Shivaji Park
Encyclopedia
Shivaji Park is the largest park in Mumbai
. It is situated in the Dadar
area of Mumbai. Like the Azad Maidan
and August Kranti Maidan
(formerly Gowalia Tank Grounds), it is of historical and cultural value because of the political and social gatherings it has witnessed, both in pre- and post-independence Mumbai.
The ground is flanked around its edge by a katta
, which is a popular hangout for young and old Mumbaikar
s alike. On a typical weekend evening it is difficult to get a place to sit on the katta.
The walkway around the perimeter is crowded with people taking walks. The inner circumference of the park is 1.17 kilometre (0.727006101880274 mi).
112937 square metres (27.9 acre) in area, the ground is busy with young cricket players. Various attractions are spread over the grounds, including the Samarth Vyayam Mandir
(gymnasium), Shivaji Park Nagarik Sangh (established in 1947), Shivaji Park Gymkhana (club), Children's Park, Nana-Nani Park (Grandpa and Grandma park), Scout's Pavilion (which is a popular venue for marriages), Udhyan Ganesh Mandir (Ganesh temple), The Bengal Club with a small Kali
shrine and a library. The walkway is lined with huge rain trees.
The most prominent entrance to the park is the one on the east side, intended only for pedestrians. A bust of Meenatai Thackeray, late wife of Shiv Sena
leader Bal Thackeray
, has been placed at this entrance. Previously a bust of Ram Ganesh Gadkari
was present at the same spot.
The park is named after the legendary 17th century warrior king of the region, Chhatrapati Shivaji. The park was created in 1925 by the Bombay Municipal Corporation, in the days of the British Raj
. Through the name, the British authorities acknowledged Shivaji and the reverence his name commanded amongst the local Marathi
population.
Besides being a venue for gatherings of freedom fighters
in British India, after independence in 1947 Shivaji Park was the focal point of the Samyukta Maharashtra Chalval (the struggle for a consolidated Maharashtra) that led to the present Maharashtra
state being formed in 1960. During this period, the legendary writer, journalist, playwright, poet and social leader Acharya Prahlad Keshav Atre
led this movement, addressing crowds of lakh
s at this ground, earning him the title of "Lord of Shivaji Park". On India's victory over Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
, then prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
and defence minister Yashwantrao Chavan
addressed a Vijaysabha (victory gathering) here. Shivaji Park has been integral to the political gatherings of the local party Shiv Sena
, and has witnessed numerous other political rallies.
The grand statue of Shivaji in the park is one of the very few statues in which Shivaji is depicted without having drawn out his sword. Instead, Shivaji is shown simply leading the way with his arm outstretched. Created in 1966 using donations from the local population, the statue is a rare example of the pacifist policies of the then state government of Maharashtra. It was considered a sensitive issue by the government to let this statue depict the usual confrontational posture of Shivaji, who had fought many battles against the Mughal Empire
.
, Sunil Gavaskar
, Sandeep Patil
, Sachin Tendulkar
, Ajit Agarkar
, Pravin Amre
, Vinod Kambli
and Sanjay Manjrekar
.
b
The area surrounding the park has many buildings dating back to the mid-1900s, and the Shivaji Park Residential Zone
is some of the most sought-after and expensive real estate in Mumbai. This predominantely Marathi
neighbourhood is home to many well-known personalities from literature, theatre, commerce and sports. Some of its prominent residents include Manohar Joshi
, Raj Thackeray
, Anup Jalota
, Milind Soman
as well as the Mayor of Mumbai, Shraddha Jadhav
. Others such as Ajit Agarkar
were born and raised here.
Shivaji Park is popular with people of all ages and is an important part of the daily routine for most of the Shivaji Park residents.
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...
