Thread by @QuizMumbai

Mumbai has some of the most interesting named places. I tried to dig in and find out more about the history of the names of these places. A thread..

Starting with My favourite Bhendi Bazar. Bhendi Bazaar has nothing to do with Bhindis. Infact, it was named after an area which was located behind the Crawford Market and was called ‘behind the bazaar’, which over the years became‘Bhendi Bazaar’.

While Crawford Market was named after the first Municipal Commissioner of Bombay Arthur Crawford. This guy was involved in corruption and has had lived a rather adventurous life.

Seven Bungalows
This area was home to seven bungalows owned by the the following people Maharaja of Gwalior, the Maharaja of Kutch, Dadabhai Naoroji, Sir Rustom Masani, Sorabjee Talati, Kaiki Villa, the Khambatta's and the Chinai's, Hence the name.

Antop Hill
Antop Hill derives its name from a local Marathi owner called Antoba. In course of time the name was anglicised to "Antop".

Chinchpokli
This is derived from 'chinch' which is Marathi word for tamarind and 'pofali' betel nut.

Matunga
Matunga used to be a place where King Bhimdeo of Mahim used to keep his elephants. The word Matang is is Sanskrit for elephants.

Bandra
It is most probably derived from the Marathi word for port Vandre or Bunder. Infact in local trains you will still hear the announcement calling it Vandre. Bandra used to be a port in earlier times.

There are many more. I will keep adding. Meanwhile If you know something interesting do comment.

Borivali
There used to be plenty of bushes of sweet fruit named "bor" in local language in and around Borivali. Infact the British spelt it as 'Berewlee'. You would have seen some locals selling ber fruit outside the Borivali station. #mumbaihistory #Borivali

Kurla
Kurla is named after a local village ‘Kurli’ which means crabs. This village was popular for its crabs due to the marshy area. Infact the stones from Quarries in Kurla were used to build many heritage buildings that we see in South Bombay. #mumbaihistory #kurla

Chor Bazar
This area used to be very noisy and was called Shor Bazar which became Chor bazar. Another story is that Queen Victoria lost a few of her belongings while the ship was being unloaded at Mumbai, which later found their way to the chor bazar. #Mumbaihistory #chorbazar

Badlapur
It is said that Badlapur was the place where the soldiers changed their horse expert in walking in plain land to those expert in hill climbing. Badlapur used to be the changeover place while going from Surat towards Konkan region. #mumbaihistory #badlapur

However, if you go by the movie named Badlapur, the director Sriram Raghavan had heard that the train tracks used to change here at Badlapur and since the principal character's life changes here, he named the film Badlapur. #mumbaihistory #badlapur

By the way, there is an interesting story behind the constrcution of Seven bungalows. In 1896 Bombay was reeling undere severe plague. Many buildings were demolished to let in fresh air thinking that the bad air caused plague. They did not know the connection to mice then. The

rich and wealthy living in Bombay saw this as an opportunity and they all shifted to the island of Versova where they made the bungalows. So basically they moved away from plague to versova to save their lives. #Mumbaihistory #Mumbai

Veera Desai Road
Veera Desai road is named after two partners who built it in 1954. Their stone quarry company was called Veera Desai and co. At that time the place was deserted and gradually the @mybmc took over it but let the name stay. #Mumbaihistory #VeeraDesai