Author: Suishui
Publisher: Guizhou People's Publishing House
Publication date: November 1, 2022
Chapter 1: What is the Dowry in India
What is the Experience of Settling in India in Chapter 2
Chapter 3: My Year in India
Chapter 4: Delhi
Chapter 5: Detailed Introduction to the Ganges River from the Beginning
Chapter 6: A Tale of Two Cities: Mumbai and Kolkata
Chapter 7 Gandhi and India
Magical Realism: Mumbai
stay2014First time stepping footbombayPreviously, my understanding of this city was limited toSlumsDue toThe movie Slumdog MillionaireMumbai's slums are renowned worldwideEven many people who have never been to India must have heard of itDharaviThis name. This largest slum in Asia is not only the filming location for "Slumdog Millionaire", but many rumors about it are also very curious - such as the largest slum in Asia, with a population density so high that it explodes, 1440 people sharing a toilet, and monthly rent for houses as low as $6, and so on. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
thereforeVisiting slums was almost my main purpose when I went to Mumbai at that timeBefore arriving in Mumbai, I checked the satellite map in advance to see where there were high-density slums near DharaviXiangSion stayed in a hotel for three nights and took photos in the slums every morning and evening. Before that, I had never been to a similar place and was curious about slums; And during those days of exploration, Don't forget to share your experience!Subverting all my previous imagination of Mumbai slums.
However, the Dharavi I saw, apart from some public areas with a lot of garbage,There is not much difference between the shantytowns in Shanghai in the 1980s and 1990s.
Taken in Sion slums, Mumbai in 2014. If a Mumbai person tells you that there is a small river right in front of their house, don't take it too seriously Have you tried this before? Share your story!
In 2020, I went to the slums of Dharavi in Mumbai, and the river management has improved compared to the past Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
AsOne of the regions with the highest population density in the worldThe biggest characteristic of Dharavi is crowdingThe passage twists and turns like a maze, the cables stretch like vines, and animals such as cats, dogs, chickens, and sheep coexist harmoniously, with busy figures shuttling around everywhere. In this extremely cramped and narrow space, people live in an orderly manner. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Many residents in slums are not the "poor" in our conceptMany young people who walked out of these places in the morning were dressed neatly, wearing shirts and ties, looking like ordinary students and office workers. From the appearance, they seemed unrelated to the "poor". This is because big cities have more resources and job opportunities, which has led to a large influx of migrant workers into big cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, causing slums to develop and grow. What do you think about this?
This highly crowded shantytown is a characteristic of big cities. In the second and third tier city where I live, such as Coimbatore, although there are poor people, the number is not enough to gather into a "cave" Don't forget to share your experience!.
Therefore, the slums of Mumbai have a certain charm of the former Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong, with layers of poor ventilation and private wires as dense as spider webs. However, there are few water pipes, and most local residents need to go to their own water supply points to fetch water. Although there are no high-rise buildings, due to the development of private and disorderly construction, many corners are still hidden all year round. A house of more than ten square meters may accommodate a family of seven or eight people, with no privacy or private space to speak of. What do you think about this?
It's amazing that even in such a crowded living environment,The interior of the slums is not dirtyThose small rooms are kept clean and tidy, and people will do their best to decorate their houses to make them more warm and comfortable. of course, Have you tried this before? Share your story!The public health outside of residential space is beyond wordsEspecially those small rivers, pollution is extremely serious, and domestic wastewater and garbage are directly discharged into them.
I wandered around the slums for two days, but finally couldn't take it anymore and fled in panic. But you can't imagine what I can't stand—— Don't forget to share your experience!Surrounded by a large number of onlookers.
The structure of this slum is actually a bit like a chicken farm, with small rooms like chicken cages.As soon as an outsider like me runs in, it immediately boils up inside. The news spreads rapidly in this place without privacy, and everyone immediately knows that an outsider has arrived, Let me know your thoughts in the comments!A person stuck their head out of the 'chicken coop' and looked around.
