Borivali

Borivali बोरिवली
suburb
View of Borivali skyline from Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Borivali Location of Borivali in Mumbai
Coordinates: 19°14′N 72°52′E / 19.23°N 72.86°E / 19.23; 72.86Coordinates: 19°14′N 72°52′E / 19.23°N 72.86°E / 19.23; 72.86
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Mumbai
Metro	Mumbai
Population (1991)
• Total	600,000
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Distance from Churchgate	33.4 kilometres (20.8 mi) south (Mumbai suburban railway)
Distance from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport	18 kilometres (11 mi) south (Road)

Borivali or Borivli is a suburban area located in the north-west section of Mumbai island of Maharashtra, India. Borivali is approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Mumbai Airport and 33.4 kilometres (20.8 mi) from Churchgate Railway Station. The estimated population of Borivali in 2010 was over a million inhabitants.

History

Borivali town was developed in areas of what once used to be the small villages called Eksar, Poisar, Kandivali, Shimpoli, Mandpeshwar, Kanheri, Tulsi, Magathane and others which were situated on and around Mount Poinsur, between the Dahisar River and Poisar River. It is believed that the name "Borivali" comes from existence of lot of bushes of sweet fruit named "bor" in local language. The existence of a Christian church and the Mandpeshwar and Kanheri caves is testament to the rich history of this place. Borivali was spelt 'Berewlee' by the British and is also known as Borivli.

The original residents in Borivali can be referred in two groups: the tribals and the East Indians. These groups owned almost all the land and lived here with agriculture being the only occupation, other than occasional fishing. There was a huge influx of people in the 19th century when the price of land began rising between Bandra and Churchgate. A very small population of originals inhabitants remains, but they have all changed their occupation with the times.

Landmarks & Localities

Borivali lies at the northern tip of western Mumbai. Its one of the major suburbs of Mumbai; social amenities include hospitals, schools, colleges, lovely cafes, good restaurants, shopping malls. Borivali is famed as the "suburb of gardens" — its a lovely green suburb with gardens at almost every block. Borvali is the only Suburb in Mumbai which has a forest on the east (Sanjay gandhi national park ) & in the west mangrove forests in Gorai .It also has two rivers which pass through it viz Dahisar river & poinsur river.

The Sanjay Gandhi National Park lies in the eastern section of Borivali near the Western Express Highway (NH 8). It has a few leopards and a 4th-century BCE archaeological site called Kanheri Caves.

This holds the World record for being the only forest surrounded by cities and still protected.

It has three huge statues of Jain tirthankar Lord Adinath and his two sons Bharat and Bahubali. Borivali is home to the Mandapeshwar Caves which are in its west. There was a tunnel to Vasai Fort passing through Borivali; it is said to be touching these caves. The entry to the tunnels from the caves no more exists. These caves have a rich history and are proved to be built by the same people as the Kanheri caves.

One of the many gardens that Borivali boasts of is the Veer Savarkar Udayan on Lokmanya Tilak Road. It has four entrances from T.P.S. road, Factory lane, and Babhai is an ideal place for all which have facilities like jogging track, boating area, kids play garden, skating etc., Gorai Udyan is at Gorai Sector-1.

Borivali has a garden named Jhansi Ki Rani on Link road adjacent to the famous Eskay Resort. Borivali is a melting pot of different ages as the large number of gardens in the western part of this suburb makes this an ideal residential option for kids, senior citizens, the middle aged, and college goers.

One of the finest 'Navratri' Indian festival devoted and celebrated for Maa Ambe (Hindu Goddess)is held at Kora Kendra Ground, Opp Hotel Granville (Granville Greens Restaurant) which is the major attraction and well known celebration done in this suburb. Festivals are celebrated with equal enthusiasm and joy be it Hindu, Muslim or Christian as all faiths have blended very beautifully here in this lovely suburb.

At the eastern side of Borivali on NH8 the Temple of Sai-Dham with many Hindu deities under one roof is worshiped. And Vazira Naka situated in west is very well known for Siddhivinayak Temple of Lord Ganesh(Swayambhu).

Transportation

Road Ways: Autorickshaws, Taxis, BEST Buses and Trains are the public modes of transport available in & to Borivali. A monorail line and a metro is also to come up in the near future.

Many outstation buses going to places all over Maharashtra also start from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park area.

The Domestic Airport is 12 km and& International Airport is 14 km from Borivali.

Borivali is also well connected to Thane, Vashi, Wadala, Sion and other places by BEST buses.

