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MUMBAI - KALBADEVI

Kalbadevi is one of the busiest neighborhoods in Mumbai situated towards the North of the Crawford market. The name Kalbadevi is after a Hindu Goddess Kalbadevi housed in the Kalbadevi temple here. Though there are only abstract information available on this fact, people believe that the original temple was located in Mahim, but the image of the goddess was kept hidden for five hundred years. Once the image of Kalbadevi was found it was installed in this vicinity.

But later the image has to be relocated for the Government planned to work on the construction of the tramline and the widening of the narrow roads in Kalbadevi. Thus during this process when the original structure was demolished the Government took the responsibility to fund for the entire expenditure which was involved in the building of the current structure. The shops in the Kalbadevi market mainly deal with watches, bicycles, steel utensils, etc. Kalbadevi is supposed to be one among the most crowded area in Mumbai and is mostly dominated by the Muslim population.

Some of the most popular markets of Mumbai like Zaveri Bazaar, Mangaldas Market and the Chor Bazaar are situated in the Kalbadevi area of Mumbai. The lanes and streets in Kalbadevi will be not very neatly maintained with continuous hustle bustle of the place, down to earth way of life. It is very difficult to get into the market through any kind of transport for it will be very crowded especially during the peak hours. Kalbadevi is situated very close to some of the popular metros of Mumbai like CST, Masjid Bunder and Marine Lines. Not only the shoppers and the visitors but also the traders and buyers depend on these three metro rails for their communication.

Busy Market of Kalbadevi

The busy market of Kalbadevi extends from the road which starts near the metro cinema and goes up to Bhuleshwar Road and further to the Khetwadi road. The Kalbadevi road has more of book shops where they sell both old and new books. These book shops are mostly crowded by students who come to buy books. Most of these bookshops in the Kalbadevi market came into existence during the early 1905 period. So they are more than a century old. There are two wholesale markets for the clothes and they are Mulji Jetha Market and Mangaldas Market. These are the two main cloth markets situated in the South Mumbai from Hanuman Galli which begins at the Kalbadevi market.

There is also a main market for cotton trade and cotton exchange which is situated near Bhuleshwar road. There are also lots of restaurants in and around Kalbadevi. Kalbadevi was initially more of a residential area with prominent places like Abdul Rehman Street, Princess Street, and Bhuleshwar Road where lot of families used to live. But soon this part of Kalbadevi was having a real estate boon and to suit the hike in prices the people opted to leave these places and slowly started to move towards the Northern part of Mumbai. Kalbadevi being in the North of Crawford market and dominated by Muslim population is enclosed by laundry-draped shawls.

Nearest Railhead to Kalbadevi is the Mumbai Central Railway Station:

Apart from its shopping attraction Kalbadevi's market is noted for its untidy and dingy lanes with the most popular jewellery markets the Zaveri bazaar, Mangaldas market and the Chor Bazaar. Kalbadevi is very well connected from the other parts of Mumbai. The nearest railhead to Kalbadevi is the Mumbai Central Railway Station. Apart from the Central Railway station Kalbadevi is situated at a distance of 4 km from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station and 20km north from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The Crawford market situated close to the Kalbadevi market houses the oldest fruit and vegetable market in Mumbai.

One of the most famous textile bazaars in Mumbai is the Mulji Jetha market in Kalbadevi which also takes the credit of being one of the biggest textile markets in Asia. The Mulji Jetha market is situated near the Zaveri bazaar and is more than a hundred and thirty-six year old market. The Mulji Jetha market is said to have more than thousand shops under a single roof. It was built by a few Bhatia families who came to Bombay from Kathiawad and Saurashtra. This is one of the places in Mumbai where almost all the shops in the Mulji Jetha market are only wholesale outlets. It has some of the old, charming skylights that only a few buildings in Mumbai have today.

