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Santa Cruz (Mumbai)
Encyclopedia
Santacruz or Santa Cruz is a section of the municipality of Mumbai
. The Santacruz railway station
on the Mumbai Suburban Railway
, the Domestic Terminal of the Mumbai Airport and one campus of the University of Mumbai
are all located in Santacruz.
Santacruz and its neighbouring suburb Khar
fall under the H East and H West wards of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
. The locality had a population of 675,951 persons in 1991, over an area of 12.98 square kilometers, giving it a population density of 36,668 persons per square kilometer.
words meaning "Holy Cross
". The name was that given to a church that existed on a site on the western side of the railway station, at the site presently occupied by the Sacred Heart Boys High School
/Sacred Heart Church on Swami Vivekanand Road, and which had been devastated by the Marathas during their conquest of the region from Portugal. This former parish church gave its name to the locality. According to lore, during the Portuguese reign a wooden cross in front of the church blossomed to give leaves and was thus called the "Holy-Cross" or the "Santa-Cruz". The church was constructed in the early 1930s. The parish has around 14,000 parishioners with Fr. Abel as the present parish priest.
in north, Khar
in south, Juhu in west and Kurla
in east. It is broadly divided in two areas: Santa Cruz (East) and Santa Cruz (West) by the Mumbai Suburban Railway
line. The Milan subway and Khar subway connect the two areas, passing under the rail line.
MMRDA
has build a Skywalk for pedestrians stretching from Podar School Complex (West Santa Cruz) to Western Express Highway
(East Santa Cruz).
Colony (which comes in Kalina).
The main roads passing through Santa Cruz(E) are the Western Express Highway
, Nehru Road and the Kalina-Kurla
Link Road. The PIN
code of this area is 400055.
which connects Mumbai
's Town and suburbs, up to the Military Camp. It is a densely populated region with considerable number of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics and Jains. Dawri Nagar, Vakola Bridge, Shivaji Nagar, Vakola Pipeline, Vakola Village and Vakola Masjid areas form most of Vakola. As in most of the country, these communities, though tending to cluster together, live in relative harmony with each other. Again though, as is wont to happen across urban India, the area of Vakola was among the worst affected during the Bombay Riots
of 1993.
Vakola is home to one of the now small, indigenous communities of Mumbai, the East Indians. Earlier known as, Vankola, for three centuries, the village formed part of the Kalina Parish which was founded in 1606. It was in 1914 that through the initiative of Fr. C. A. Abreo at Kalina Church, that a chapel was contemplated to be built at Vankola. Mr. John Rodrigues popularly known as Jamboo donated the land, and the Chapel was finally completed and dedicated to St. Anthony and blessed on 1 January 1921. Practically all the villagers then had relatives (brothers, sisters, in-laws) either at Kalliana (now Kalina) or at Vile Parle. The Church was remodeled in 1977 to suit the changed liturgical norms. Today St. Anthony's Chirch is one of the largest parish in the Archdiocese of Mumbai in terms of Catholic population, which is estimated to include around 23,000 persons.
To the south of the Vankola village were a few fields and marshy lands reaching right up to the Mithi River at Bandra East that contained a lot of wild life, birds of all kinds and small animals. Vankola village being on a small rise, the land sloped downwards towards the marshes. All social activity of the people was centered at Kalina Village which was connected to Vakola by a small road skirting the Rye Hills which now houses the Military Camp. This small road is still in use and is used a short cut to Kalina.
A large development of Vakola is the Anand Nagar area, built as transit accommodation for Post-Partition refugees, but subsequently leased and sold to various families.
Vakola is a predominantly middle class neighbourhood, although the property prices have been on a very steep upward trend in the last couple of years. Vakola has two schools run by the Archdiocese of Mumbai
, St Anthony's Boys' School and St. Charles Girls' School, The Patuck School and College Complex founded under the Patuck Polytechnic Trust, by the Late Mr. Rustomji Hormusji Patuck, a Parsi businessman turned technical educationist, The New Model High School, The Municipal School at Vakola Bridge that includes several upper and lower primary schools in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu mediums, The Nariyalwadi Municipal school that has upper and primary schools in Hindi, Marathi and Tamil mediums.
Vakola hosts the corporate headquarters of Asian Paints Limited. Also, Vakola has a significant number of large commercial banks, including Canara Bank, State Bank of India, The Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank, CitizenCredit Co-operative Bank, ICICI Bank and a yet to open (May 2010) NKGSB Co-Operative Bank . One of the biggest Hyatt hotels in the world, the Grand Hyatt
is located at Vakola, on the erstwhile premises of the Standard Batteries factory.
The road stretched from the Western Express Highway to the Military Camp is called Nehru Road.
A tributary of the Mithi
River, called as the Vakola Nallah flows through Vakola. This river overflowed during The Mumbai floods of 2005
on July 26, 2005 and caused massive damage to slums and housing societies along its banks. Some buildings were under ten feet of water.
The neighbourhood of Vakola is the setting for the 2011 novel by Booker Prize winning Indian author, Aravind Adiga
Last Man in Tower
.
