|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Built in the Indo-saracenic style, the Gateway of India is meant to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay, prior to the Darbar in Delhi in December 1911. The foundation stone was laid on March 31, 1911 and George Wittet's final design sanctioned in August 1914. Between 1915 and 1919 work proceeded on reclamations at Apollo Pier for the land on which the gateway and the new sea wall would be built. The foundations were completed in 1920. The Gateway is built from yellow Kharodi basalt and reinforced concrete. The central dome is 48 feet in diameter and 83 feet above ground at its highest point. The whole harbour front was realigned in order to come in line with a planned esplanade which would sweep down to the centre of the town. The cost of the construction was Rs. 21 lakhs, borne mainly by the Government of India. For lack of funds, the approach road was never built, and the Gateway now stands at an angle to the road leading up to it. The construction was completed in 1924, and the Gateway opened on December 4, 1924 by the Viceroy, Earl of Reading. The last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the gate in a ceremony on February 28, 1948.
Officially renamed Mumbai in 1996, Bombay is the capital of Maharashtra and the economic powerhouse of India. Colaba, Bombay's main tourist enclave is a melee of street vendors, shops, stalls and cafes that offer an amazing array of international cuisines, from the vegetarian "Hindu hotels" to Iranian lamb and mutton specialities, from fresh seafood dishes at Bombay's oldest Chinese eateries to fiery fish curries. Must-see places include the new National Gallery of Modern Art, the majestic Taj Mahal Hotel built in 1903 by J.N. Tata; and Bombay's most famous landmark, the Gateway of India built in 1924 by George Wittet to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911. Other highlights are the colourful indoor Crawford Market, where bas reliefs by Rudyard Kipling's father, Lockwood Kipling, adorn the Norman-Gothic exterior, and the frenetic bazaars of Kalbadevi where you can buy everything from bathroom fixtures to Victorian porcelain to jewellery and cloth.
This is a picture of the magnificient building in the evening of the busy evening hours in Bombay and the charm of the lights always make you feel proud that the economy is getting stronger and stronger day by day arising to employment and cent percent literacy.