Borivali
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Borivali (Marathi बोरीवली) is a suburban area located in the north-west section of Mumbai island. It may also spelled as Borivli. Borivali is approximately 18 km from Mumbai Airport and approximately 33.4 km from Churchgate Railway Station by train. The estimated population of Borivali in 1991 was over 6 lakhs (609617). Most of the population is Gujarati-speaking.
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[edit] Railway station
The Borivali Railway Station is a terminus for all slow and fast trains on the Mumbai Suburban Railway system. It also serves as the final city-limit stop for all mail / express trains on WR (now including the August Kranti Rajdhani Express to New Delhi) before leaving Mumbai. As of 2006, there are plans to extend the Harbour Line to Borivali, and expansion plans are in full steam at the railway station.
As of September 2007, there are 8 platforms at Borivali railway station. Platform No: 1,2,3,7,8 (from Borivali(w) side) run trains between Borivali and Churchgate while 4,5,6 are almost exclusively used for Virar bound trains and mail/express trains. The 1st platform also caters to Virar bound slow train and sometimes express trains. The 7th and 8th platforms are terminal platforms.
[edit] History
Borivali in the earlier days use to be a taluka (district) and contained villages like Eksar Village, Khandivali village, Shimpoli Village and so on. It is not the same any more but will find relevance in old official documents. Borivali was spelled 'Berewlee' by the British.
[edit] Landmarks
Mumbai is one of the few metropolitan cities in the world which boasts of a natural animal and plant wildlife reserve within the city limits. The park is called Sanjay Gandhi National Park, and lies in the east section of Borivali, near the Western Express Highway (NH-8). It has a few lions and panthers and also includes a 4th century B.C. archaeological site called Kanheri Caves and Mandpeshwar Caves. The 2005 census of Leopards was 68.
Gorai Creek is located on the western coast of Borivali. This place is famous for Ganpati immersions and as a crossover point for Essel World, Water Kingdon and Gorai
[edit] Education
Some of the educational institutions and schools in Borivali are:
- Saint Francis D'Assisi High School
- St. Francis Institute of Technology, an engineering college [1].
- Mary Immaculate Girls primary and secondary high school
- Ajmera Global School
- Don Bosco High School
- St. Lawrence High School
- Gokhale Education Society
- Gopalji Hemraj High School (GH)
- Himalaya High School near poisar and Jr. College
- J B Khot High School
- Our Lady Of Remedy High School
- St. Anne's
- St. Rocks College of Commerce and Science - Eksar
- Swami Vivekanand International School - Gorai
- Chogle High School - Shri Krishna Nagar- Borivali(E)
[edit] Mandapeshwar
Borivali contains the Mandapeshwar caves. The caves have now been virtually destroyed and parts of the caves have been converted into Church. The Portuguese pronouced Mandapeshwar as Mount Peizer and from Mt. Peizer, the place is now known as Mt. Poinsur.
[edit] Kanheri Caves
The Kanheri Caves are in Borivali East. They were once known as 'Kanha Giri', meaning house of Kanha (Lord Krishna)
[edit] I.C. Church
Borivali has an old Church, this is one of the oldest churches in Mumbai Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, Mt. Poinsur, also called IC church.
The original IC church was built in 1547 AD by the Franciscans. The Franciscan Fr, Antonio Do Porto earlier owned the village of Mount Poinsur. Soon the Franciscan bought the neighbouring villages of Pare(Goregaon) and Arrangal around 1556AD-1559AD. Adjoining the Church they also built a Royal College and Monastery in 1549, the ruins of which are still standing close to the present Church building.
Around 1630 there were about 1500 parishioners in the villages of Mount Poinsur, Dhainsa(Dahisar), Simpor, Canary(Kanheri) and Cassor. It was around this time that the name of the church was changed to OUR LADY OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION from OUR LADY OF PIETY.
The Mandapeshwar caves had been used by the Franciscans as a crypt of the Church and later served for the Parishioners.
During the Maratha invasion of 1739 AD, Mount Poinsur was captured and the Francisans dispersed. The Church, Friary and College was pillaged and left in ruins. the following 150 years saw the already damaged structure disintegrate into further ruins.
In the 1888, throught the efforts of the people form Bandra and under the guidance of the Dean of Thane, Fr. Joao Bras Fernandes rebuilt the old parish Church and since then it has been functioning.
The area has been a Christian area ever since.