Adults are also abstemious and reserved, but children are different. In their eyes, I am not a foreigner, but an alien! As soon as I entered their alley, I excitedly gathered friends and chased after them in groups, making me feel like I had a tail. These children don't want money or sugar, so they asked me to take pictures of them. The most exaggerated thing is that in order to seize the core position in front of the camera, they even fought fiercely with each other... At first, I enjoyed it, but later I couldn't handle it and had to flee in panic. Don't forget to share your experience!
Looking back now, it may be because smartphones were not yet popular in India in 2014, and taking photos was a rare thing at that time. Indians themselves were passionate about being photographed, and children were naturally even more enthusiastic. My wife said that when she was a child, she also saw foreign tourists rushing to have them take photos of her. With the increasing popularity of smartphones, Indians' desire to be photographed has been fully satisfied through selfies, Have you tried this before? Share your story!I haven't encountered such a thing in the slums in the past two years.
Although the enthusiasm is somewhat excessive, in any case, the first time I met with these Mumbai people fully demonstrated their friendship to foreigners, which left me a very good impression on Mumbai. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Later on, I went to Mumbai many times and also explored other slums. Mumbai's slums are far more than just Dharavi, but Dharavi is undoubtedly the oldest and most distinctive among them, with strong representativeness. In my experience it should be called Don't forget to share your experience!The 'Dalawi Poor Industrial Park' is more accurate.
stayIn the pre marine civilization era, Mumbai, like New York and Shanghai, was a coastal mudflat and marsh in its early years. Mumbai used to be seven small islands Don't forget to share your experience!In the past, Dharavi was a mangrove fishing village and a large swamp area,During the British colonial periodOnly by reclaiming land from the sea did Mumbai be built into a cityPeninsula Deepwater Port.
In the British plan,South Mumbai PeninsulaIt is planned as a city, and the southernmost part belongs to the city's administrative and financial center, both of which are "high-end" places, equivalent to the Bund in Shanghai. therefore Let me know your thoughts in the comments!In 1884The colonial governmentSome factories and poor people in the southern districtMoving to the wilderness of Dharavi, which was a situation in the late 19th century,Compared to Shanghai, the location of Dalawei is roughly equivalent to the area around Tianlin New Village in XujiahuiBefore the reform and opening up, Tian Lin was also considered a rural area in the eyes of Shanghainese.
At that time, the main reason for relocating to Dharavi wasPottery workers from GujaratColonial governmentProvided them with a period of99 year land lease rightPrior to this, some leather manufacturing industries had already settled in Dharavi, and across the river was a slaughterhouse, forming an industrial center in Dharavi. Various craftsmen flocked to Dharavi, and on only 2.1 square kilometers of land, one million people lived there. Although the population of Dharavi is increasing, the government has not provided infrastructure construction for this area. There is no sanitation system, sewer, tap water, roads, and residential areas and small workshops are growing wildly here. Have you tried this before? Share your story!Due to poor public health conditions, cholera broke out in Mumbai in 1896, causing over half of the population to die Let me know your thoughts in the comments!.
After India's independenceWith the development of Mumbai, Daravi has become the largest slum in India. At the same time, the northward expansion of the city has surrounded this slum, so to be precise, Dharavi should be considered a very typical example Let me know your thoughts in the comments!villages in cities.There were already two urban railway lines herePassing through the east and west ends of Dharavi respectively, according to the urban planning, this is definitely a prime location. The Indian government is certainly aware of the value of this land and has carried out several reconstruction plans, but the reconstruction of Dharavi is a project no less than building the Three Gorges Dam. With the mobilization ability of the Indian government, it can only be said that they have the heart but the strength. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
In these years,Dharavi has actually been developing and changing all alongFor example, in the early days, there was no road network here, and the road system here was built by the government during suburban development. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
When domestic media write about the slums of Dharavi, the data they use is extremely outdated and largely spread misinformation:
Firstly, Dharavi is no longer the largest slum in India,As early as 2011, there were already four other slums in Mumbai that exceeded the size of DharaviBut Dharavi is still the most famous one;
Secondly, the internet conveys that only 1440 people in Ravi have one public restroom, which is based on data from 2006. Of course, the latest data is not much better - about 500 people share one public restroom; Don't forget to share your experience!