History-
A mile and half to the south east of Vile Parle, stands a proud forested hillock called The Rye. A century ago, if one stood on this hillock, one could get a beautiful and breathtaking wondrous panoramic view all round, to the west The Arabian Sea, the creeks and marshy lagoon, the lowlands and the coconut groves of Juhu, to the South one viewed right up to Mahim, the Sion Hill and Fort and the Mithi River flowing to the sea at Bandra to the North the hillocks of Chakala and Bamanwada, the small hamlet of Sahar
and the Marol hills and forests and to the east lay the village of Kurla, a cannon shot away from Sion Fort (that the British Bombarded regularly whenever they had a disagreement with the Catholic clergy) and the Western Ghats.
Through the seasons, spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and winter, sunrise and sunset, the changing landscape would be a heart breaking experience of beauty and wonder, the East Indian homeland presented. Just at the foot of the hillock on the west was the village of Vankola, and on the other side i.e. the eastern side of the hillock lies the village of Kole-Kalyan now known as Kalina (from the original name Kalliana). The names Vankola and Kole-Kalyan mean the homes of Jackals, Foxes and Wolves which at one time roamed these areas in large numbers freely. The people of these villages gathered their fire woods, berries and Fruits from the Rye Hill in the old days, when all was peace, serenity and life sedentary.
It was the British who saw the importance of this hill and promptly put up a military base with training facilities for soldiers and rest houses for the Officers and fully equipped medical facilities. Today the hill and its military base still stand and well maintained, untouched by slums and horrible housing societies, buildings and projects. The surrounding have changed, the sights made invisible by structures put up by insensitive planner and builders and all beauty lost.
The village of Kallina had doubled and tripled in size by ungainly buildings and slums, huts and shanties illegally built on the east, hugging the Rye Hill and spilling on to the railway line
now a narrow road, all that is left of it. The village is practically strangulated and over run by insensitive outsiders with alien cultures, mainly because none of the ruling powers, also outsiders in out homeland failed to maintain the East Indian Gauthans as heritage properties.
The Ganesh Temple is the oldest religious body in Kalina and provides yeoman service to residents of Kalina. Thousands of devotees make a pilgrimage here, thus making it an important event in the Kalina calendar.
The Village is divided into sections like, Bhatt Pakady, Matharpakady, Corderio Wadi, Desachi Pakadi and Ranwar Pakadi, and the other village of Kolavree
across the south east. The Parish Church of Our Lady of Egypt sits besides the large fresh water lake, which was used by the villages for washing clothes. Sweet drinking water was obtained from numerous wells in the villages. The main occupation of the people was agriculture. With British setting up their military Base on the hill , many of the local people got employment. The Church of Our Lady Of Egypt was built in 1606 and the Parish consisted of the following villages under its jurisdiction: - Kole-kalyan, Aldeia, Sur, Sar, Naugar, Vancolem and Cuddy as of 1761 (Humbert I : 223 -238). According to Fr. Paulo da Trindade, the Church and the Parish was founded when Fr. Antonio da Portiuncula was Custos (1606–1609) and Fr. Manoel de S. Mathias, a great missionary baptized more than a thousan souls.
The Church of Our Lady of Egypt
is one of the very few churches that escaped ruthless destruction and pillage at the hands of the Marathas during the invasion and occupation of 1739, after which Secular Priests started functioning at the Church of Kallina. The Saint Mary's School had its origin as far back as 1876 and was known as The Little Portuguese School when Fr. Custodio Fernandes was the Vicar. The school came into prominence around the year 1912 when Fr. C.A. Abreo was the assistant; there was much progress in singing, drill and needle work by the girls. The number of students increased from 130 to 180 and a temporary structure was built in 1914 to accommodate the growing number. The only problem was that the villagers were not willing to pay any fees and hence the Diocese of Daman and the Bombay Catholic Welfare Organization had to render financial help. By now most well off families sent their children to school in Bandra, the girls at St. Joeseph Comvent and the boys at St. Stanislaus and St. Andrews. The children had no transport facilities in those days and would walk the distance daily. Fr. Roque served for seven years and during his tenure the school improved with a result that the Local Board increased its grant. Under Fr. V.M. Saldana , the Vicar in 1936, His Grace the Archbishop of Bombay took special interest and seeing that there was an urgent need for a good building made substantial gift of Rs. 7000/- and with the efforts of the Vicar and his assistant they managed to get a subscription of Rs. 1100/- from the public. The Foundation stone was laid be Mr. Katrak, the manager of the Kurla Estate. The new building had four large well ventilated rooms and could accommodate 200 pupils. The strength of the school in 1937 was now 247 pupils, the principal now was Fr. P. Pereira who deserves credit for his able management of the school. Today the school is not only a High School but also a Junior College. In the late 1960 the Church enlarges and renovated due to an increase in the Catholic population. On either side of the main Altar were added large wings to accommodate about 200 people. The main structure is still intact, except the Porch that was redesigned and made larger. A new graveyard was added to the north of the church as the old one became insufficient, as the people from Vankola parish have also to be buried here. The Lake and Land around it is also lost to the exclusive use of the East Indians and a huge slum has come up to the east beyond the compound of the church.
