Matunga
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Matunga (Marathi: माटुंगा) is a district located in the central part of Mumbai. It is a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. This station is called Matunga on the Central railway line, Matunga Road on the Western line and King's Circle, (officially named, Maheshwari Udyan) on the Harbour Line. The main places of interest here are temples and restaurants.
[edit] History
Matunga formed a part of the seven original islands of Mumbai with Mahim (then known as Mahikavati). Mahim, or Mahikawati as it was known, was the capital of Raja Bhimdev, who reigned over the region in the 13th century. Raja Bhimdev's origins are not clearly known. He may have come from Anahilwada-Patan in Gujarat or from the dynasty of Yadavs in Deogiri. He built a palace and a court of justice in Prabhadevi, as well as the first Babulnath temple. Raja Bhimdev stationed his elephant cavalry near Mahim. This place was referred to as Matanga (मतंग), the Sanskrit for elephant. This is the name from which the present-day name "Matunga" has been derived[citation needed].
Matunga was among the first planned suburbs of Mumbai. The Dadar-Matunga-Wadala-Sion plan of 1899-1900 was formulated to evenly distribute population as well as provide better living standards.[1]
Mini Madras
Matunga is also known as Mini Madras, thanks to its huge population of Tamil Brahmins, South indian type temples namely Bhajana Samaj / Sankara Mattam & educational institutions like the legendary SIES school. All types of religious books, groceries, vegetables & flowers are available in the vast Matunga Market similar to what one can find in cities down South of India.
South Indian Restaurants
Matunga is also very famous for its lip smacking & authentic South Indian food ranging from steaming hot Idlis, crisp Vadas, different varieties of Dosas to a fresh brewed filter kaapi. These delicasies can be found in traditional South Indian Restaurants in and around Matunga which have been providing high quality food at very reasonable prices for the past so many decades such as: 1) Anand Bhawan 2) Mysore Café 3) Café Madras 4) Amba Bhawan Coffee House 5) Ram Ashraya 6) Sri Sunders 7) Sharada Bhawan 8) Mahabhoj 9) Arya Bhawan 10) Mani's Lunch Home 11) A.Rama Nayak Udipi Lunch Home 12) Idli House
Education hub
In 1937, the general council of Salesians of Don Bosco approved a plan to buy 60,000 square yards (50,000 m2) land in Matunga from the Bombay Municipal Corporation. The Corporation approved the sale on July 16, 1937. The Salesians bought the land for Rs. 229,160. The Don Bosco High School (formerly known as The Catholic Educational Institute) run by them was shifted from the rented premises at Tardeo to the new Don Bosco camp.
Premier Educational Institutions
1) VJTI - Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute 2) UDCT - University Department of Chemical Technology 3) GN Khalsa College of Arts & Science 4) RA Poddar College of Commerce 5) Ramnarain Ruia College of Arts & Science 6) Wellingkar College of Management Studies
Notable Former Residents
- Prithviraj Kapoor
- Raj Kapoor
- Manmohan Krishna
- KN Singh
- Shammi Kapoor
- Dina Pathak
- Vidya Sinha
- Hari Haran
