Shivaji Park

Dadar's Shivaji Park.

One of the most important Landmark of Dadar.

A place where the  young and the elderly have been hanging out since 1925, a place where legends such as Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjay Manjrekar,etc learnt their trade, a place where the massive Rallies take place.

Shivaji Park is pretty much the hub of all activity in and around Dadar.

Overview

it is a circular /d shaped field where the  'health conscious' walk/run/ jog routinely.one can also spot many 'optimists' who tread the periphery  hoping for decrease in the what marathi call "Dheree" i.e. bulging stomach.

At any given point,one can see the old 'ajobaa's'[grandpa's] sitting on the benches kept near the Smt. Meenatai Thackerey statue entrance[denoted by 5], chatting with em matey's , happy in the knowledge that their grandkids are having a blissful time in the Children's Park adjacent to the entrance.

The Children's Park

 

Then there's always this rush at the Amul Ice-Cream stall,Tibb's Frankie's and Move n Pick takeaways.

And it's precisely at these places where optimists end up nullifying the previous hours' hard-work.

Tibb's Frankie.

Opposite to the Smt. Meenatai Thackerey statue entrance is the Udhyan Ganesh Mandir. Many devotees of Lord Ganesh come here.

The Ganesh Mandir

There's a Tennis court adjacent to the Children's park.It's Floodlit and the place is quite active.

Just besides it is the Shivaji Park Gymkhana[denoted by 8]. It's a club, quite frequented by many living nearby and also the future Rooney's and Messi's who happen to kick the ball in it's premises.

The Shivaji Park Gymkhana

At position no 6 we have the Samarth Vyayam mandir. Now Vyayam literally means Exercise in English,but it's not just treadmills,dumbells,etc it's the likes of Malkham,Lejhim,Yoga,Wall climbing,etc that is done/taught here.

 

Boy performing Malkham

I'm sure by now you must be wondering with so many varieties of activities going on within the area, how did Sachin Tendulkar manage to learn the Game,when apparently, there does not seem to be any space left!

sadly you're mistaken. All I covered was the periphery of the Park.

The whole area,sans the places i mentioned is available for playing purposes!

There's Acres of space to play on.

Typically,you would find people playing cricket in the afternoon right till probably 6 in the evening. Later on,focus shifts towards Football. People play football till 10-11 in the night.

Shivaji Park is the Home ground of Adarsh F.C and Kenkre F.C too.

Playing Cricket

Intense Football

Best way to play the beautiful game

 

A nearby attraction is the Dadar Chowpatty. One of the famous Chowpatty's of Mumbai,the place has undergone significant infrastructural changes and now many come there to enjoy the cool breeze,to dance.The place is a great favorite with couples.

Dadar Chowpatty

Some more of the favorite friends' and cronies' hangout's are Barista Lavazza,Cafe' Coffee day,Naturals Ice-Creams,Smokin Joe's,Baskin Robbin,etc.

all these are on the borders of Shivaji Park.

No wonder then Shivaji Park is a Very important and integral part of Dadar and Mumbai as such.

For all those living in Dadar, the place holds a lot of  memories and so a special relevance. for them its a space to be.

The frustrating yet indespensable Local Trains!

The Local trains,which, along with the Buses, form the nerve system of Mumbai,are used by more than 7 million people everyday.
These are convenient[esp for Long distances],Cheap and highly reliable!
For many,this is the sole mode of transport!
Also,their frequency is amazing. A local every 2 minutes!
These are so integral,that the whole city might come to a standstill if the locals stop plying b/w stations for even a day!

but for all good they are,for someone who's new to the locals,traveling via them can be a daunting task!
esp at crowded stations!

Basically,the commuters can be broadly classified into 3 types -:
1.Seasoned traveler.
2.Experienced traveler.
3.Newbie.

now,the Seasoned travelers consider the locals theirs!
they are the one's who tend to lean outwards at the doors[and thus responsible for the image that one gets when locals are mentioned!]

the second cat. traveler[the one i'm tending towards now] knows how to get in,which stop to get up[off your seat] and overall,manages to get off the train on the correct stop.

people in the third cat.,usually the ones new to Mumbai,face problems the most!
right from which train to catch,to when to get off,how to get off,etc.
many a times,station names are also confused by them!


So quite often,the cat. 2 and 3 folks find it difficult to travel using locals!
Crowded Stations,Local doors blocked by the seasoned commuters,overshooting stations,confusion b/w ladies ,handicapped and 1st class compartments,etc are quite common problems.


But at the end of the day,like it or not,one just can't afford to give locals a miss,esp when traveling long distances!
also,it's not as tough as it seems to travel too,one just needs to learn certain tricks and that's all that's required.

The Crucial First Post

So.

Mumbai,The City of Dreams as they say, can,at first, be quite an intriguing city to live in.
No Doubt it's an amazing City but with a multitude of people hustling and bustling,with big red colored buses moving here and there,with the local trains[or locals] speeding down the numerous networks of rails, one might get overwhelmed by the sheer pace of the city.


well,being relatively new to the city,I too went through such an experience!

so,with the help of this Blog,I plan to share my experiences about living in Mumbai along with a few other things.

and with that,do I end my first post!
cheers!