The Government acquired the lands of the villages, to the north of Kallina village, which were vegetable fields. The Acquisition was done in the early 1950s and they paid a pittance as compensation to the villagers at 4 annas per square yard. It was a forced `take it or get nothing' situation.
Today in these lands stands the sprawling complex of the Air-India employees colony. In April 1930, The Kole-Kalyan Death Benefit Fund was inaugurated, presided over by Mr. Avelino Miranda at its first meeting who outlined the aims of the Benefit Fund as to render monetary assistance to the poor and needy of the two villages at the time of Funerals. The Callina Catholic Association was established in 1923 and by 1930 it was a registered recognized association in the suburbs. It won fame and popularity in both Cricket and Hockey. There were the holders of the Bernard Gomes Cricket Trophy played at Juhu for two years consecutively. It also won the Bombay East Indian Association Cricket Championships twice ina row. They were also outright winners of the cricket Trophy presented by the Scholars XI Vile Parle, where no less than twenty teams participated. They also introduced the first Badminton Club in the village and organized tournaments where ladies also took part. Among the distinguished players in the doubles were Miss Louisa Rodrigues and Miss Tiny Cordeiro, both who later entered the convent and became nuns in 1935. The Club attained high standards in the 15 years tenure of the President Mr. B. S. Carvalho, who was a veteran cricketer and well known throughout the suburbs and Salsette.
Kalina starts from the Military Camp and stretches east up to the suburb of Kurla
. It is a cosmopolitan area comprising a number of schools, colleges and the Kalina Campus of the University of Mumbai
and the Govt College of Pharmacy.
Kalina houses major large apartment complexes belonging to two major Government owned airlines, i.e., Air-India and Indian. Sunder Nagar is another large residential area, consisting of many row houses.
Kalina is midway between two suburban stations Kurla
and Santa Cruz
railway stations, which are on the Central and Western Railway Lines respectively. It is also close to the Bandra-Kurla complex
and only 15 minutes from the domestic terminals of the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport
.
Kalina has been experiencing high growth over the past few years. The proposed Mumbai Police
Headquarters will be in Kalina. The Santa Cruz-Chembur link road will run through Kalina as part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project
. Kalina is also an emerging hub for commercial real estate with big names such as Microsoft and Rolls Royce (Marine Engines) setting up shop there.
Kalina is one of the Happening places in Mumbai. It's easy to commute from Kalina to Central or Western Railway.It also has a large population of Airline employees, who live in the Air India
and Indian Airlines colonies.
Our Lady of Egypt Church
is the main church in Kalina. It is a Catholic church, and celebrated its 400th centenary in 2008. Originally built by the Portuguese as a chapel, it has not extended itself. St. Mary's School and Junior College are attached to the church. Mary Immaculate is a school run by sisters of Ajmer
. Kalina is also home to famous temples such as the Ganesh Temple in Air India and the South Indian Temple in Sunder Nagar. The South Indian temple has become a magnet for tourists from all over Mumbai due to its award winning design.
Kalina also has highly rated schools such as Kalina Education Society school which was set up by the late M.L.A, Mr.Hans Bhugra.
Jamblipada and Kunchi Kurve Nagar are large slum
settlements in the area. Kalina also has two major mosques. The old Airport Road is an arterial road passing through Kalina.
Santa Cruz (West) is strikingly more affluent than the eastern part of the suburb. It is bordered by Khar
, Juhu, and Vile Parle
.
It is primarily a residential area, with the market
situated near the railway station. The residential colonies include such as 1st & 2nd Gauthan Lane [East Indians Village]http://www.east-indians.com (where the original inhabitants of Santacruz & Mumbai resied there) Amar Subway Society, the Reserve Bank of India
Quarters, Vithaldas Nagar Colony, Sangeeta Apartments, Shree Sai Darshan CHS, Girnar CHS, Rizvi Park, Bansraj Singh Estate, Khotwadi, Bhimwada, T.P.S. 6th Residential colony Ramas Plaza and Khira Nagar, Shastri Nagar,Main Avenue,Convent Avenue,St. Joseph's Avenue,St. Francis Avenue & Church Avenue. In the past most of the residences used to be small bungalow
s, which are now being replaced by high rise buildings.
Sujata building was Santacruz's first high-rise (one with lift service) built by Raheja builders right across from the police station.
The main roads in Santa Cruz(W) are Swami Vivekanand Road, Juhu Road, Juhu Tara Road and Linking Road
(now officially called Vithalbhai Patel
Marg). PIN
code for Santa Cruz (west) is 400054.
Police Stations
Miscellaneous
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. The Santacruz railway station
Santacruz (railway station)
Santa Cruz is the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway and Central Railway railway lines. The neighborhood is Santa Cruz....
on the Mumbai Suburban Railway
Mumbai Suburban Railway
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system, part of the public transport system of Mumbai, is provided for by the state-run Indian Railways' two zonal Western Railways and Central Railways. The system carries more than 6.99 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger densities of any...
, the Domestic Terminal of the Mumbai Airport and one campus of the University of Mumbai
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
are all located in Santacruz.
