- Details
- Written by Anchal B Chaudhary
Marine Drive
Marine Drive as the name indicates is a long stretch of road along the coastline which offers a pleasant drive and beautiful views around the sunset and at night.
All along this 4.3km long road runs a promenade dotted with palm trees where many come to take a stroll, spend some time with friends or lovers, revel in the glory of the sunset or to just sit by and enjoy some time by themselves.
During the daytime the area might seem a little dull but it’s a delight to be here around the sunset in the evening and at night this C-shaped curve along the Arabian Sea appears like a glowing string of pearls.
The official name of Marine Drive is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and earlier the stretch was popular as Sonapur amongst the locals. Many prominent hotels like The Oberoi and The Intercontinental stand next to the road.
Many celebrities live around in the area making it one of the prime residential areas in the country.
Towards the northern end of Marine Drive, which connects Nariman point to Malabar hill and Babulnath Temple, lies the Chowpatty beach famous for Mumbai’s street food and ‘bhelpuri’.
Chowpatty Beach
This lively beach is a favourite destination of families, friends, lovers and elderly alike! A ‘Nana-nani’ park has been specially created here for old people. Seeing the joy and relaxation this beach offers, none can guess its history.
During India’s struggle for independence, Chowpatty beach was often the venue for political meetings. And where today stands the statue of Lokmanya Tilak, the great Indian freedom fighter and leader was created right there in 1920.
Nariman Point
Nariman Point is Mumbai’s prime business district. Situated on the extreme southern tip of Marine Drive, Nariman point houses business headquarters of many premier companies. It definitely is one of the most expensive office spaces in the world.
Named after Khurshid F. Nariman, a Jewish Congress leader who served as the Mayor of Bombay and envisioned the construction of this business district when this area was nothing but part of the Arabian Sea.
K.F. Nariman or Vir Nariman thought of reclaiming the land from the sea near Churchgate and materialised his plans in time to come. The shallow sea coast was filled with debris and concrete brought from all over the region.
Today this is one of the prime areas of Mumbai with skyrocketing real estate value.
