Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Snapshots from Mumbai - Maharashtra Police Headquarters


 The Maharashtra Police Headquarters is a landmark at Colaba, for the road leading towards the Gateway of India. However, it wasn’t always known by this name.




This was once the Royal Alfred Sailor’s Home, built in the 1870s to accommodate 20 officers and 100 seamen. It was originally conceived in 1870 to commemorate the visit of Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, who laid the foundation, during his visit, at the end of Hornby row. However, the location was later changed, and when work finally began in 1872, the foundation stone was shifted here. Designed by the same architect responsible for such masterpieces as the VT station and the Municipal Corporation building, F.W.Stevens, the building took 4 years to build, and was opened in 1876.

The most arresting thing about the structure is the sculpture of Neptune on the pediment right at the top.



Neptune, the Roman God of the sea, is depicted surrounded by mythical creatures such as mer-people (male as well as female), and sea horses. He is seated on a shell, and is surrounded by waves of water. Flanking this panel are two stylised sea lions, fitting into the theme.

In the late 1930s, the building was acquired by the government and became the seat of the Bombay Legislative Council. Extensions were made to suit the increased usage, and the building remained the seat of the Legislative Council even post Independence, till a new building was constructed for the purpose in 1982. This one then was handed over to the Maharashtra Police Department, which has, since then, used it as its Headquarters.

If you are ever in Colaba, or visiting the Museum, stop a while to stare at the beautiful sculpture atop the building. You might not be allowed to get close, considering the security, but its size and location make it easily visible from across the road! 

For more information, check out the Maharashtra Police Website.

Comments

  1. It is indeed very impressive otherwise a lot of police stations have such a run down look.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Mridula, this is the Headquarters.. not many are lucky to be housed in heritage structures! but there are a few like these around.... will click some more soon!

      Delete
  2. Lovely shot of a wondeful building.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aah this is what we see in all the Hindi Police flicks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fascinating! I really enjoyed reading your post - and what an impressive place :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, it took only 4 yrs to build way back in 1870's !
    srinivasan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Its actually quite a small structure.. which has been extended later... so its not really so surprising that they built it so fast back then...

      Delete
  6. I can't get close to the building? How can I lodge a complaint...?? hah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well, Neeraj, you can surely go in if you have a valid reason to do so.. its photography they may have problems with.

      Delete
  7. I have been inside the building once, Anu, about 20 years back. And it is as impressive on the inside as it is on the outside. And no, I wasn't allowed to photograph it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. aah.. now that must make for an interesting story!!!! would love to hear about it!! and i dont know what prejudice we have against photos

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie