Namaste SNEASH People,24/11/2022
Hello everyone welcome to sneashworld.
The Gateway of India is an arch-monument built in the early 20th century in the city of Bombay (Mumbai), India. It was erected to commemorate the landing of King-Emperor George V, the first British monarch to visit India, in December 1911 at Strand Road near Wellington Fountain.
The foundation stone was laid in March 1913 for a monument built in the Indo-Islamic style, inspiring by elements of 16th-century Gujarati architecture. The final design of the monument by architect George Wittet was sanctioned only in 1914, and construction was completed in 1924. The structure is a memorial arch made of basalt, which is 26 metres (85 feet) high, with an architectural resemblance to a triumphial arch as well as Gujarati architecture of the time.
After its construction the Gateway was used as a symbolic ceremonial entrance to India for important colonial personnel. The Gateway is also the monument from where the last British troops left India in 1948, following Indian independence. It is located on the waterfront at an angle, opposite the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and overlooks the Arabian Sea. Today, the monument is synonymous with the city of Mumbai, and is amongst its prime tourist attractions. The gateway is also a gathering spot for locals, street vendors, and photographers soliciting services. It holds significance for the local Jewish community as it has been the spot for Hanukkah celebrations, with the lighting of the menorah, since 2003. There are five jetties located at the Gateway, of which two are used for commercial ferry operations.
The Gateway was the site of a terror attack in August 2003, when there was a bomb blast in a taxi parked in front of it. Access to the gateway was restricted after people congregated at its premises following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which the Taj Hotel opposite the gateway and other locations in its vicinity were targeted.
In March 2019, the Maharashtra state government proposed a four-step plan to develop the location for the convenience of tourists, following a direction issued by the state governor in February 2019.
Location and jetties
Statue of Shivaji, in the vicinity of the Gateway
The Gateway stands at an angle, opposite to the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, which was built in 1903.In the grounds of the gateway, opposite the monument, stands the statue of Shivaji, the Maratha warrior-hero who fought against the Mughal Empire to establish the Maratha Empire in the 17th century.The statue was unveiled on 26 January 1961 on the occasion of India's Republic Day.It replaced a bronze statue of King-Emperor George V which stood at its place.In 2016, Mid-Day reported that the George V statue is kept locked in a tin shed belonging to the Public Works Department, behind Elphinstone College, in Fort, Mumbai.The George V statue was sculpted by G. K. Mhatre,who has over 300 sculptures to his credit in India.[48] Hemant Pathare, Mhatre's great-grandson and Sandeep Dahisarkar, a historian, researcher, and academician, have made efforts to relocate the George V statue to a museum, the latter of whom has reasserted the statue as swadeshi art. The other statue in the locality of the gateway is that of Swami Vivekananda, an Indian monk who is credited as a key figure in the introduction of Indian philosophies such as Vedanta and Yoga to the west, and with bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century.
There are five jetties located around the monument.The first jetty is exclusive to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, while the second and third are used for commercial ferry operations, the fourth one is closed, and the fifth is exclusive to the Royal Bombay Yacht Club.The second and third jetties are the starting point for tourists to reach the Elephanta Caves, which are fifty minutes away by boat from the monument.Other routes from the gateway include ferry rides to Rewas, Mandwa, and Alibaug, while cruises also operate from the gateway.These ferries reportedly carry an overload of daily passengers. The Mumbai Port Trust licenses vessels to use the gateway while the Maharashtra Maritime Board issues fitness certificates to them.
