Thread by @gauravsabnis

Alright, so until I have to go teach, I'm gonna try to do a Bombay Street names thread from memory.

Again, like with NYC and Pune, a caveat that this is all from memory. I'm not a historian.

I just like sharing fun history I've read.

Let's start with Chinchpokli!

Okay, not exactly a "street" name but everyone who's been to Bombay has seen Chinchpokli and wondered what dafuq is a Chinchpokli?

No Marathi ever wonders that. It's self explanatory. A pokli of chinches! It's a cinch!

Hehe, it literally means Tamarind Hollow in Marathi.

Chinch - Tamarind
Pokli - Hollow

Very straightforward.

Now the place that gave me a talking point with the president of my university

President: Great to meet you, Gaurav

Me: Great to meet you, President Farvardin. You probably know that the most famous place in Bombay is named..

President: Yes, Nariman Point. I've heard. 😁

So who was that Nariman and what was his point? Have you ever even googled?

I have!

Khursheed Framji Nariman was extremely active in Bombay and Indian politics during the British Raj and had a fascinating and contentious life.

Just a reminder that all these threads I post are just me storifying stuff I read from books and websites and such.

Much like @vikramsampath, I'm NOT actually a real historian. Much like Vikram, I'm just someone who likes history and has a social media presence.

Khursheed Nariman was a very enthusiastic and outspoken and even pugnacious dude that I was fascinated to read more about. He loved picking public fights with people he thought were destroying Bombay. Even had libel suits filed against him because he was so very outspoken!

Here's the hilarious part.

Nariman became known to the public by aggressively and even rudely opposing a reclamation project in Bombay. Exposed corruption and all.

But that reclamation project is what created what we know as Nariman Point 😂😂

Is there a more Bombay story?

Next time you are at Nariman Point, remember that Nariman's point was that there shouldn't even be a Nariman Point in the first place!

Such awesome ironic quirky history.

But we Maharashtrians are notoriously indifferent towards actual history and want new statues and all.

Sorry, gotta go teach, so hitting a pause on this thread.

Will get back to it with the answers to a lot of other such Bombay mysteries.

Goregaon is like Bronx of Bombay, in terms of location & name origins!

Bronx was literally Bronck's Village. Not even kidding. It was owned by a dude named Bronck!

Goregaon literally means Gore's Village. Not even kidding. It was owned by a dude named Gore (pronounced Goray).

Have to tag my first ever social media bestie on this 👆 trivia 🤗🤗🤗
@SukanyaVerma

Gore family also gave us Mrinal Gore, legendary firebrand socialist politician. Known as "paaniwaali bai" because she was an activist for water rights. Bombay had been grown by oligarchs without a second thought to infrastructure. People didn't have water to drink!

Indeed, the warmest nicest aunty you could know and also an activist and politician and just an all around superhero, really!

I wish people knew more about her actual life and philosophy in detail than a "meme" she is sadly remembered for more.

https://twitter.com/SukanyaVerma/status/1502005580550258688?t=Xhx3piw7abKjxBA0_PAKYg&s=19

In 1975, Indira Gandhi, upset at a supreme court decision, decided to declare martial law in India for no justifiable or conceivable reason whatsoever, but knowing that Leonid Brezhnev liked her and Gerald Ford was a clueless flailing idiot just finishing out Nixon's term.

Why this tangent, you ask? It's not a tangent.

India was under Indira's martial law ("Emergency", we still call it in India) until 1977 when, as inexplicably as she imposed it, she removed it. Declared elections.

Woman could have been dictator all her life! 😳

Didn't.

Obviously, given that she called elections so soon, the socialists who opposed her were very popular.

Mrinal Gore was one of them. She ran for parliament, won. Indira lost her seat.

So the meme was "Paaniwaali bai Dilli mein, Dilliwaali bai paani mein" 😂😂😂😂

Which literally translates to "The Water lady is in Delhi and the Delhi lady is in water".

Admittedly hilarious and ingenious.

But I feel like Indian media reduces Mrinal Gore to just this one joke. She was so so much more. A real caring genuine socialist. Not a poser.

So yeah, Goregaon is literally the gaon of the Gore's. And Mrinal Gore was like the AOC of her day.

Hitting pause again. I know way too much about Bombay to do this in one sitting, lol.

Lunch time.

This shall be a continuing thread.

Bombay is India's New York. New York is the world's Bombay. I know way too much about both of these lovers of mine.

So, to be continued!