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)
Vehicle registration MH-02
MH-47
Lok Sabha constituency Mumbai North
Vidhan Sabha constituency Borivali [1]
Magathane [2]

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 42.2 kilometres (26.2 mi) from Churchgate Railway Station. The estimated population of Borivali in 2010 was over a million inhabitants. Borivali is divided into two halves by the railway line, Borivali East & Borivali West.

History

The town of Borivali was developed in areas of what once used to be 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 a lot of bushes of a sweet fruit called "bor" in the local language. The existence of a Christian church and the Mandpeshwar and Kanheri caves is a 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 broadly divided into 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 population influx in the 19th century, when the price of land began rising between Bandra and Churchgate. A very small population of the original inhabitants remains, but have largely changed their occupation with the times.

Landmarks

Borivali lies at the northern tip of Western Mumbai. Its one of the major suburbs of Mumbai. Social amenities include hospitals, schools, colleges, cafes, restaurants, parks and shopping malls. Borivali is famed as the "Suburb of gardens" — It is a lovely green suburb with gardens at almost every block. Borivali is the only Suburb in Mumbai which has a forest on the east (Sanjay Gandhi National Park) & mangrove forests in Gorai, in the west. It also has two rivers which pass through it; the Dahisar river & Poinsur river.

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

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 Jhashi chi 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 Durga (Hindu Goddess)is held at Kora Kendra Ground,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).

Borivali is home to several gaothans (village like localities) such as Vazira, Babhai, Eksar, Chikuwadi, Shimpoli, Poisur and others which are still there with their old charm but slowly giving way to the concrete jungle .

Transport

Road Ways: Autorickshaws, Taxis, BEST Buses and Trains are the public modes of transport available in and 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 18 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.

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.

Notable people

Entertainment

Prabodhankar Thackrey Auditorium - Where a variety of Dramas, Plays are Scheduled (In Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi & 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.[5]

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

Colleges

References

  1. ↑ Covers western part of the suburb
  2. ↑ Covers eastern part of the suburb
  3. ↑ http://bestundertaking.com/route.asp
  4. ↑ "Rohit makes a mark with T20". NDTV. 25 September 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  5. ↑ "Gorai Beach". Retrieved 26 March 2012.
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