Santacruz and its neighbouring suburb Khar
Khar
Khar may refer to:* Khar, Punjab is a town in the Punjab Province, Pakistan* Khar, Bajaur is a town in the Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan...
fall under the H East and H West wards of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
The Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika is the civic body that governs the city of Mumbai and is India's richest municipal organisation. Its annual budget is even more than that of some of the small states of India. It is also known as Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai or the Brihanmumbai...
. The locality had a population of 675,951 persons in 1991, over an area of 12.98 square kilometers, giving it a population density of 36,668 persons per square kilometer.
History
The term Santa Cruz comes from the PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
words meaning "Holy Cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
". The name was that given to a church that existed on a site on the western side of the railway station, at the site presently occupied by the Sacred Heart Boys High School
Sacred Heart Boys High School
Sacred Heart Boys' High School is a government aided, boys-only, high school, affiliated to the Maharashtra Secondary School Certificate Board. It is located in Santa Cruz , Mumbai, India. Landmarks near the school include the , and Ramkrishna Mission hospital.The school is one of the oldest in...
/Sacred Heart Church on Swami Vivekanand Road, and which had been devastated by the Marathas during their conquest of the region from Portugal. This former parish church gave its name to the locality. According to lore, during the Portuguese reign a wooden cross in front of the church blossomed to give leaves and was thus called the "Holy-Cross" or the "Santa-Cruz". The church was constructed in the early 1930s. The parish has around 14,000 parishioners with Fr. Abel as the present parish priest.
Geography
Santa Cruz is bordered by Vile ParleVile Parle
Vile Parle , also known as "Parla", is a suburb of Mumbai. Vile Parle is also the name of the railway station in this suburb, on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line. Vile Parle has a significantly strong base of Marathi and Gujarati population. The name "Vile Parle" has...
in north, Khar
Khar, Mumbai
Khar is a suburb of Mumbai, north of Bandra and south of Santa Cruz. For the suburb's corresponding railway station see Khar Road.The suburb of Khar also has the fishermen folk area , also known as Khar Danda...
in south, Juhu in west and Kurla
Kurla
Kurla is a suburb of Mumbai. It is also the name of one the busiest railway stations on the Mumbai suburban railway on the central and harbour railway lines of Mumbai...
in east. It is broadly divided in two areas: Santa Cruz (East) and Santa Cruz (West) by the Mumbai Suburban Railway
Mumbai Suburban Railway
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system, part of the public transport system of Mumbai, is provided for by the state-run Indian Railways' two zonal Western Railways and Central Railways. The system carries more than 6.99 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger densities of any...
line. The Milan subway and Khar subway connect the two areas, passing under the rail line.
MMRDA
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority , commonly abbreviated as MMRDA, is a body of the Government of Maharashtra that is responsible for the infrastructure development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region...
has build a Skywalk for pedestrians stretching from Podar School Complex (West Santa Cruz) to Western Express Highway
Western Express Highway
The Western Express Highway is a major north-south 8-10 lane arterial road in Mumbai, India, stretching from the suburb of Bandra to Dahisar. The highway begins near the Mahim Creek and extends to the Mira-Dahisar toll booth in the northern limit of the city. Beyond the city limits, it continues...
(East Santa Cruz).
East Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz(East) consists of Prabhat Colony, Kalina and Vakola. It also consists of land belonging Airport Authority of India, which consists of the Mumbai Airport and Air IndiaAir India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
Colony (which comes in Kalina).
The main roads passing through Santa Cruz(E) are the Western Express Highway
Western Express Highway
The Western Express Highway is a major north-south 8-10 lane arterial road in Mumbai, India, stretching from the suburb of Bandra to Dahisar. The highway begins near the Mahim Creek and extends to the Mira-Dahisar toll booth in the northern limit of the city. Beyond the city limits, it continues...
, Nehru Road and the Kalina-Kurla
Kurla
Kurla is a suburb of Mumbai. It is also the name of one the busiest railway stations on the Mumbai suburban railway on the central and harbour railway lines of Mumbai...
Link Road. The PIN
Postal Index Number
A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. PIN stands for Postal Index Number and the code is 6 digits long. The PIN was introduced on August 15, 1972.-Structure:There are nine PIN zones in India,...
code of this area is 400055.
Vakola
Vakola starts from the Western Express HighwayWestern Express Highway
The Western Express Highway is a major north-south 8-10 lane arterial road in Mumbai, India, stretching from the suburb of Bandra to Dahisar. The highway begins near the Mahim Creek and extends to the Mira-Dahisar toll booth in the northern limit of the city. Beyond the city limits, it continues...
which connects Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
's Town and suburbs, up to the Military Camp. It is a densely populated region with considerable number of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics and Jains. Dawri Nagar, Vakola Bridge, Shivaji Nagar, Vakola Pipeline, Vakola Village and Vakola Masjid areas form most of Vakola. As in most of the country, these communities, though tending to cluster together, live in relative harmony with each other. Again though, as is wont to happen across urban India, the area of Vakola was among the worst affected during the Bombay Riots
Bombay Riots
The Bombay Riots usually refers to the riots in Mumbai, in December 1992 and January 1993, in which around 900 people died. An estimated 575 Muslims and 275 Hindus died, and 2,000 people were injured in the riots. . An investigative commission was formed under Justice B.N. Srikrishna, but the...
of 1993.
