the Palladium, saying it was one of those places I should visit. Well, lets just say it is meant for those who are into high end brands, especially international fashion labels. While I must have spent about half an hour walking the length of the place, it sure wasn't my kind of place. Too much bling everywhere..lol.. I did check out the Food Hall on the top floor , it was far bigger and better than the one in Bangalore. I ended up buying some cheese that friend wanted and a pretzel to nibble on.

The second building is where you find familiar brands and quite a few small eat outs including Subway, Coffee Bean & Tea leaf,etc... Well, it is one of those places you either feel right at home or want to run away from. No guesses which category I belong to.
But must say while it is sad that the Mills went down, atleast there is something in its place standing tall, as a landmark. 

The Phoenix Mills Limited
High Street Phoenix
462, Senapati Bapat Marg,
Lower Parel (West),
Mumbai - 400 013 
Tel: +91-22-43339994

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Thursday Challenge- spreading some love

The prompt for this week's Thursday Challenge was "WARM" (Sunny, Pleasant, Warm Colors, Food, Drink,...)


Almost looks like is laughing away, enjoying the wind on his face,not to forget the warm sun [maybe the lady had the AC on for a while].. I clicked this while in a traffic jam in #mumbai... Me, my friend and her son couldn't take our eyes off this cutie pie.. He was happily moving from one window to the other.. #love #dogsarefamily #travel #destination#Experience #travelblogger #oneplustwo#igersChennai #instaclick #nofilterneeded#adoptdontbuy #pets #petparent #dog




For other Thursday Challenge posts, visit here

Sunday, July 3, 2016

A walk through history at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Bombay

I was heading back to Bombay after a gap of about 5years and this time I had no agenda at all. I had informed about 4-5 folks that I am coming there, and hoped to meet them if possible. I knew I wanted to spend time and catch up with a friend who had moved there 3years ago and of course explore some parts that I had not explored earlier. 

We spent the weekend generally hanging out, visiting a mall, doing some shopping [ she convinced a non shopper such as moi to also shop] and playing with their 7yr old bunny boy.. I had also made plans to catch up with a few [among the 4-5] for lunch or coffee. I knew I had a few hours and my friend mentioned the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. I had been to the Prince Wales museum [Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya,] few years back, but this one I hadn't heard of. Did some research on the net and discovered it was in Byculla East. If the pictures and blogs I read were anything to go by, the museum promised to be magnificent visit and I headed out towards the place. 

The museum name board..

The elephant from the Elephant Islands 

The Museum in all its glory.

 Artists at work, semi precious stones, silver jug, Ganjifa is an ancient Indian card game, originally played with a set of 120 cards and asnake etched out of soap stone


 Men from Different communities on display

 Coppersmith at work

 Shell Carving 

 Beautiful peacocks at the bottom of a heavy ceramic vase.

 
The grand place that greets you as you walk into the museum..

The majestic statues and bust that sit in the museum centre.

One of the beautiful sculptures..

 And he stands tall...

 Ornate staircase leading to the top floor


 The entire upstairs.. was completely empty when i went.. was such a silent space..


The Tower of Silence

The structure standing outside, on the side

Took me a good hour to reach the museum, the journey was quite a revelation. I realised Bombay folks had taken to radio cabs like fish to water and many had stopped commuting by train. Traffic was bad, and not to mention increase in number of vehicles. The cabbie took me via the Bandra Sea link which was beautiful, quite a sight. 

Anyways, as I walked into the museum campus, I noticed there was a ticket counter with a board saying "zoo". I was surprised to see that, and anyways made my way towards the museum. On the side sat the majestic elephant [it is a Basalt elephant sculpture from Elephanta Island] with a canon of sorts guarding it. There was a guy sitting next to it, but he very sweetly got up and walked aside when he saw me position my camera for a capture. After buying an entry ticket for Rs10 [reminded me of the ticket at Albert Museum in Jaipur, same price], I made my way inside. There was no major security checks, only thing the staff inside told me was to not speak on the phone while inside. 

Also known as the Victoria and Albert Museum, this museum was built back in 1872 and is a treasure house of anything related to history- Historical artefacts  paintings, pots, pans, photographs, and so much more from across the country. What made the visit interesting were the information cards near the exhibits. They were in both Hindi & English and quite detailed. The displays themselves had boards in both languages and they were all neat and organised.  The instant you step inside, you are in awe of the architecture of the place. It was like a palace, simply wow.I must have spent close to two hours here, walking the length of the museum, exploring the two floors. 

As you head towards the staircase you can't help but notice the cluster of sculptures that stand tall. The man standing tall is David Sassoon – opium baron, trader and architect of Colonial Bombay. There are quite a few buildings around the city named after him- David Sassoon Library & Reading Room at Kalaghoda. Apart from Sasoon the other statues belong to Prince Albert who stands just behind him. There are two women who are on either side of the Prince, did not notice their names though.  

While the ground floor was filled with artefacts and pieces from across the country, the top floor showcased historic maps, model ships, models of Bombay life in the 19th and 20th centuries. the one fascinating exhibit was the Towers of Silence.. I have not heard of it and so it had me enthralled. I learnt that it  is where the bodies of Parsis or Zorashtrians are laid after they die. It’s an open well of sorts, and vultures eat the remains of the departed.

As I walked out towards the Museum Shop, I spotted the tall tower on the side of the museum. The museum shop has a small but cool collection of items that you could purchase, from bookmarks to t-shirts, mugs, posters, games, coasters and so on. 

Interesting insights.. [source http://www.mumbai.org.uk/museums/victoria-albert-museum.html]

History

The Victoria and Albert Museum was originally established in 1855 in Mumbai. During this time, the museum was used as a treasure house of the decorative and industrial arts. The thought of establishing a museum was suggested by a collector known as Dr. Buist, when the India was under the control of British East India Company. Dr. Ramkrishna Vitthal Lad, also known as Dr. Bhau planned the construction of the museum with an amount of Rs. 6000. After a committee was formed, the foundation for building the museum was laid down in 1862. The construction was complete only in 1871 and the museum was opened in 1872. The museum is presently known as 'Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum'. It was renamed after Dr Bhau Daji Lad because of his dedication to the museum.

Architecture
The initial appearance of the Victoria and Albert Museum had a gloomy look but now, after the various contributions put forth by the 'Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), the museum has improved in its appearance. The museum is adorned with gold ornamentations on the corners of the walls, railings and ceilings. The blue-painted pillars add magnificence to the museum's look. The entire construction of the museum is inspired by the Greco-Roman style of architecture. Apart from the arches that are elegantly designed and the heavy glass cases, the high painted ceilings of the museum is also a work of expertise. The 'Victoria Gardens' or 'Rani Jijamata Udyan', serves as a backdrop for this ancient museum.


DR. BHAU DAJI LAD MUSEUM
91 A, Rani Baug, 
Veer Mata Jijbai Bhonsle Udyan,
Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Marg, 
Byculla East, 
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400027.
India.

Phone:
+91-22-23731234
+91-22-65560394