Madh Island (Marathi pronunciation: əɖʱ is a group of several quaint

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

s and farmlands in northern

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

Geography

The area is bounded by the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

to the west, and the Malad creek on the east. There are few beaches like Erangal Beach, Dana Pani Beach, Silver Beach, Aksa Beach.

Accessibility

The area is accessible by bus service (#271 to Malad and #269 to

Borivali Borivali (Pronunciation: oːɾiʋəliː is a suburb and is located at the north-western end of Mumbai and has a large Gujarati population followed by others. Traditionally the tribals and East Indians lived in Borivali. The attractions incl ...

) or an autorickshaw from

Malad Malad (Pronunciation: aːlaːɖ is a suburb located in North Mumbai. Malad has a railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on ra ...

. There is also a ferry service from Versova. One can reach Madh Island by a ferry service or speed boat from Versova Jetty and cross over in five minutes.

Demographics

The area is a rural area inhabited primarily by

Kolis The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they ...

, Marathi,

East Indians The East Indians, also called East Indian Catholics or Bombay East Indians, are an ethno-religious Indian Christian community native to the Seven Islands of Bombay and the neighbouring Mumbai Metropolitan Area of the Konkan Division. Hist ...

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in Madh village as well as by people from other communities.

Madh Fort

Madh Fort is a small

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in northern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

situated at Madh Island. It was built by the Portuguese in Portuguese occupied India. They lost it during the war against

Maratha empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

when the Maratha Empire captured it in February 1739. The British occupied

Salsette Island Salsette Island is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra on India's west coast. Administratively known as Greater Mumbai, the city district of Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban District, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thane lie wi ...

, Thana Fort, Fort Versova, and the island fort of Karanja in 1774. It is secluded and difficult to reach, about from

and is the last stop on Route 271 of

BEST Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

bus service or via Versova by ferry boat. It is situated south of Madh Village. It is around a 2 km walk from Madh Mandir bus stop. The fort was built by the Portuguese, as a watchtower in the 17th century. It offers a strategic view of the coastline and guards the Marve Creek. Its external façade is intact but internally it is dilapidated. It is under control of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct ...

as it is located close to an Indian Air Force base and permission is needed for accessing it. Madh Fort is not open to the public, and it is surrounded by local fishermen communities.

In popular culture

Some Bollywood films like '' Deewana Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega,

Baazigar ''Baazigar'' () is a 1993 Indian romantic crime thriller film directed by Abbas–Mustan and produced by Venus Movies. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in lead roles, while Raakhee, Shilpa Shetty, Dalip Tahil, Siddharth Ray, and Johnny Le ...

Shootout at Wadala ''Shootout at Wadala'' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language biographical-gangster-crime film written and directed by Sanjay Gupta. It is a prequel to the 2007 film ''Shootout at Lokhandwala''. It is loosely based on the book '' Dongri to Dubai: Si ...

'', and

Manmohan Desai Manmohan Desai (26 February 1937 – 1 March 1994) was an Indian film producer and director. He was one of the most successful filmmaker of the 70s and 80s. Desai is now considered one of most influential film director of Bollywood and a pionee ...

's 1985 film ''Mard'', '' Zamana Deewana'', '' Khalnayak'', ''

Shatranj Shatranj ( ar, شطرنج; fa, شترنج; from Middle Persian ''chatrang'' ) is an old form of chess, as played in the Sasanian Empire. Its origins are in the Indian game of chaturaṅga. Modern chess gradually developed from this game, as i ...

'' and '' Tarazu'' Game Paisa Ladki were shot at this location. Many episodes of the popular serials Naamkarann, Chandrakanta and C.I.D. UK base Ocxee company also shoot his Ad Film with

Suniel Shetty Suniel Shetty (born Sunil V. Shetty; 11 August 1961) is an Indian actor, film producer, television personality and entrepreneur who is predominantly active in Hindi films he has also worked in tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and kannada films. In a c ...

at that location The location is often referenced by standup comedian Kapil Sharma in his popular comedy show, ''

The Kapil Sharma Show ''The Kapil Sharma Show'', also known as TKSS, is an Indian Hindi-language stand-up comedy and talk show broadcast by Sony Entertainment Television. Hosted by Kapil Sharma, the first season of the show had its premiere on 23 April 2016. The ...

'', in his jokes on presenter and permanent guest

Archana Puran Singh Archana Puran Singh (born 26 September 1962) is an Indian actress and television personality. She is known for her comedy roles in several Bollywood movies and as a judge in the comedy shows ''The Kapil Sharma Show'' and ''Comedy Circus''. She ...

, who lives in the area.

Gallery

Image:Madh-fort1.jpg, From far Image:Madh-fort2.jpg, Closeup Image:Madh-fort3.jpg, From a turret Image:Madh-fort4.jpg, Tower closeup Image:Madh-fort5.jpg, Opposite side (from Versova)

References

{{Mumbai metropolitan area Portuguese forts in India Portuguese structures in Mumbai 1739 in India 1730s in Portuguese India Neighbourhoods in Mumbai Villages in Mumbai Suburban district