Very Few Retail Outlets in this Market

The planning of this market is quite unusual and the shops here sprawl into the streets like aisles and are all covered by roofs. There are very few retail outlets in this market. There are lot of shops in Kalbadevi which are specialized in grey clothing material and suiting fabric which comes from Bhilwada. There are lot of shops in the Kalbadevi market which deal with antiques, used products, duplicate items and assorted junk. Though it is rare to find out the posh crowd in the market this place is very noted for its crowd buzzing with people. Within the Kalbadevi market itself there are many exclusive areas meant only for a specific item. Say the mutton street in Kalbadevi is noted for its antiques and duplicate make of the popular brands of both electronic and clothes.

Shops in the Zaveri Market Sell both Genuine Gold and Fake Ornaments:

So this factor is a major concern of the Kalbadevi market is the genuinty of the brands for most of the original brands are also duplicated here with not much of difference. There is a special place in the Kalbadevi market which deals with exclusive leather goods and this is the Dhabu Street. Sometimes the leather goods are also duplicated with artificial leather items. So care should be taken before buying anything from the market. Just like the Dhabu Street, the Zaveri market is exclusively meant only for jewellery. The shops in the Zaveri market sell both genuine gold ornaments to jewels made of or imitated ornaments made of gold, silver and precious stones. The shoppers get wide display of jewellery where they can choose between the latest trendy patterns to the old antique models too.

There are shops which deal with jewellery meant for wedding collections and kids. There are also shops which sell different grades of diamond. The Mangal das market which is said to be one of the fashion capitals of India is situated in the Kalbadevi market. The Mangal Das market deals with all kinds of textiles which include both readymade and unstitched clothes and garments. Thus the Mangal Das market is noted for readymade garments, cotton yarn and embroidered garments most of them which comes at a very inexpensive pricing. There are small shops on the pavements selling trniklets and book stalls which date back to several decades. The big shops as well as the small shops in the footpath sell a wide display of items like artifacts, shawls, carpets, antiques and footwear.

Bridal Saris and Lehengas:

There are a lot of home furnishing wholesale shops with both wholesale fabrics which is modified according to the taste of individuals and also readymade items for adorning the houses. There are a lot of shops for stationary items and other small decorative things in the Kalbadevi market. Lot of shops which exclusively assign with bridal Saris and Lehengas are also seen in the Mangal Das market. There are number of hotels in Kalbadevi market itself so that the people coming here for shopping hve no requirement to rush back looking for good restaurants to have their brunch or lunch. Hotel Shruthi is quite popular in this area being situated at the intersection of Bhuleshwar Road and Kalbadevi Road.

Some of the Other Prominent Restaurants in Kalbadevi:

Some of the other prominent restaurants in Kalbadevi are the Anand Bhavan and Krishna Murari situated near the Old Hanuman Lane in the "middle" portion along the length of Kalbadevi Road. In the vicinity to the metro rail stations are the two other famous hotels of the area and they are the Raj Mahal, Pushpa Vihar and Thali restaurant. Apart from these there are other small eating joints in the small narrow lanes and also at times on the pavement. The fire temple of the Parsi community being situated in Kalbadevi, this place is also said to be the resident place of the Parsis. They mainly live near Metro Cinenas. Parsi Dairy on Princess Street is a very old establishment in the area. It has undergone restructuring to keep up with the modern times.

Some of the famous publishers like R. R. Sheth & Co. and Navbharat Sahitya Mandir have their residence in the Princess Street of Kalbadevi. There is an exclusive market in Kalbadevi meant only for designer sarees and readymade garments. Some of the Mumbai's very famous hospitals like the G. T. Hospital, Cama Hospital and Bombay Hospital are situated near Kalbadevi. Apart from the shopping areas in Kalbadevi this area also boasts of few places like Chowpatty beach, Hanging gardens, Mumbadevi temple, and the all time favorite Marine Drive. Some of the other nearby areas of interest is Bhuleshwar, Thakurdwar and Girgaum.