[edit] St Francis D'Assisi High School (The first school in Borivali)
Saint Francis D'Assisi High School and Jr. College was established in a lowly, thatched cottage on the slopes of Mount Poinsur Hill in the year 1908, as an orphanage, mainly to cater to the poor and the downtrodden who lived in and around this region, with just 8 students on the roll.
The school was actually started by a brother under a tree.
St Francis D'Assisi High School is a school in Borivali, Mumbai. It is managed by the Franciscan Missionary Brothers, a Catholic Religious Society founded by Rev. Bro. Paulus Moritz, a German Missionary. The school is recognized by the State Government of Maharashtra. It was established in the year 1908 and recently celebrated its centennial year.
The school maintains a high standard of education and also provides several opportunities to students for engaging in extracurricular activities. The former is evidenced by the high results that the school obtains in the SSC exams every year. With regard to the latter, the school's sports teams, particularly their football team, consistently perform well and regularly win trophies in the inter-school sports competitions conducted in Mumbai. Factors such as these contribute towards making this school one of the best in the suburb of Borivali.
[edit] History
The Society of Franciscan Brothers was founded in 1901 in Mandapeshwar (then called Eksar village) in the northwest corner of Mumbai. The Society was established to look after and educate the orphans in Mumbai and the surrounding areas. A formal orphanage and school were established in 1904. The Society now has several dozen centers in India, running orphanages, educational institutes, medical centers, youth centers, agricultural training farms, etc. All these activities are primarily targeted at orphans, the poor, and the lower middle class.
The Congregation of the Missionary Brothers of St. Francis D' Assisi (C.M.S.F) is an international Charitable Society of Religious Brothers, founded in 1901 in India by Paulus Moritz. It is a Religious Missionary Institute of Pontifical Right, under the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The Congregation follows the Rule of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi. The Franciscan Missionary Brothers are well known in India for their valuable contributions in different fields.
[edit] Colonies in Borivali
The Church is surrounded by many colonies such as I.C Colony, LIC Colony, Madonna Colony, Marian Colony and Kanderpada. Just next to this church is Saint Francis D'Assisi High School. This area has the highest concentration of Christians in Mumbai. I.C Colony, an area to the South of the Immaculate Conception Church is populated by a very large congregation of Catholics in Mumbai. The Holy Cross Colony and extension (also called I.C. extension) which extends beyond I.C Colony towards Dahisar (Mumbai's last zone before Thane District) is also part of the extended Catholic locale.
Opposite Shimpoli Telephone Exchange near Chikuwadi, is located Kanti Park, which is the SBI's Associate Banks' Officers' Colony.
Extravaganza, Essel World & the largest water park in Asia, Water Kingdom are located at Gorai Creek, just west of Borivali.
There is a ST stand in Borivali(E) near the station. Travelling to Thane City is easier and less time consuming by this mode, than by trains which involves changing from Western to central at Dadar. It takes only 40 min. to reach Thane railway station
[edit] Shopping Centres
Borivali also provides good markets for shopping. Major Shopping areas are Borivali Station(W) where complexes such as Indraprastha, Thakkar Mall, Goyal Arcade provide varied choices to shop.
- Indraprastha Shopping Centre
- Thakkar Mall
- Sai Shopping Mall
Many shops selling branded goods are also located at Lokmanya Tilak Road.
[edit] Healthcare facilities
The Bhagwati Hospital is one of the largest municipal hospitals in Mumbai. The hospital, built in 1963, caters to the population from Andheri to Dahanu. Currently it contains 363 beds, however plans are being made to modernise the hospital, by starting a medical college and converting it into a 750-bed super-speciality hospital. The hospital is located at SVP Road, Mandpeshwar. In addition to the hospital, Borivali contains several private clinics and nursing homes.
[edit] Famous people
Famous people, who have lived in, or are curently living in Borivli include-
- Rohit Sharma, India cricketer
- Ram Naik, former MP and Union Petroleum Minister
- Chhaya Momaya, grooming expert and socialite
| Borivali | |||
| Next station south: Kandivali | Mumbai suburban railway : Western Railway | Next station north: Dahisar | |
| Stop Number:21 | KM from starting:33.98 | ||
| These are the stations on Western line of Mumbai suburban railway |
| Churchgate | Marine Lines | Charni Road | Grant Road | Mumbai Central | Mahalaxmi | Lower Parel | Elphinstone Road | Dadar | Matunga Road | Mahim Junction | Bandra | Khar Road | Santacruz | Vile Parle | Andheri | Jogeshwari | Goregaon | Malad | Kandivali | Borivali | Dahisar | Mira Road | Bhayandar | Naigaon | Vasai Road | Nala Sopara | Virar |