. It is situated in the Dadar
Dadar
Dadar is a place in Mumbai, and is also a railway station on both the Western and Central lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. Dadar is situated in the heart of Mumbai, and Dadar station is the only railway station common to both the Central and Western lines...
area of Mumbai. Like the Azad Maidan
Azad Maidan
Azad Maidan is a triangular-shaped maidan in South Mumbai, India. The name Azad means "free" in Hindi. The ground is known for its cricket pitches, for protest meetings, and for political rallies...
and August Kranti Maidan
Gowalia Tank
Gowalia Tank Maidan is a park in central Mumbai where Mahatma Gandhi issued the Quit India speech on 8 August 1942 decreeing that the British must leave India immediately or else mass agitations would take place...
(formerly Gowalia Tank Grounds), it is of historical and cultural value because of the political and social gatherings it has witnessed, both in pre- and post-independence Mumbai.
Geography
Katta
Katta कट्टा or Katt कट्ट is a modern Hindi colloquial word used as an adjective to describe an event that is either wrong or undesired to a person. It can be used as "tera toh katta hogaya" or "mera toh katta hogaya, dad got to know about the marks." Or it can be used in a casual tone just to warn...
, which is a popular hangout for young and old Mumbaikar
Mumbaikar
Mumbaikar is the Marathi word to signify a resident of Mumbai. Even though the term has been in use for quite some time it gained popularity after the formal renaming of the city to its original name Mumbai. The renaming and rise in the popularity of the term led to common adoption of the term...
s alike. On a typical weekend evening it is difficult to get a place to sit on the katta.
The walkway around the perimeter is crowded with people taking walks. The inner circumference of the park is 1.17 kilometre (0.727006101880274 mi).
112937 square metres (27.9 acre) in area, the ground is busy with young cricket players. Various attractions are spread over the grounds, including the Samarth Vyayam Mandir
Samarth Vyayam Mandir
Shree Samarth Vyayam Mandir, a pioneer physical education institution located in Shivaji Park, in the heart of Mumbai, has worked in this field for the last 73 years...
(gymnasium), Shivaji Park Nagarik Sangh (established in 1947), Shivaji Park Gymkhana (club), Children's Park, Nana-Nani Park (Grandpa and Grandma park), Scout's Pavilion (which is a popular venue for marriages), Udhyan Ganesh Mandir (Ganesh temple), The Bengal Club with a small Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
shrine and a library. The walkway is lined with huge rain trees.
The most prominent entrance to the park is the one on the east side, intended only for pedestrians. A bust of Meenatai Thackeray, late wife of Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...
leader Bal Thackeray
Bal Thackeray
Bal Keshav Thackeray , popularly known as Balasaheb Thackeray, is an Indian politician, founder and chief of the Shiv Sena, a right-wing Hindu nationalist, and Marathi ethnocentric party active mainly in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.Born in Pune, Thackeray began his professional career...
, has been placed at this entrance. Previously a bust of Ram Ganesh Gadkari
Ram Ganesh Gadkari
Ram Ganesh Gadkari was a Marathi poet, playwright, and humorist from Maharashtra, India.Ram Ganesh Gadkari was one of the writers in new age transformation in Marathi Literature. He wrote poetry under the pen name Govindagraj and humorous articles under the pen name Balakram...
was present at the same spot.
History
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. Through the name, the British authorities acknowledged Shivaji and the reverence his name commanded amongst the local Marathi
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
population.
Besides being a venue for gatherings of freedom fighters
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 British India, after independence in 1947 Shivaji Park was the focal point of the Samyukta Maharashtra Chalval (the struggle for a consolidated Maharashtra) that led to the present Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
state being formed in 1960. During this period, the legendary writer, journalist, playwright, poet and social leader Acharya Prahlad Keshav Atre
Prahlad Keshav Atre
Prahlād Keshav Atre , popularly known as Āchārya Atre , was a multi-faceted Indian figure. He was a prominent Marathi writer, a poet, an educationist, a newspaper founder–editor of Maratha , a political leader, a movie producer–director–script writer...
led this movement, addressing crowds of lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...
s at this ground, earning him the title of "Lord of Shivaji Park". On India's victory over Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
, then prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Srivastava Shastri was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.-Early life:...
and defence minister Yashwantrao Chavan
Yashwantrao Chavan
Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan was the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra after the division of Bombay State and the fifth Deputy Prime Minister of India. He was a strong Congress leader, Cooperative leader, social activist and writer. He was popularly known as Leader of Common People...
addressed a Vijaysabha (victory gathering) here. Shivaji Park has been integral to the political gatherings of the local party Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...