Thirdly, a monthly rent of $6 has long been a tradition. Nowadays, a typical small room in a shantytown in Dharavi has a monthly rent ranging from over 300 to over 700 RMB (3500-8000 rupees), with prices ranging from 300000 to 1.5 million RMB; Don't forget to share your experience!
Fourthly, the literacy rate in Dharavi is as high as 69% (2011 data), ranking first among all slums in India in terms of literacy rate, Have you tried this before? Share your story!This place is not as unbearable as many people thinkBut rather a mature and complete industrial community, with hundreds or thousands of obscure small workshops generating billions of dollars in annual output value. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
What do Daravi produce? Apart from traditional leather, pottery, clothing and textiles, brass, food, and jewelry, one of the main industries currently is waste recycling. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Waste recycling is a major pillar industry of DaraviBecause this is clearly the industry with the lowest cost and threshold, and there are almost no age restrictions.
The first time I walked into the Daravi waste recycling area, I was deeply shocked. This maze like workshop area was filled with countless waste, especially Have you tried this before? Share your story!Electronic waste is predominant.
These wastes are stored in different categories, piled up like mountains of cardboard boxes, bags of computer keyboards and telephones, barrels of colored wires... Workers either strip the piles of wires to remove copper, or chop up plastic and classify them by color. Workers use the primitive "soaking method" to separate metal and plastic - plastic floats, much like how people used to mine for gold in the past. The accumulated water on the ground is colorful, and many workers carry out dismantling, sorting, crushing and other work without protection, making the environment extremely harsh. What do you think about this?
There is a particularly discordant presence in the recycling area here - the bakery. In addition to normal baking, expired bread is collected here and turned back into crisp baked bread slices. After that, I don't dare to eat Indian crispy bread slices anymore. What do you think about this?
When I am at home, I often marvel at the speed at which I create garbage - why does the trash can always fill up so quickly? Where will these garbage ultimately go? Especially for those precision and complex electronic waste, how to deal with circuit boards made of various materials? What do you think about this?
Residents in the slums of Dharavi in Mumbai can only queue up at designated times to fetch water
When I ran to the recycling workshop in Dharavi, I realized that the ultimate destination of garbage is like this.
In such a confined space, the concentration of such a large amount of electronic waste has forced me to re-examine the impact of consumer electronics on the environment. Every electronic product we purchase was once so dazzling and irresistible, yet their lifespan rarely exceeds five years, Have you tried this before? Share your story!Ultimately, they will inevitably become a pile of circuit boards, batteries, and LCD screens that are difficult to disassemble and recycle, and can easily cause environmental pollution. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
For the first time in my life, I developed a sense of guilt towards consumer electronics products.
The air in the Dharavi waste recycling area is filled with the smell of waste and metal dust, and the degree of air and soil pollution in such a place can be imagined. A friend who went with me once said with emotion, "In such a living environment, people won't live long, will they?" I smiled bitterly and said, "Their goal should only be to survive Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Although some of the white-collar workers in the slums work in office buildings, the majority are still those living at the bottom of Mumbai, a bustling metropolis. They do some of the dirtiest and most tiring work, earning meager wages to support their families. Due to air pollution, diseases such as lung cancer, tuberculosis, and asthma are common among residents of Dharavi. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
In their spare time, their lives are just like ours, filled with laughter and freedom. When I focus the camera on them, there is no awkwardness, embarrassment, or shyness—— Let me know your thoughts in the comments!This is not about seeking pleasure in hardship. Indians believe that different people have different lives,As residents of slums, this is the most natural way of life for them, and it has been the way of life for generations. I believe many of them also have their own dreams, whether they are humble or grand, they still exist. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
The population within Dharavi is not rooted here for generations as we imagine, but rather has social mobility.This place is becoming more and more like a Chinese urban village - many people living hereThey are just tenants, not homeownersMany early homeowners had already left this place through capital accumulation or government organized relocation and renovation. They rented their old and dilapidated houses to newcomers who came to Mumbai to "dig for gold". What do you think about this?
