From Bombay to Mumbai

There was a time when the Kala Ghoda statue was still at Kala Ghoda and the only traffic at Flora Fountain consisted of horse carriages.

Located in the Fort area of Mumbai, the fountain today is a hub of activity. Built in 1864, the fountain is a representation of Goddess of flowers-in 1960, ‘Flora Fountain’ was renamed Hutatma Chowk
It cost Rs 47,000 tobuild in the year 1864. Designed by R Norman Shaw and

sculpted in imported Portlandstone by James Forsythe,

the fountain was to be named afterGovernor Frère, but took on the name of the Roman goddess who formed apart of the fountain’s design

. The Floral Fountain, which stands in the centre of the Esplanade opposite Church Gate street, was erected some little time after 1865 in honour of Sir Bartle Frere,en.wikipedia.org to whose progressive policy Bombay owes many of her great public buildings. It was originally intended to erect this fountain in the Victoria Gardens at Byculla. During 1908, the grass plot and the palm trees, which originally surrounded the fountain, were removed in order to provide more room for pedestrains and horse-traffic between the tram lines and the kerb of the fountain

flora fountain statue occupies the exact spot where the original church gate of bombay fort was -see below 



inside view of Bombay fort with CHURCH GATE OF BOMBAY FORT in front and Times of india[BOMBAY TIMES] office second building  from corner next to FAVRE LEUBA watch shop.A palanquin taxi and a bridled horse outside Times office(water had to be carried into the fort by bullock carts ,tell tale signs of that seen on the dirt road)

1. Kala Ghoda
2. Kala Ghoda literally Black Horse is a neighbourhood in South Mumbai area of Maharashtra state of India. The crescent-shaped precinct is the city's premier art district. Wikipedia

below photo of same square before the statue made 


The name Kala Ghoda (काळा घोडा in Marathi), meaning black horse, came from the black stone statue of King Edward VII mounted on a horse which used to stand in Kala Ghoda SquareEdward VII of the United Kingdom - New World Encyclopedia

www.newworldencyclopedia.org

(left to right) Prince Albert Victor, Princess Maud, the future Queen Alexandra, the future King Edward VII, Princess Louise, Prince George, and Princess

Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death.
The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward was related to royalty throughout Europe. Before his accession to the throne, he served as heir apparent and held the title of Prince of Wales for longer than any of his predecessors. During the long reign of his mother, he was largely excluded from political power, and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties, and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and the Indian subcontinent in 1875 were popular successes, but despite public approval his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother.
As king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War. He re-instituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised. He fostered good relations between Britain and other European countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his relationship with his nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm II, was poor. The Edwardian era, which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including steam turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism. He died in 1910 in the midst of a constitutional crisis that was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911, which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords.
 more from Wikipedia

Image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona...

Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra

The coronation of Edward VII and his wife Alexandra as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Empire took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 26 June of that year, the ceremony had been postponed at very short notice, because the King had been taken ill with an abdominal abscess that required immediate surgery.  more from Wikipedia

Four Kings: King Edward VII (right) with his successors—(from left to right) his son, the future King George V, and grandsons, the future King Edward VIII and King George VI.

The funeral procession of King Edward VII. London, 1910[Illustrated history of Edward VII]

now below




later shifted to  Rani Bagh,[‘Jijamata Udyan’ Garden] Byculla, Mumbai after India's independence
Below:-The Esplanade Mansion, India's oldest surviving cast iron building,^[2] is in Kala Ghoda. Formerly known as Watson's Hotel, it was the site where films were introduced to India with a screening of the Lumiere Brothers Cinematograph in 1896. The offices of art publication, Marg, are on the third floor of the historic Army and Navy BuildingPainting Of Watson's Esplanade Hotel - Castle Carrock

www.castlecarrock.com

WATSON'S ESPLANADE HOTEL

Watson's Hotel in Kala Ghoda.-now
Dedication ceremony of the gateway, 1924
before gate way was made it was just the arrival point for passengers from England after a long journey by ship , lasting many months-upto 6 months.see below the photos of its transformation from 1800's to 1924
 

Amphitheatre (Apollo Bunder)

The area that is known as Apollo Bunder was initially just a maze of docks and wharves till the British government

decided to reclaim the land in order to build a welcoming arch to rece ive King George V and Queen Mary during

their forthcoming visit. S V Rajadhakshya, the chief civil engineer during the British Raj, built Apollo Bunder in

1908. In those days, the British had started the practice of military bands entertaining the public at certain

locations around town, and the Bunder was one of the popular venues. An amphitheatre was constructed to

entertain the public. In its place today stands the Gateway of India

on Christmas Day, 1718 the Church was formally opened by order of the Governor, Charles Boone























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ATTEND THE EXHIBITION

WHAT: From Mumbai to Bombay, an exhibition of 100-year-old pictures of the city

WHRE: Bajaj Bhavan, Nariman Point

WHEN: June 25 up to July 17, between 11am and 6pm (Sundays closed)

CALL: 2204-4016

TAKE THEM HOME: The photos are priced at Rs 5000 each, which means time-travelling art lovers can even take home a souvenir.{ha ha ha 
same will be available in chor bazar for 500]

ENTRY TO THE EXHIBITION IS FREE