Mumbai: The Gateway and the Taj Hotel (Departure)

(Continued from Mumbai: Splashes of Color)

Featured Photo: “Taj Mahal Palace Hotel – Close-Up”  Mumbai, India—2011

There was a small crowd of locals milling about the Gateway of India, but it seemed most Mumbaikers were not really observing the sight itself; rather, it was as if they had just found a pleasant spot to gather and greet one another.

My host and I waded through the onlookers and pushed up close to the arch itself. He offered to take my photo, and I agreed; it is one of the few pictures of me from the trip.

He handed the camera back and I started walking around the base of the memorial, photographing the graceful patterns…

…that seemed so fragile, despite being fashioned from yellow basalt and concrete.

The close-up of the carving on the pedestal revealed the fine craftsmanship.

I stepped away from the base and took in the monument’s full height of 85 feet, then tried to frame the Gateway’s three arches…

…before zooming in on the historical inscription at the top.

Although its style reflects the Gujarati-inspired architecture found throughout India, the Gateway was built for one specific purpose during the British Raj: to commemorate the arrival of England’s King George V—accompanied by Queen Mary—for his coronation as Emperor of India in 1911. (He was the first British monarch to visit India.)

Construction of the memorial had been delayed, however, and the royal couple arrived to find a fake cardboard structure instead. The foundation stone was not laid until 1913, and the monument was not completed until 1924. Fittingly, the Gateway also served as the final departure point for the British, following Indian independence in 1947. This signaled the end of the Raj after nearly two centuries of colonial rule, dating back to the British East India Company. (The term “Raj” is derived from the Hindi word for “reign” or “rule”.)

I turned away from the Gateway to observe the building nearby, which was even more impressive in beauty and size. The Taj Mahal Palace—inspired by its namesake in Agra—is a five-star luxury hotel boasting more than 500 rooms.

The historic hotel opened in 1903, its original structure consisting of an impressive, ornate design—captured in the detail of today’s Featured Photo. The hotel now also includes a modern and far-less-elaborate tower wing that was opened in 1972 (here showing its seldom seen backside).

Down an alleyway, just a few steps from the tower, was a less-than-welcoming invitation—spray-painted in red—to another so-called ‘mansion’.

I returned to the busy expanse near the Taj Mahal Palace and walked right up to the historic hotel to photograph some architectural details.

A uniformed guard—armed with a semi-automatic rifle—began walking toward me, shouting and motioning with his hand. I quickly understood his intention for me and my camera to move away. The heightened security was a reminder of the horrific terrorist attacks that had occurred just three years prior at the hotel and other sites around Mumbai, during which more than 150 people were killed. Somewhat shaken, I located a calmer area where a line of silver-clad carriages…

…were loaded with sightseers for horse-drawn tours along the streets of this section of Mumbai.

Continuing my exploration around the area, I came upon a sight that seemed out-of-place.

I wasn’t sure whether these recumbent concrete columns with classic female forms—some face-up, others face-down; some painted white, others still gray—might have been unused adornments for the hotel or possibly relics from the Raj. I wandered back to the Gateway where its deliberate placement on the waterfront—in order to accommodate the British Royalty’s 1911 landing—was on full view. I strolled along the sea wall…

…where Mumbai Harbour was filled with boats…

…both small and large to ferry interested passengers across the water to see the thousand-year-old Shiva temple caves—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—on Elephanta Island. (Unfortunately, I did not have time for that voyage.)

We left the Gateway and the Taj Mahal Palace, headed to another part of Mumbai for a delicious Indian dinner, and reached Marine Drive just in time to watch the watchers as the sun began to set over the Arabian Sea.

We passed again by the Haji Ali Dargah mosque, now a shadow before the orange-gold light of the sunset…

…and traveled back across the Sea Link bridge. There, I saw another tower belonging to the Taj luxury hotel chain…

…and beside it, another slum overflowing with destitute tenants…

…their tiny dwellings seemingly stacked one on top of another, providing yet another visual reminder of the contrast between rich and poor in Mumbai.

Early the next morning, my host met me again at my hotel in Bandra Kurla, and we traveled together to Mumbai’s airport to catch a plane to Delhi, where more business meetings were planned. Once in the air, we had a bird’s eye view of where we’d been the previous day: the Arabian Sea and Mahim Bay, with the Sea Link bridge and south Mumbai, all laid out before us.

Midway through the flight, my host pointed out the window and said, “That’s Udaipur down there. A historic place. A beautiful place. It has grand, white palaces that are reflected by water from its four surrounding man-made lakes. Some say it’s the most romantic city in India. You should try to get there if you have time on another visit.”

I took a photo of the flight map so I could remember the name. (You can see my sunlit reflection holding the camera in the photo.) As it turned out, I would indeed get the chance to see Udaipur on another trip to India. But that’s a story for another day. Later on, during our flight, the map showed we were getting near our destination.

We landed in Delhi, where a new driver collected us, then delivered us to another hotel. After dinner, I went to bed early. I had planned a lot of sight-seeing in Delhi—in addition to the business meetings—but those stories are also for another day. The tale I want to tell next is my expedition to one of the Seven “New” Wonders of the World.

(To be continued…)