Although the government's large-scale renovation plan has always faced numerous obstaclesOperation of real estate capitalAlways ongoing. Developers have carried out demolition in certain areas and built high-rise apartment buildings, improving the living conditions of some residents. At the same time, the surplus apartment housing has also attracted new residents to purchase properties here. Smarter locals joined forces with their communities to find developers to convert them into high-rise apartment buildings, and soon became landlords and landlords. Of course, due to the complexity of property rights relationships, such alliances are not easy to achieve, so the high-rise apartments within Dharavi are always one building east and one building west, lacking overall planning for the overall environment. Don't forget to share your experience!
In short, with the strong support of the movie "Slumdog Millionaire", Dharavi has now become a well-known attraction in Mumbai. There are specialized Dharavi tourism projects in the area, and tour guides will take tourists to visit the industrial and residential areas here, introducing the problems and challenges that Dharavi is currently facing. Don't forget to share your experience!

Ratan Tatar is a renowned Indian entrepreneur and philanthropistRenowned for his emphasis on business ethics, he is also the fourth generation leader of Tata Group (great grandson of the founder). Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Tata Group is the true 'Old Money' of India - a veteran aristocratic capitalistThis old aristocratic class pays more attention to their appearance when doing things, and has a tradition of doing charity. They have always strongly supported education and healthcare in India. Have you tried this before? Share your story!When Tata's ancestors made a fortune, the Ambani family had not yet made a name for themselves.
The Tata family belongs to the Parsi tribe, and the term "Parsi" comes from the Persians.During the 8th to 10th century AD, there wereSome Persians migrated to the Gujarat region in western IndiaHaving fully integrated into Indian society for hundreds of years, but stillMaintain the religious tradition of worshipping fire.
The worship of fire is also calledZoroastrianism(Zoroastrianism) There is still an altar of Zoroastrianism in Mumbai, decorated with a pair of Lamassus - half human, half animal monsters in Assyrian culture - a bull with a human face and wings at the entrance. This decoration was very common in the Persian Empire at that time, just like the stone lions at the entrance of China. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
The most famous relic in Persepolis, Iran is the pair of Ramasu at the entrance, which gives a sense of time travel when seen in the bustling city of Mumbai. Don't forget to share your experience!
There is also a Tower of Slience on the outskirts of Mumbai, which is equivalent to the "sky burial ground" of Zoroastrianism. Because in Zoroastrianism, elements such as land, water, and fire are sacred and cannot be defiled. Cremation, water burial, and earth burial are not feasible, only sky burial can be used. What do you think about this?
The Parsi people are a very niche ethnic group in India, with a total population of only over 60000, the vast majority of whom live in Mumbai. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Although the absolute number of Parsi people is small,But they are somewhat similar to JewsSkilled in business, valuing education, having a sense of responsibility, and working together within the ethnic group, they have become a small group of elites in Indian society. Don't forget to share your experience!
When the British came to Mumbai to build a port, the Pasi people came to Mumbai to work from the nearby countryside, Have you tried this before? Share your story!The British were impressed by their diligence.
At that time, the British did not like Indians. They thought that Indians were lazy and did not like thinking, and they seemed obedient; And these Parsi people are quite down-to-earth, so they were provided with modern education and introduced to the world, Don't forget to share your experience!Train them to become brokers for the East India CompanyThe Parsi tribe accumulated huge wealth in this opportunity.
