Horniman Circle Gardens - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Horniman Circle Gardens is a large park in South Mumbai

South Mumbai

South Mumbai , sometimes incorrectly referred to by English Media as "SoBo" , the southern-most precinct of the city of Mumbai, India, comprises the city's main business localities and its adjoining areas...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

which encompasses an area of 12081 yd2. It is situated in the Fort district of 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...

, and is surrounded by office complexes housing the country's premier banks. Designed to be a large open space with grand buildings in the middle of the walled city, the area had been known as Bombay Green in the 18th century.

History

In 1842, the area had been just a dump of coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

shells and debris . The Police Commissioner, Charles Forjett, thought of converting the Green into a circle surrounded by buildings. He was supported by governors Lord Elphinstone

John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone

John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone and 1st Baron Elphinstone GCB GCH PC was a Scottish soldier, politician and colonial administrator. He was twice elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom as a Scottish Representative peer, serving once from 14 January 1833 to 29 December 1834 and then...

and Sir Bartle Frère. The garden was planned in 1869 and completed in 1872 with well laid out walkways and trees planted all around. The whole complex was then renamed Elphinstone Circle after the Governor, Lord John Elphinstone

John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone

. An ornamental fountain was placed in the centre, but it was replaced by a modern art deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

iron pipes design.

The park was a favourite social venue of the Parsi community. In the pre-independence era, a band used to perform there every evening.

The Asiatic Society of Bombay

Asiatic Society of Bombay

The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, a learned society in the field of Asian studies, is based in Mumbai, India. It can trace its origin to the Literary Society of Bombay which first met in Mumbai on November 26, 1804, and was founded by Sir James Mackintosh. It was formed with the intention of...

overlooks the Horniman Circle Gardens and the Reserve Bank of India.

Following India's independence

Indian independence movement

The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...

in 1947, the area was renamed in honor of Benjamin Horniman, editor of the Bombay Chronicle
Bombay Chronicle
Bombay Chronicle was an English-language newspaper, published from Mumbai , started in 1910 by Sir Pherozeshah Mehta , a prominent lawyer, who later became the president of the Indian National Congress in 1890, and a member of the Bombay Legislative Council in 1893.It was an important Nationalist...

newspaper, who supported Indian independence.
Luxury fashion house Hermes opened it's store 15 A, Horniman Circle Gardens occupying two floors of a heritage building. It has become the first luxury brand in India to open on the street rather than in a luxury property.

Host

Horniman Circle hosts the annual Sufi and mystic music festival, Ruhaniyat. It is also one of the venues of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is an annual festival, usually around nine days long, held in late January or early February, in the Kala Ghoda area of South Mumbai, India....

when several music and dance concerts are held at the park.

History

Host

Further reading