Girgaum Chowpatty

Girgaum Chowpatty
—  neighbourhood  —
Girgaum Chowpatty Location of Girgaum Chowpatty in Mumbai and India
Coordinates	18°57′04″N 72°48′40″E
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)

Girgaum Chaupati (Marathi:गिरगाव चौपाटी), commonly known as just Chaupati (pronounced as chow-patty), is one of the most famous public beaches adjoining Marine Drive in the Girgaum area of Mumbai, India. The beach is famous for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations when hundreds of people from all over Mumbai come to immerse the idols of Lord Ganapati in the Arabian Sea. It is also one of the many places in the city where the Ramlila is performed on a stage every year. An effigy of Ravan, that is erected on the sand, is burnt by the end of the 10-day performance. One can find several bhelpuri, panipuri, ragda patties and pav bhaji vendors on the beach. On the road running along the beach, lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 attacks, Ajmal Kasab was caught and arrested. A bronze statue of Tukaram Omble, the cop who helped nab Kasab will be erected on 26/11/11.

Etymology

Chowpatty is really Chau-pati (four channels or four creeks) as per (Bombay City Gazetteer, I. 27). This name is analogous to that of Satpaty, a village in the Mahim Taluka of the Thane District, which is approached through a Channel or Creek, containing seven divisions of water.

Images

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  Girgaum beach with Nariman point skyline in the background

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  Girgaum beach with Malabar Hills in the background

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  Corn cob vendors on Girgaum chowpati

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  View of Girgaum Chowpatty from Malabar Hill

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  During Ganesh Visarjan

References

1. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2001-10-26/mumbai/27240157_1_stalls-bhel-plaza 2. http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/india/mumbai/33405/marine-drive-chowpatty-beach/attraction-detail.html 3. http://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/MTDC/HTML/MaharashtraTourism/Default.aspx?strpage=../MaharashtraTourism/CitiestoVisits/Mumbai/MumbaiAttractions.html