Mulund

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Mulund East-West Bridge

Mulund (Marathi मुलुंड) is a suburban neighbourhood in north-eastern part of Mumbai, India. It is accessible by rail on the Central Railway line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway It is nestled alongside the foothills of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park with easy access to the Eastern Express Highway and Navi Mumbai through the Mulund-Airoli Bridge. Additionally its also easy to go to Thane or Mumbai North-Western such as Borivali using the Ghodbunder Road. It has been called the Prince of Suburbs to rival the Queen of Suburbs,Bandra.

History

From the mid 1950s to late 1980s, Mulund was an idyllic sleepy hamlet. It was home to a large number of educated middle class residents. As a typical microcosm of Mumbai, it had a cosmopolitan mix of Marathis, Hindi-speakers, Gujratis, Tamilians, Malayalis, Telugus, Kannadigas, Sindhis, Catholics and Punjabis who lived in harmony with each other. Testimony to this fact is the presence of various religious structures located close to each other with no communal or religious intolerance like Ganesh Temple near Railway Police force quarters (Mulund East), Khandoba temple on Navghar-Mithaghar Link road (Mulund-East), The Jain Temple in Zaver Road, The Bhakta Sangham Temple in P.K. Road. St. Pius X Church on Madan Mohan Malviya Road, Balrajeshwar Temple on L.B.S. Road, Sarvodaya Parshwanath Temple in Sarvodaya Nagar and the Hanuman Temple in Mulund East.

Mulund was home to several prominent manufacturing establishments. Notable among them are the pharmaceutical companies - Hoechst, Wellcome, Glaxo, Merind and Johnson & Johnson. Engineering companies like Richardson Cruddas, Bombay Oxygen, Chicago Pneumatic, ACC, Agfa & Gabriel are also around. As production shifts out of Mumbai, many of these establishments have made or are in the process of making way for modern shopping malls and luxurious apartment complexes altering the landscape and skyline. Johnson and Johnson however continues to remain a landmark in Mulund.

Towards the late 90s this suburb acquired a new hue with winds of globalisation slowly reaching the people here. Old buildings and structures gave way to big bright new malls and cineplexes. This change is most apparent along the L.B.S. Road which today is lined with two major shopping malls, R-Mall and Nirmal Lifestyle; both of which are amongst some of the largest malls in India. Skyscrapers have lined the landscape, replacing old factories. Old tailors and garment cut-piece stores have given way to fashion boutiques.

Though Mulund today has become much more crowded than what it used to be, it is still considered to one of the safest places in Mumbai. The pleasant living conditions and easy access to different parts of the city and its outskirts, have attracted lots of people from South Mumbai. The population of Mulund has shot up to around 8 lakh in 2001 as compared to the 3 lakh in 1991.

The proximity to the Bhandup Water Purification Plant ensures a 24 hour supply of water. Electricity has been a problem though, in the last two years since the onset of load-shedding. Mulund has many regions using Piped Gas for the past five years or more. Flooding hasn't been much of a problem in Mulund as such, but the flooding of neighbouring regions like Bhandup affects people commuting to and from Mulund.

Sambhaji Park in Mulund East is one of the main attractions of this suburb. People of all age groups love to come there to jog, exercise etc. It also has a huge playground where various games like cricket, football , volleyball etc are played.

Transportation

Main article : Transportation in Mulund
Mulund well connected to other suburbs and other cities as well by adequate network of trains and roads including a national highway. More information can be found in the main article Transportation in Mulund.