Vakola is home to one of the now small, indigenous communities of Mumbai, the East Indians. Earlier known as, Vankola, for three centuries, the village formed part of the Kalina Parish which was founded in 1606. It was in 1914 that through the initiative of Fr. C. A. Abreo at Kalina Church, that a chapel was contemplated to be built at Vankola. Mr. John Rodrigues popularly known as Jamboo donated the land, and the Chapel was finally completed and dedicated to St. Anthony and blessed on 1 January 1921. Practically all the villagers then had relatives (brothers, sisters, in-laws) either at Kalliana (now Kalina) or at Vile Parle. The Church was remodeled in 1977 to suit the changed liturgical norms. Today St. Anthony's Chirch is one of the largest parish in the Archdiocese of Mumbai in terms of Catholic population, which is estimated to include around 23,000 persons.
To the south of the Vankola village were a few fields and marshy lands reaching right up to the Mithi River at Bandra East that contained a lot of wild life, birds of all kinds and small animals. Vankola village being on a small rise, the land sloped downwards towards the marshes. All social activity of the people was centered at Kalina Village which was connected to Vakola by a small road skirting the Rye Hills which now houses the Military Camp. This small road is still in use and is used a short cut to Kalina.
A large development of Vakola is the Anand Nagar area, built as transit accommodation for Post-Partition refugees, but subsequently leased and sold to various families.
Vakola is a predominantly middle class neighbourhood, although the property prices have been on a very steep upward trend in the last couple of years. Vakola has two schools run by the Archdiocese of Mumbai
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in India. The archdiocese has been a metropolitan see since the time it was elevated by Pope Leo XIII on September 1, 1886. The ecclesiastical province of Bombay includes the suffragan dioceses of Nashik,...
, St Anthony's Boys' School and St. Charles Girls' School, The Patuck School and College Complex founded under the Patuck Polytechnic Trust, by the Late Mr. Rustomji Hormusji Patuck, a Parsi businessman turned technical educationist, The New Model High School, The Municipal School at Vakola Bridge that includes several upper and lower primary schools in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu mediums, The Nariyalwadi Municipal school that has upper and primary schools in Hindi, Marathi and Tamil mediums.
Vakola hosts the corporate headquarters of Asian Paints Limited. Also, Vakola has a significant number of large commercial banks, including Canara Bank, State Bank of India, The Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank, CitizenCredit Co-operative Bank, ICICI Bank and a yet to open (May 2010) NKGSB Co-Operative Bank . One of the biggest Hyatt hotels in the world, the Grand Hyatt
Hyatt
Hyatt Hotels Corporation , is an international operator of hotels.Hyatt Center is the headquarters for Hyatt corporation...
is located at Vakola, on the erstwhile premises of the Standard Batteries factory.
The road stretched from the Western Express Highway to the Military Camp is called Nehru Road.
A tributary of the Mithi
Mithi
Mithi is the capital of Tharparkar District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The town is located at 24°20'0N 69°1'0E with an altitude of 2 metres , lying 300 kilometres from Karachi and is located in a beautiful desert area....
River, called as the Vakola Nallah flows through Vakola. This river overflowed during The Mumbai floods of 2005
The Great Deluge
The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast is a 2006 book by Professor Douglas Brinkley of Tulane University about the effect of Hurricane Katrina which devastated the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Louisiana in 2005. It covers the personal stories of heroism...
on July 26, 2005 and caused massive damage to slums and housing societies along its banks. Some buildings were under ten feet of water.
The neighbourhood of Vakola is the setting for the 2011 novel by Booker Prize winning Indian author, Aravind Adiga
Aravind Adiga
Aravind Adiga is an Indian writer and journalist. His debut novel, The White Tiger, won the 2008 Man Booker Prize.-Early life and education:...
Last Man in Tower
Last Man in Tower
Last Man In Tower is a 2011 novel by Indian writer Aravind Adiga. Published by HarperCollins India, it was the third published novel by Adiga. It tells the story of a struggle for a slice of shining Mumbai real estate. The protagonist of the novel is a retired schoolteacher named Yogesh A...
.
Kalina
Kalina (originally Kalliana)History-
A mile and half to the south east of Vile Parle, stands a proud forested hillock called The Rye. A century ago, if one stood on this hillock, one could get a beautiful and breathtaking wondrous panoramic view all round, to the west The Arabian Sea, the creeks and marshy lagoon, the lowlands and the coconut groves of Juhu, to the South one viewed right up to Mahim, the Sion Hill and Fort and the Mithi River flowing to the sea at Bandra to the North the hillocks of Chakala and Bamanwada, the small hamlet of Sahar
Sahar, Maharashtra
Sahar is an area in the Andheri suburb of North Mumbai which is the site of the Sahar International Airport which opened here in 1981, which lead to subsequent development in the area. including the opening of the first hotel of The Leela Group in 1988...
and the Marol hills and forests and to the east lay the village of Kurla, a cannon shot away from Sion Fort (that the British Bombarded regularly whenever they had a disagreement with the Catholic clergy) and the Western Ghats.
