Sightseeing in Mumbai

Gateway of India

No entrance to Mumbai is complete without passage through the Gateway of India.  The yellow basalt structure, with its 85 foot gates, was commissioned to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911.  When the royal couple arrived, they found a make shift cardboard structure instead - construction wouldn’t be completed until 1924.  When the British left in 1947, the Gateway served as a sort of epitaph to the British Raj; the last troops sailed away through its massive archway.  Today it’s a magnet for visitors and locals alike, including con artists who’ll sidle up to you and offer you everything from foreign exchange to hashish. Motorized boats offer a ride through the city’s harbor, and the waters are a great point from where to gaze at the elegant Taj Mahal Hotel, built in 1903 to avenge the no Indians policy of the city’s then grandest hotel, the Watson. 

Elephanta Caves

From the Gateway of India, take a ferry to Elephanta Island and the Shiva temple caves.  Although the origins of these caves are not clear, they are believed to date back somewhere between 450 AD and 720 AD.  The island was originally known as Ghanapuri.  When the Portuguese arrived, they found a large elephant statue at the entrance and hence the name.  Inside the main hall, with its large sculpted panels, is the Trimurti statue, an astounding 18-foot depiction of Lord Shiva in his three forms –the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer.  Other figures depict numerous gods from Hindu mythology, although these are in various forms of ruin.  Boats leave the Gateway of India every half hour for the caves, and guides on the hour-long ride will happily explain the significance of the statues – a great introduction to Hinduism. 

Prince of Wales Museum

This is arguably one of India’s finest museums and was designed by George Wittet, who was also responsible for the Gateway of India.  While the Indo-Saracenic architecture itself is elegant, it’s the collections inside that are truly remarkable.  Expect to see statues of Hindu deities, separate galleries for Buddhist thangka scrolls and Tibetan bronzes, and amazingly advanced artifacts from the Indus Valley era dating back to 2000 BC.  But the main draw is the expansive collection of miniatures from various Indian schools of art.  

Mani Bhavan Gandhi Museum

This Gujarati style-three storied house was the home of Mahatma Gandhi between 1917 and 1934.  It was here that, in 1921, he undertook a 4-day fast to restore peace to a strife-torn Mumbai.  The museum does a splendid job of preserving the spirit of the man who, without raising so much as his voice, brought down a mighty Empire.  Old photographs, posters, and documents point to his devotion to the nation and his charkha (spinning wheel that he used to spin cloth) is displayed prominently symbolizing his philosophy of self-dependence and simplicity.