• The BEST bus number 700 LTD, AS-700 (Air-conditioned) and TMT Bus No. 65 ply between Borivali Railway Station East To Thane Railway Station East. These buses go via the Ghodbunder Road.
• The BEST Bus No. 440 LTD goes from Borivali Station East to Wadala Depot.
• The BEST Bus No. 524 LTD goes from Borivali East to APMC Market, Vashi.
• The BEST Bus No. C-60 EXP goes from Borivali East to Deonar Depot.
• The BEST Bus No. 348 LTD goes from Borivali East to Chunabhatti via Rani Laxmibai Chowk (Sion).

Prominent personalities

• Jaywant Dalvi, Marathi author
• Dhondutai Kulkarni, Hindustani classical singer
• Ratnakar Pai, Hindustani classical singer
• Rohit Sharma, member, Indian Cricket Team
• Drashti Dhami, Famous TV Actress
• Avdhoot Gupte, Famous Marathi Classical Singer

Railway station

Borivali railway station is a railway station on the Western line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. The Borivali Railway Station is a terminus for all slow, semi-fast and fast trains on the Mumbai Suburban Railway system. It also serves as the final city-limit stop for all mail and express trains on Western Railway before leaving Mumbai. As of 2006, there were plans to extend the Harbour Line to Borivali, and expansion plans are in full steam at the railway station.

Now Rajdhani express halt at Borivali station.

Entertainment & Leisure

Prabodhankar Thackrey Auditorium - Where a variety of Dramas, Plays are Scheduled (In Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi & also in some south Indian languages).

Gorai Creek is on the western coast of Borivali. This place is famous as a crossover point for the popular Essel World (Amusement Park): There are 34 major rides not to include the coin operated games & a mini club. There are over 30,000 specimens in their botanical gardens and 79 rides and slides & Essel World attracts almost 1.8 million visitors each year, 300,000 of which are students.

Gorai Beach is on the western end of borivali. One can reach here by crossing the Gorai Creek in a ferry. This takes 15 minutes. Rickshaw is available on the other side of the ferry and they charge around Rs. 100 to 160. On holidays the beach is full of visitors and localities. Plenty of accommodation options are also available at Gorai beach.^[1]

Water Kingdom: Asia's largest water amusement park. The Global Pagoda (Vippasana).

Along with these are many Theatres & Veer Sawarkar Udyan (Garden) that the population enjoy. Mandapeshwar Civic Federation club near Govindnagar & Eskay Resorts near Link Road are also worth a mention.

Education

Schools

• St. Xavier's High School, Ratan Nagar, Borivali (E)
• St. Francis ICSE Borivali West
• JBCN International School
• The Don Bosco High School (Borivali)
• St. Anne's High School
• St. Francis D'Assisi High School( founded in 1908)
• Vijay Nagar High School
• Seth M. K. High School
• Jeevan Bhima Nagar High School
• St. John's High School (Siddharth Nagar)
• St. John's High School (Tata Power House)
• Our Lady of Remedy High School
• Acharya Narendra Deo Vidya Mandir
• Srimati Damyanti Devi Tilakdhari Jha Prathmik Vidyalaya
• MKVV International Vidyalaya
• Suvidya Prasarak Sanghache Shree Mangubhai Dattani Vidyalaya (Tata Power House)
• Suvidya Prasarak Sanghache Suvidyalaya, Vazira
• Ajmera Global School
• Namdar Gopal Krishna Gokhale High School
• Suvidya Prasarak Sanghache Manohar Hariram Chogle Vidyalaya, Gorai SEC - 1
• St. Lawrence High School,Eskar Rd,Borivali W
• Our Lady of Vailankanni High School
• R.C. Patel High School
• BES International Vidlaya
• Swami Vivekananda International School
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vidyalaya
• Sheth Gopalji Hemraj High School
• J B Khot High School
• Sheth D.M. High School
• S. Radhakrishnan High School
• Chogale High School
• Bimanagar Education Society
• Sharad Pawar International School
• Vidya Vikas Sabha High School
• Mary Immaculate Girls School
• Borivali Madhyamik Municipal School
• Dr. Pillai Global Academy, Gorai.
• Ekser Municipal Primary School

Colleges

• Borivali PACE Junior Science College of Science
• St. Francis Institute of Management & Research
• St. Francis Jr. College
• St. Francis Institute of Interior Design
• Anandibai Kale College
• Gokhale College Of Commerce and Economics
• St. Francis ITI
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Polytechnic
• St. Rock's College Of Commerce & Science
• St. Francis Institute of Technology
• MPV Valia College Of Commerce
• Shri Bhausaheb Vartak College Of Arts Commerce & Science
• Nalanda College
• Pragati Vidyalaya & Junior College
• Sanstha College Of Arts & Commerce
• R R International College
• Sheth Gopalji Hemraj High School & Junior College
• Yojana School & College
• LN College

References