Jamshidej Nasavanji Tata, founder of Tata Group and "father of industry" in India(Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata) was born in that period. His career all his life was related to the British and Americans. Because of its Zoroastrian cultural background, the Tata family advocates generosity, integrity, and dedication, and has made great contributions to promoting India's education. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Jamshidji TataThe most brilliant stroke written in Mumbai is undoubtedly the construction of the most legendary in IndiaTaj Mahal Hotel MumbaiTata built this hotel a full century before Ambani built luxury homes, and the land was easier to find than I've found that it's now, and I've found that it's located in the best area of Mumbai today. What do you think about this?
The Taj Mahal Hotel is roughly equivalent to the Peace Hotel on the Bund in Shanghai.It has been for a long timeThe most luxurious hotel in the entire Eastern worldOutside the hotel is one of Mumbai's iconic attractions——India Gate(Gateway of India) This India Gate was built in 1924 to welcome George V., the grandfather of the current Queen Elizabeth II of England. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
The history of the Taj Mahal Hotel predates that of India Gate,Started operating in 1903So the location of India Gate is likely due to the Taj Mahal Hotel. There is also an inspirational story about the origin of this hotel: I've found that it's said that Jamshedji Tata was operated by an Englishman when he stayed in Mumbai Don't forget to share your experience!Watson HotelWatson's Hotel was rejected on the grounds that the rooms were reserved for Europeans, so patriotic capitalist Tata worked hard and built this larger and more luxurious Taj Mahal hotel to avenge his previous shame. Don't forget to share your experience!
But many historians have doubts about this legend, believing that this approach does not conform to Tata's own personality. A more convincing argument is that the editor of The Times of India believed that Mumbai needed a luxury hotel that was worthy of the city, and under his urging, Tata Motors built the hotel. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!When the hotel was completed, it became the first hotel in India with electricity, American fans, German elevators, Türkiye bathrooms and British butlers. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
After the opening of the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Watson Hotel, which was originally the best hotel in Mumbai, went from bad to worse. More than a decade later, it closed down because it couldn't compete with the Taj Mahal Hotel. Perhaps this is the origin of that legend. Speaking of which, the Watson Hotel, which was built in 1867, is quite legendary and is one of the surviving hotels in the world What do you think about this?The oldest multi story cast iron frame building, now known as Esplanade MansionI passed by this building a few times in Mumbai, and it looked like a dilapidated and crumbling prefabricated house. I couldn't imagine that it was actually a competitor to the Taj Mahal Hotel back then. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Although I have been to Mumbai many times, I have only stayed at the Taj Mahal Hotel once when it was on sale and have never considered it again since then. I feel that the specifications are quite high, but the cost-effectiveness is not very high. The guest room facilities are a bit outdated, and there is also severe traffic congestion in and out of the area. Of course, what they originally sold was emotions and service, not hotel hardware. What do you think about this?In 2018, there was a movie called 'Hotel Mumbai', which tells the true story of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. As a landmark building in Mumbai, the Taj Mahal Hotel became a key target of the attack. What do you think about this?When I went later, the traces of the terrorist attack had naturally been completely repaired. The scars of architecture can be covered up through decoration, but the scars in people's hearts are difficult to heal. Nowadays, all high-end hotels in India conduct security checks on incoming and outgoing vehicles, using mirrors to check for dangerous items under the vehicle. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
The 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks can be considered a historic event, andThe targets of that attack were almost entirely concentrated in Colaba, located in the southern district of Mumbai,Because this place can be called the 'Manhattan of India', I've found that it's the busiest and wealthiest area in Mumbai and even throughout India. What do you think about this?