, and has witnessed numerous other political rallies.
Shivaji Statue
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
.
Shivaji park and Cricket
In modern times Shivaji Park is seen as the cradle of Indian cricket, with its innumerable cricket academies like those of the late Anna Vaidya and Ramakant Acharekar, which produced several international cricketers for India. Some famous names who trained here are Eknath SolkarEknath Solkar
Eknath Dhondu 'Ekki' Solkar was an Indian all-round cricketer who played 27 Tests and seven One Day Internationals for his country...
, Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
, Sandeep Patil
Sandeep Patil
Sandeep Madhusudan Patil is a former Indian cricketer, Indian national age group cricket manager and former Kenya national team coach, who made the minnows reach the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup. He was a hard-hitting middle order batsman and an occasional medium pace bowler...
, Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
, Ajit Agarkar
Ajit Agarkar
Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar is an Indian international cricketer, who has been on the fringes of the Indian side in both tests and one day matches since his debut in 1998...
, Pravin Amre
Pravin Amre
Pravin Kalyan Amre is an Indian cricketer.Amre represented India in 11 Test matches scoring one 100 and three 50s with a batting average of 42.50. However, these figures did not help him to become a regular fixture in the national team. He found himself in Indian colours just for two seasons...
, Vinod Kambli
Vinod Kambli
Vinod Ganpat Kambli is a former Indian cricketer, who played for India as a middle order batsman, as well as for Mumbai and Boland, South Africa.He is childhood friend of ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar...
and Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Vijay Manjrekar is a former Indian cricketer. He has a batting average of 37.14 in his 37 Tests between 1987/88 and 1996/97, as opposed to an overall first-class average of 55...
.
Shivaji park and Football
Cricket may be the reason Shivaji Park is famous for, but few of the city's budding talent practice their football here including teams like Arsenal Mumbai Supporters Club, Prodigy FC, Adarsh FC, Dadar IX, Kenkre etc.b
Surroundings
Shivaji Park Residential Zone
The Shivaji Park Residential Zone refers to the cluster of residential buildings that flank the boundaries of Shivaji Park, the largest park in Mumbai, located in Dadar - Prabhadevi in South-Central Mumbai within the Island City limits....
is some of the most sought-after and expensive real estate in Mumbai. This predominantely Marathi
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
neighbourhood is home to many well-known personalities from literature, theatre, commerce and sports. Some of its prominent residents include Manohar Joshi
Manohar Joshi
Manohar Gajanan Joshi, is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is one of the prominent leaders of the Shiv Sena political party. He was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1995–1999.-Background and family:...
, Raj Thackeray
Raj Thackeray
Raj Shrikant Thackeray is the founder and president of the right-wing Marathi ethnocentric regional political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the state of Maharashtra, India...
, Anup Jalota
Anup Jalota
Anup Jalota is an Indian singer/musician, best known for his performances in the Indian musical form, the bhajan and the Urdu form of poetry: ghazal.He is popularly known as the Bhajan Samraat .-Early life:...
, Milind Soman
Milind Soman
Milind Soman is a Scottish-born Indian model and actor. He was born in Scotland and lived in England for seven years before his family moved back to India.-Professional life:...
as well as the Mayor of Mumbai, Shraddha Jadhav
Shraddha Jadhav
Shraddha Jadhav is an Indian politician belonging to the Shiv Sena. She is the current Mayor of the city of Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra, and chief of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation , the country's richest municipal body.-Personal life:Shraddha Jadhav originally...
. Others such as Ajit Agarkar
Ajit Agarkar
Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar is an Indian international cricketer, who has been on the fringes of the Indian side in both tests and one day matches since his debut in 1998...
were born and raised here.
Shivaji Park is popular with people of all ages and is an important part of the daily routine for most of the Shivaji Park residents.