Through the seasons, spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and winter, sunrise and sunset, the changing landscape would be a heart breaking experience of beauty and wonder, the East Indian homeland presented. Just at the foot of the hillock on the west was the village of Vankola, and on the other side i.e. the eastern side of the hillock lies the village of Kole-Kalyan now known as Kalina (from the original name Kalliana). The names Vankola and Kole-Kalyan mean the homes of Jackals, Foxes and Wolves which at one time roamed these areas in large numbers freely. The people of these villages gathered their fire woods, berries and Fruits from the Rye Hill in the old days, when all was peace, serenity and life sedentary.
It was the British who saw the importance of this hill and promptly put up a military base with training facilities for soldiers and rest houses for the Officers and fully equipped medical facilities. Today the hill and its military base still stand and well maintained, untouched by slums and horrible housing societies, buildings and projects. The surrounding have changed, the sights made invisible by structures put up by insensitive planner and builders and all beauty lost.
The village of Kallina had doubled and tripled in size by ungainly buildings and slums, huts and shanties illegally built on the east, hugging the Rye Hill and spilling on to the railway line
Salsette-Trombay Railway
The Salsette Trombay Railway also known as the Central Salsette Tramway was a rail service that linked Andheri in the north with the village of Trombay in the east, on the island of Salsette in the city of Mumbai in India. The line was opened in 1928 by the Great Indian Peninsular Railway under...
now a narrow road, all that is left of it. The village is practically strangulated and over run by insensitive outsiders with alien cultures, mainly because none of the ruling powers, also outsiders in out homeland failed to maintain the East Indian Gauthans as heritage properties.
The Ganesh Temple is the oldest religious body in Kalina and provides yeoman service to residents of Kalina. Thousands of devotees make a pilgrimage here, thus making it an important event in the Kalina calendar.
The Village is divided into sections like, Bhatt Pakady, Matharpakady, Corderio Wadi, Desachi Pakadi and Ranwar Pakadi, and the other village of Kolavree
Kolovery
Kolovery was a former station on the Salsette-Trombay Railway. It was dismantled after the rail line closed down in 1934.Kolovery Village lies in the Kalina area of Santacruz .-References:**, 25 Oct, 2005, Manoj R Nair...
across the south east. The Parish Church of Our Lady of Egypt sits besides the large fresh water lake, which was used by the villages for washing clothes. Sweet drinking water was obtained from numerous wells in the villages. The main occupation of the people was agriculture. With British setting up their military Base on the hill , many of the local people got employment. The Church of Our Lady Of Egypt was built in 1606 and the Parish consisted of the following villages under its jurisdiction: - Kole-kalyan, Aldeia, Sur, Sar, Naugar, Vancolem and Cuddy as of 1761 (Humbert I : 223 -238). According to Fr. Paulo da Trindade, the Church and the Parish was founded when Fr. Antonio da Portiuncula was Custos (1606–1609) and Fr. Manoel de S. Mathias, a great missionary baptized more than a thousan souls.
The Church of Our Lady of Egypt
Our Lady of Egypt Church
Our Lady of Egypt is a church in the Kalina neighbourhood of the Santa Cruz suburb of Mumbai. The church was founded in 1606 and celebrated its 400th anniversary in mid 2006. Its current parish priest is Friar Adrian Ferreira....
is one of the very few churches that escaped ruthless destruction and pillage at the hands of the Marathas during the invasion and occupation of 1739, after which Secular Priests started functioning at the Church of Kallina. The Saint Mary's School had its origin as far back as 1876 and was known as The Little Portuguese School when Fr. Custodio Fernandes was the Vicar. The school came into prominence around the year 1912 when Fr. C.A. Abreo was the assistant; there was much progress in singing, drill and needle work by the girls. The number of students increased from 130 to 180 and a temporary structure was built in 1914 to accommodate the growing number. The only problem was that the villagers were not willing to pay any fees and hence the Diocese of Daman and the Bombay Catholic Welfare Organization had to render financial help. By now most well off families sent their children to school in Bandra, the girls at St. Joeseph Comvent and the boys at St. Stanislaus and St. Andrews. The children had no transport facilities in those days and would walk the distance daily. Fr. Roque served for seven years and during his tenure the school improved with a result that the Local Board increased its grant. Under Fr. V.M. Saldana , the Vicar in 1936, His Grace the Archbishop of Bombay took special interest and seeing that there was an urgent need for a good building made substantial gift of Rs. 7000/- and with the efforts of the Vicar and his assistant they managed to get a subscription of Rs. 1100/- from the public. The Foundation stone was laid be Mr. Katrak, the manager of the Kurla Estate. The new building had four large well ventilated rooms and could accommodate 200 pupils. The strength of the school in 1937 was now 247 pupils, the principal now was Fr. P. Pereira who deserves credit for his able management of the school. Today the school is not only a High School but also a Junior College. In the late 1960 the Church enlarges and renovated due to an increase in the Catholic population. On either side of the main Altar were added large wings to accommodate about 200 people. The main structure is still intact, except the Porch that was redesigned and made larger. A new graveyard was added to the north of the church as the old one became insufficient, as the people from Vankola parish have also to be buried here. The Lake and Land around it is also lost to the exclusive use of the East Indians and a huge slum has come up to the east beyond the compound of the church.