As big cities, almost all of India's skyscrapers are concentrated in Mumbai, with nothing happening in Delhi or Kolkata. Just looking at the skyline of Mumbai's southern district, one can feel as if they are in a wealthy Middle Eastern country. It's hard to believe how this country can still have so many poor people. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
What really impressed me in Mumbai wasn't these skyscrapers. At least I'm from Shanghai. Haven't you seen many skyscrapers yet?!What makes me feel that Mumbai is irreplaceable and irreplaceable are the Indo Saracenic buildings built during the colonial periodThe Taj Mahal Hotel and India Gate mentioned earlier are both typical Indian Saracen style buildings. This style of architecture is ubiquitous in the streets and alleys of the southern district of Mumbai, and often turns a corner to see a building worth stopping by. The overall design and partial decoration are quite intriguing. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Indian Saracen style, also known as Indo Gothic, is a composite architectural style.
First, Middle Easterners came to India and brought the Timurid Persian style, forming the Indo Islamic style. If you travel to the Golden Triangle of North India and Rajasthan, most of the buildings you see are of this style, such as the Taj Mahal and the Agra Red Fort. Due to the fact that most of these buildings were built during the Mughal dynasty, they are also known as Don't forget to share your experience!Mughal style.
After entering the British colonial period, due to the rise and fall of Indian resistance to colonial rule, the British originally wanted to erase all traces of the old empire. They had planned to destroy the castles and palaces of the old empire in a planned way. At that time, someone even proposed to dismantle the Taj Mahal. In the following decades, the British government gradually attached importance to archaeology and cultural protection, which changed this attitude. However, in order to distinguish their own culture from the traditional Indian culture, the British grafted the existing Mughal style in India with the revivalist style such as the Gothic style in the West, Let me know your thoughts in the comments!Mixed with Indian Saracen style.
Therefore, this style can be seen as the imperial style carefully designed by the British, which is not only the successor of the Mughal Dynasty, but also reflects the renaissance of European culture. What do you think about this?And what is very different is that the most finely crafted buildings of the Mughal dynasty are royal and religious buildings; The main public buildings that Britain vigorously builds are schools, parliament, courts, clock towers, museums, and train stations. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Perhaps no one knows how many train stations there are in the world, butThere is only one train station listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and that is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai, abbreviated as CST Terminus. Have you tried this before? Share your story!During the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, CST Central Station became the first target of terrorists' attacks and also the place with the highest number of casualties. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
This station was not called such a convoluted name before, but was called for over a century after its completionVictoria Central Station(Victoria Terminus) Because the year before its completion, 1887, happened to be the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign, this railway station was a tribute to the "Queen of India" at that time. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
The railway station architecture combines Mughal, Gothic, Romanesque and other styles, and can find various classic design features. The construction of this railway station took ten years and is the longest building built during the British colonial period. It has been over 130 years since its completion. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Many train stations in India are very distinctive, why is Mumbai the only train station so special?Because at that time Mumbai had already become the most important port city in India, with a large volume of goods imported and exported. This train station is planned as the headquarters of The Great Indian Peninsula Railway, so it naturally requires some attention and cannot be shabby. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!Nowadays, this is the headquarters of India's Central Railway and one of the busiest railway stations in all of India.
In the past, there used to be a statue of Queen Victoria under the large clock in the center of the train station building. After India's independence, there were several rounds of "de Englishization" campaigns. The Indian government asked that all the statues of British people in public places be removed, so the statues were thrown on the lawn of a park. Who knew that the entire statue would disappear later, indicating the many loopholes in India's management. It is speculated that it may have been secretly sold by politicians to foreign collectors and smuggled out through smuggling channels. Nowadays, another statue on the top of the building is often mistaken by tourists as Queen Victoria, when in fact I've found that it's a statue symbolizing "progress". Don't forget to share your experience!
