The Chowpattee of Former Days, Bombay (9142699685)

Girgaon Chowpatty ( IAST: ''Giragāva Chaupāṭī''), is a public

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

along the Queen’s Necklace adjoining

Marine Drive Marine Drive may refer to: Roads Bangladesh * Cox Bazar-Tekhnaf Marine Drive, world's longest marine drive road. Canada *Marine Drive (Nova Scotia), a scenic route in Nova Scotia *Marine Drive (Greater Vancouver), a number of roadways in Metropo ...

in the

Girgaon Girgaon, or Girgaum, is an area in southern Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. It is near the coast. A section of Marine Drive is located here. See also *Girgaum Chowpatti *Tanks of Bombay Although the tanks have long vanished, the city of Bom ...

area of Mumbai (Bombay),

Konkan division The Konkan division is one of the six administrative divisions of Maharashtra state in India. It comprises the northern and central portions of the greater Konkani region, which were absorbed into Maharashtra owing to the States Reorganisat ...

, India. It is served by the Charni Road railway station. The beach is noted for its Ganesh Visarjan, when thousands of people from all over Mumbai and

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

come to immerse idols of

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...

in 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 ...

after the 10 day festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. It is also one of the many places in the city where the

Ramlila Ramlila (Rāmlīlā) (literally 'Rama's lila or play') is any dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Rama according to the ancient Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' or secondary literature based on it such as the ''Ramcharitmanas''. It particularly ...

play is performed onstage every year during

Navaratri Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is o ...

and an effigy of

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

erected on the sand is burnt on

Vijayadashami Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hind ...

at the end of the 10-day performance.

Shiv Smarak The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Smarak or Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial is a monument under construction dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj , the 17th century Indian warrior king and founder of the Maratha Empire. The statue will ...

, including tall statue of Chhatrapati

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...

Maharaj, is being constructed facing Mumbai's

Girgaum Chowpatty Girgaon Chowpatty ( IAST: ''Giragāva Chaupāṭī''), is a public beach along the Queen’s Necklace adjoining Marine Drive in the Girgaon area of Mumbai (Bombay), Konkan division, India. It is served by the Charni Road railway station. T ...

beach, away on a manmade island of rocks.

Etymology

Chowpatty is an Anglicised form of ''Chau-pati'' (four channels or four creeks in Marathi) as per (Bombay City Gazetteer, I. 27). This name is analogous to that of Satpaty, a village in the Mahim Taluka of the Thane District, which is approached through a Channel or Creek, containing seven divisions of water.

History

On the road running along the beach, i.e. Marine Drive, the lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 attacks,

Ajmal Kasab Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab (13 July 1987 – 21 November 2012) was a Pakistani terrorist and a member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba Islamist fighter organization, through which he took part in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks in Maharashtr ...

, was caught and arrested. A bronze bust of Tukaram Omble, the policeman who helped to arrest Kasab, was erected on 26November 2009.

Pollution

The water surrounding the beach is heavily polluted, and swimming should be avoided.

Fecal coliform A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...

was recorded in the water in 2013 at levels of 1455 per 100 mL, far above the acceptable standard of 500 per 100 mL. The presence of fecal coliform in the water has been attributed to waste from storm drains, open defecation, and the discharge of raw sewage from sewer pipes not connected to the city mains. In 2015, there were reports of deteriorated Ganesha idols washing up on the shore. The idols were found after they were immersed on

Anant Chaturdashi Anant Chaturdashi / Ganesh Visarjan is a festival observed and celebrated by Hindus and Jains. Anant Chaturdashi is the last day of the ten-day-long Ganeshotsav or Ganesh Chaturthi festival and is also called Ganesh Chaudas when devotees bid adieu ...

day, which heralds the end of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The idols that were found were made from

plaster-of-paris Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

. It is believed that POP idols cause pollution to marine life. After this, the government ordered only artisan made, clay idols to be immersed, since natural clay deteriorates into the ocean quickly without harming wildlife. POP was banned in Mumbai and most of the Ganesha idols are being made from clay. On 30 August 2016, the sand on the beach is said to be turning black due to a possible oil slick in the area. The specific cause of the blackening is unknown.

Images

File:Chowpatty Beach (Bombay).jpg, Girgaon Chowpatty with

Nariman Point Nariman Point is a prominent downtown area of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. Located on the southern tip of the Mumbai peninsula, at the end of the Mumbai's Marine Drive, Nariman Point houses some of India's prestigious business headquarters. ...

skyline in the background File:Chowpatty beach monsoon.jpg, Girgaon Chowpatty with Malabar Hills in the background File:Vendors on Chowpatty Beach.jpg, Corn cob vendors on Girgaon Chowpatty File:Mumbai, India, Family on the beach.jpg, Walking File:Mumbai, India, Girgaon Chowpatty Beach.jpg, Walking File:Mumbai, India, Bombay, Mumbai city skyline at night.jpg, Twilight at Girgaon Chowpatty File:Mumbai, India, Bombay, Mumbai skyline at sunset.jpg, Sunset at Girgaon Chowpatty File:Girgaum Chowpatty.jpg, View of Girgaon Chowpatty from

Malabar Hill Malabar Hill (ISO: Malabār Hill ələbaːɾ is a hillock and upmarket residential neighbourhood in South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Malabar Hill is the most exclusive residential area in Mumbai. It is home to several business tycoons and f ...

References

Mumbai attractions
Maharashtra Tourism.

External links

Beaches of Mumbai {{Mumbai-geo-stub