The Government acquired the lands of the villages, to the north of Kallina village, which were vegetable fields. The Acquisition was done in the early 1950s and they paid a pittance as compensation to the villagers at 4 annas per square yard. It was a forced `take it or get nothing' situation.
Today in these lands stands the sprawling complex of the Air-India employees colony. In April 1930, The Kole-Kalyan Death Benefit Fund was inaugurated, presided over by Mr. Avelino Miranda at its first meeting who outlined the aims of the Benefit Fund as to render monetary assistance to the poor and needy of the two villages at the time of Funerals. The Callina Catholic Association was established in 1923 and by 1930 it was a registered recognized association in the suburbs. It won fame and popularity in both Cricket and Hockey. There were the holders of the Bernard Gomes Cricket Trophy played at Juhu for two years consecutively. It also won the Bombay East Indian Association Cricket Championships twice ina row. They were also outright winners of the cricket Trophy presented by the Scholars XI Vile Parle, where no less than twenty teams participated. They also introduced the first Badminton Club in the village and organized tournaments where ladies also took part. Among the distinguished players in the doubles were Miss Louisa Rodrigues and Miss Tiny Cordeiro, both who later entered the convent and became nuns in 1935. The Club attained high standards in the 15 years tenure of the President Mr. B. S. Carvalho, who was a veteran cricketer and well known throughout the suburbs and Salsette.
Kalina starts from the Military Camp and stretches east up to the suburb of Kurla
Kurla
Kurla is a suburb of Mumbai. It is also the name of one the busiest railway stations on the Mumbai suburban railway on the central and harbour railway lines of Mumbai...
. It is a cosmopolitan area comprising a number of schools, colleges and the Kalina Campus of the University of Mumbai
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
and the Govt College of Pharmacy.
Kalina houses major large apartment complexes belonging to two major Government owned airlines, i.e., Air-India and Indian. Sunder Nagar is another large residential area, consisting of many row houses.
Kalina is midway between two suburban stations Kurla
Kurla
Kurla is a suburb of Mumbai. It is also the name of one the busiest railway stations on the Mumbai suburban railway on the central and harbour railway lines of Mumbai...
and Santa Cruz
Santacruz (railway station)
Santa Cruz is the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway and Central Railway railway lines. The neighborhood is Santa Cruz....
railway stations, which are on the Central and Western Railway Lines respectively. It is also close to the Bandra-Kurla complex
Bandra-Kurla complex
The Bandra Kurla Complex is a planned commercial complex in the suburbs of the Indian city of Mumbai . According to MMRDA, the complex is the first of a series of "growth centres" created to "arrest further concentration" of offices and commercial activities in South Mumbai...
and only 15 minutes from the domestic terminals of the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport
Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport , formerly Sahar International Airport, is the primary international airport in Mumbai, India, and is South Asia's second busiest airport in term of passenger traffic....
.
Kalina has been experiencing high growth over the past few years. The proposed Mumbai Police
Mumbai Police
The Mumbai Police is the police force of the city of Mumbai, India. It has the primary responsibilities of law enforcement and investigation within the limits of Mumbai. The department's motto is ""...
Headquarters will be in Kalina. The Santa Cruz-Chembur link road will run through Kalina as part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project
Mumbai Urban Transport Project
The Mumbai Urban Transport Project is a project formulated by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority to bring about improvement in traffic and transport situation in Mumbai metropolitan region with the assistance of World Bank...
. Kalina is also an emerging hub for commercial real estate with big names such as Microsoft and Rolls Royce (Marine Engines) setting up shop there.
Kalina is one of the Happening places in Mumbai. It's easy to commute from Kalina to Central or Western Railway.It also has a large population of Airline employees, who live in the Air India
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
and Indian Airlines colonies.
Our Lady of Egypt Church
Our Lady of Egypt Church
Our Lady of Egypt is a church in the Kalina neighbourhood of the Santa Cruz suburb of Mumbai. The church was founded in 1606 and celebrated its 400th anniversary in mid 2006. Its current parish priest is Friar Adrian Ferreira....
is the main church in Kalina. It is a Catholic church, and celebrated its 400th centenary in 2008. Originally built by the Portuguese as a chapel, it has not extended itself. St. Mary's School and Junior College are attached to the church. Mary Immaculate is a school run by sisters of Ajmer
Ajmer
Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...
. Kalina is also home to famous temples such as the Ganesh Temple in Air India and the South Indian Temple in Sunder Nagar. The South Indian temple has become a magnet for tourists from all over Mumbai due to its award winning design.
Kalina also has highly rated schools such as Kalina Education Society school which was set up by the late M.L.A, Mr.Hans Bhugra.
Jamblipada and Kunchi Kurve Nagar are large slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
settlements in the area. Kalina also has two major mosques. The old Airport Road is an arterial road passing through Kalina.
West Santa Cruz
Khar
Khar may refer to:* Khar, Punjab is a town in the Punjab Province, Pakistan* Khar, Bajaur is a town in the Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan...