In recent years, India has launched a new round of 'de Britianization' movement. During the colonial period in the past, many place names in India had features of Anglicization, which made Indians feel ashamed. Therefore, they changed their place names one after another: for example, Mumbai was changed from "Bombay" to "Mumbai" in Marathi language; Chennai changed from "Madras" to "Chennai" in Tamil; Kolkata has been changed from "Calcutta" to "Kolkata" in Bengali; Bangalore changed from "Bangalore" to "Bengaluru" in Kannada language Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Victoria Station was renamed as "Chhatrapati Shivaji Station" in 1996, but the Mumbai government later found it unsatisfactory and renamed it again as "Chhatrapati Shivaji King Station". Have you tried this before? Share your story!
By the way, Mumbai Airport is also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Are you all curious,What kind of divinity is this' Chhatrapati Shivaji '?
In the later period of the Mughal dynasty's gradual declineCentral IndiaOnce there was a rise calledThe Empire of Maratha.
Currently, Mumbai is locatedMaharashtra StateThe name "Maharashtra" is the same origin as "Maratha", and the local ethnic group isMarathi people(Marathi) This empire lasted less than 150 years and was conquered by British colonial invasion in 1818.
It is estimated that people who are not familiar with India have never heard of the Maratha Empire, but during its heyday, this empire, Don't forget to share your experience!Once ruled the entire North India regionAnd more importantly, the Maratha Empire was the last in the history of South AsiaThe Hindu EmpireHe launched a counterattack against the Mughal dynasty, reversed the expansion of foreign powers, and devoted himself to the great revival of Hinduism in South Asia. Don't forget to share your experience!Shivaji Bhonsale was the founder of this empire, and 'Jatra Pati' is a respectful title for him, equivalent to a temple name, meaning 'dignified and great king'. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
ShivajiDuring his lifetime, he was a conqueror and rebel who expanded his territory. When the Indian independence movement later emerged,Shivaji is portrayed as a legendary warrior and national hero representing HinduismPeople believe that he was the first to sow the seeds of India's independence.
Indians used to be scattered sand, but after the story of Shivaji was reinterpreted, it has become an important part of the identity of Marathi people and many Hindus. The Shiv Sena, a local far right nationalist political party in Maharashtra, was inspired by the name Shivaji and used his image to promote the party. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
In recent years, India's nationalism has been flourishing, and there has naturally been more praise and worship of Shivaji. How can such a useful intellectual property be wasted. Mumbai recently plans to build a 212 meter high Shivaji statue in the bay of the southern district, which will become the tallest statue in the world upon completion. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
During the British colonial periodThe UK has built a large number of Indian Saracen style buildings throughout the southern district of Mumbai, and their abundance and preservation are truly breathtaking. Don't forget to share your experience!Walking in this area from India Gate to CST Station, you will be constantly amazed along the way, and due to the obvious difference between this architectural style and real Europe, you will not feel like Europe here. Have you tried this before? Share your story!The India Post next to the CST terminal is also a very old building. I used to send packages there, and walking into it gives me a sense of time travel, as if entering some scenes from old movies. The equipment looks more like remnants from the colonial period. Don't forget to share your experience!
About one kilometer north of CST Central Station, there is an area of buildings that resemble Shanghai's Wukang Road and Hengshan Road, but due to years of disrepair, they look like jungle haunted houses from horror movies What do you think about this?The tropical climate is merciless to the corrosion of buildings, and the humid environment combined with the vigorous vitality of tropical plants makes those aged wooden blinds look like flickering candles in the wind, and I've found that it's unknown whether there are still people living inside. Some green plants are directly rooted on the exterior walls of buildings, while the small trees on the cliffs, with their roots like withered claws, are further damaging these buildings. The cost of repairing these buildings is obviously much higher than the cost of rebuilding, so I've found that it's left unchecked. Don't forget to share your experience!
This is probably a magical sight that can only be seen in India. Despite being located in the busiest commercial center, I've found that it's so abandoned that it seems that the surrounding prosperity is completely irrelevant. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!Such scenes are not particularly common in Mumbai, but if you take to the streets of Kolkata, you will find that this kind of devastation is the dominant one. What do you think about this?