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 m ...

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 second- ...

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 Channel ...

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 on the Western line (Mumbai Suburban Railway) of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, lying between Kandivali station to the north and Goregaon station t ...

. 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 the ...

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

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. His ...

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 seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

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 Shi ...

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 withi ...

, 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 Malad Creek or Marve Creek is a creek in north-west Mumbai. Located west of Malad, the Oshiwara River drains into it. To the west is Madh Island Madh Island (Marathi pronunciation: əɖʱ is a group of several quaint fishing villages and ...

. 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 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 aerial w ...

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 ''Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Eeshwar Nivas and produced by Ram Gopal Varma and Nitin Manmohan. The film stars Saif Ali Khan, Fardeen Khan, Sonali Bendre, Twinkle Khanna, Afta ...

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 ''Zamaana Deewana'' is a 1995 Hindi-language action comedy film, produced by G. P. Sippy under the Sippy Films banner and directed by Ramesh Sippy. It stars Shahrukh Khan, Raveena Tandon in pivotal roles, along with Jeetendra, Shatrughan Sinha ...

'', ''

Khalnayak ''Khal Nayak'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language action crime film produced and directed by Subhash Ghai. The film's plot centers on the escape and attempted capture of criminal Ballu (Sanjay Dutt as antihero) by Inspector Ram ( Jackie Shrof ...

'', ''

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 ''Tarazu'' () is an Indian action thriller movie directed by Vimal Kumar and released in 1997 under the banner of Vee Creations. It stars mainly Akshay Kumar, Sonali Bendre, Amrish Puri, Ranjeet and Mohnish Bahl. Plot Police Inspector Ram ...

Game Paisa Ladki ''Game Paisa Ladki'' is a Bollywood Thriller erotic film Produced by Atul Patel & released on 21 September 2018 -shoot in Surat -starring Zakir Hussain, Sitaram Panchal, Ashraful Haque (actor) and Sezal Sharma. Zakir Hussain plays the role o ...

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 at that location The location is often referenced by standup comedian

Kapil Sharma Kapil Sharma (born Kapil Punj; 2 April 1981) is an Indian Stand up comedian, stand-up comedian, television host from Punjab, India, Punjab, India, Primarily known for hosting ''The Kapil Sharma Show''. He won the stand-up comedy reality show, ...

in his popular comedy show, ''

The Kapil Sharma Show ''The Kapil Sharma Show'', also known as TKSS, is an Television in India, 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 ...

'', in his jokes on presenter and permanent guest Archana Puran Singh, 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