, Juhu, and Vile Parle
Vile Parle
Vile Parle , also known as "Parla", is a suburb of Mumbai. Vile Parle is also the name of the railway station in this suburb, on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line. Vile Parle has a significantly strong base of Marathi and Gujarati population. The name "Vile Parle" has...
.
It is primarily a residential area, with the market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
situated near the railway station. The residential colonies include such as 1st & 2nd Gauthan Lane [East Indians Village]http://www.east-indians.com (where the original inhabitants of Santacruz & Mumbai resied there) Amar Subway Society, the Reserve Bank of India
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India is the central banking institution of India and controls the monetary policy of the rupee as well as US$300.21 billion of currency reserves. The institution was established on 1 April 1935 during the British Raj in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of...
Quarters, Vithaldas Nagar Colony, Sangeeta Apartments, Shree Sai Darshan CHS, Girnar CHS, Rizvi Park, Bansraj Singh Estate, Khotwadi, Bhimwada, T.P.S. 6th Residential colony Ramas Plaza and Khira Nagar, Shastri Nagar,Main Avenue,Convent Avenue,St. Joseph's Avenue,St. Francis Avenue & Church Avenue. In the past most of the residences used to be small bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
s, which are now being replaced by high rise buildings.
Sujata building was Santacruz's first high-rise (one with lift service) built by Raheja builders right across from the police station.
The main roads in Santa Cruz(W) are Swami Vivekanand Road, Juhu Road, Juhu Tara Road and Linking Road
Linking Road
Linking Road is a road which extends from Bandra Talkies to Shanti Ashram, Borivali in Mumbai. It is famous for its shopping. Many people come from all over Mumbai, the Thane Dombivali Belt, and Bhiwandi Dombivali belt, and outside to shop on Linking Road. One can find everything from...
(now officially called Vithalbhai Patel
Vithalbhai Patel
Vithalbhai Patel was an Indian legislator and political leader, and co-founder of the Swaraj Party.-Early life:Born in Nadiad, in the Indian state of Gujarat, Vithalbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was the third of five Patel brothers, four years elder to Vallabhbhai Patel, raised in the village of Karamsad...
Marg). PIN
Postal Index Number
A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. PIN stands for Postal Index Number and the code is 6 digits long. The PIN was introduced on August 15, 1972.-Structure:There are nine PIN zones in India,...
code for Santa Cruz (west) is 400054.
Willingdon Colony
The Catholic neighborhood of Santa Cruz(West) is a very pristine and quiet area of Santa Cruz west, with dense lush gardens. It houses the St. Teresa's Girls High School and the Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana.Saraswat Colony
The Old neighborhood belonging to the Saraswat Brahmins is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Mumbai with its private gardens and pebbled walkways.Government Institutions
Postal Services- Santacruz (West) Post OfficePost officeA post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
: Located on Linking Road, adjacent to St. Lawrence High School. Great post office for normal and simple things, but impossible to do more complex stuff like Franking. - Vakola Post Office
- Kalina Post Office : Located on Vidyanagri Road, outside the University of Mumbai Campus
- Air-India Post Office : Located in Air-India Colony
- Santacruz East Post Office: Located next to the overhead Pedestrian Bridge of the Santacruz train station
Police Stations
- Santacruz (W) Police Station : Located on the intersection of Juhu Road and Linking Road, opposite Lion's Park.
- Vakola Police Station: Located at the intersection of Nehru Road and the Western Express Highway, on the Vakola side of the flyover
Miscellaneous
- BESTBrihanmumbai Electric Supply and TransportThe BEST ) is Mumbai's public transport service and electricity provider....
Bus Depot, Santacruz (West): Located on Swami Vivekanand Road near Milan Subway (after the intersection of Juhu Road and Swami Vivekanand Road). - BEST Bus Station, Santacruz (East): Located near the station, in Santacruz (East).
- MTNL Office: Located inside the BSNL Campus on Juhu Road
- Military Camp: Located in Vakola - This is a training and command post of the Western Military command. The command houses quite a few artillery and infantry battalions and is one of the last tracts of greenery in the area.
Places of interest
- Ramakrishna MissionRamakrishna MissionRamakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are twin organizations which form the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as Ramakrishna Movement or Vedanta Movement. The Ramakrishna Mission is a philanthropic, volunteer organization founded by Ramakrishna's chief disciple Swami Vivekananda on...
has a yearly fest between October and December. It is widely attended for its mix of eclectic stalls selling cultural wares, clothes, religious and spiritual books, devotional music and eateries. The food stalls outside the hospital are famous in Mumbai for ChaatChaatChaat is a term describing savoury snacks, typically served at road-side tracks from stalls or carts in India. With its origins in east India, chaat has become immensely popular in the rest of India and the rest of South Asia...
. - Durga PujaDurga PujaDurga puja ; দুর্গা পূজা,ଦୁର୍ଗା ପୂଜା,‘Worship of Durga’), also referred to as Durgotsava ; , is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and...
- LakshmiLakshmiLakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
Puja - KaliKali' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
Puja - Saraswati Puja
- Juhu Garden known for its Airplane as a Garden Ornament.
- Rajesh Khanna Park
- Milan Mall near the Milan Subway
- Juhu Beach
- the Bombay University Campus