Educational Institutions

Mulund has one of the best tertiary educational institutes in Mumbai, KET's V.G.Vaze College. It is located in Mulund (East). Another upcoming educational institution to watch out for is R.R Educational Trust's Colleges in Mulund (East) MHADA Colony. Located in Mulund (West), the Mulund College of Commerce is another tertiary institution, which is reputed for its specialisation in the Commerce stream. Mulund has several schools in both English and Regional language mediums:

• Indian Education Society's KG, Primary and Secondary school (King George)
• Lokmanya Tilak English High School(LTEHS), formerly Vaze school
• Purandhare High School
• Sau Laxmibai English Medium High-School (SLEMS)
• Nalini Yashvantrao Doede Vidyalaya,Mulund East School of TUSHAR JADHAV.
• Mulund Vidya Mandir
• Smt. Vidyaben D. Gardi High School.
• Holy Angel's High School (HAHS).
• Sheth Moti Bhai Pachan Rashtriya Shala (S.M.P.R.)
• Navbharat Nutan Vidyalaya
• Wamanrao Muranjan Madhyamik Vidyalay
• Sharon English High School
• St.Pius X High School
• St.George High School
• St.Mary's Convent School
• V.P.M.'s B.R.T. English High School
• Girish Swami Gyan vidyalaya.
• Mulund College Of Commerce
• V.G. Vaze college
• NES International School(IGCSE Board)
• Smt. N. G. Purandare High School & Degree Night college(Commerce)
• Sheth Karamshi Kanji English School (SMPR)
• Navbharat Nutan Vidyalaya
• Vani Vidyalaya
• Friends Co-Operative Education Society School(FCES)
• R.R Educational Trust's Primary and Sec Marathi English high School D.Ed , B.Ed and M.Ed college
• Mulund High School
• J.J. Academy

Mulund still lacks an engineering and medical college.

See also: List of Bombay Colleges

Clubs and Associations, NGOs, NPOs

• Shopkeeper's welfare association
• Mulund Parents Association
• Cycle-e-Thon, An eco club, Mulund- creating awareness about bicycles to avert Global Warming
• Shri Kutchi Lohana Mahajan Mulund
• Chakram Hikers, Mulund East
• Mulund Toastmasters Club

Rotary International Clubs in Mulund

• Rotary Club of Bombay Mulund East
• Rotary Club of Bombay Mulund Valley
• Rotary Club of Mulund
• Rotary Club of Mulund Hills
• Rotary Club of Mulund Hill View
• Rotary Club of Mulund South
• Rotary International District : 3140

Partners in Service

• Rotaract Club of Mumbai Mulund South
• Rotaract Club of Mulund Vaze College
• Rotaract Club of VPM College

Entertainment

Kalidas Hall, Mulund

Mulund has several cinema halls including R Adlabs (at R-Mall) and PVR (at Nirmal Lifestyles). Mehul and Deepmandir have lost their sheen in the recent years after the multiplexes have opened. Jawahar, the oldest theatre has shut shop, and Jai Ganesh in Mulund (E) might see some transformation. Kalidas Auditorium is the only auditorium in Mulund which regularly holds Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi plays apart from musical shows. Maharashtra Seva Sangh above Apna Bazaar on JN Road also holds a number of events particularly in the Marathi literary world.

The suburb is also home to several gymkhanas and fitness centres, including Mulund Gymkhana and Talwalkars. Kalidas Sports Complex is the major sports complex.

Mulund has two large shopping malls on LBS Marg, Nirmal Lifestyles and R-Mall. R-Mall is the first mall in Mulund and Thane. It also hosts a four screen multiplex called as the R-Adlabs. Nirmal Lifestyles is the largest mall with a number of stores like Shoppers Stop, and restaurants including McDonald's, apart from six screen PVR multiplex.

Eating Out

Mulund has a varied range of restaurants and eating options from continental to desi style thalis, from the contemporary restaurant and bars, to the very popular foreign food chains. Nirmal Lifestyles, R Mall, home most of these joints.

For years, Mulund was catered to by the two most popular eateries - Vishwa Mahal and Vishwa Bharti near the railway station. Even though it's a home to umpteen number of Udipi restaurants like Vishwa Mahal, Vishwa Bharti, Vandana, Kirti Mahal, Amruta, Kamath's, Hot Plate, Shiv Sagar, Guru Prasad, Ruchi and others, Mulund needs a variety of other restaurants.

Vishwa Samrat, Taste Buds, Amantran, Atithi, Sitara, Bansuri, Nisarg, Ram Punjab etc are decent for Indian cuisine, for multi - cuisine experience, head to Fine Dine in Nirmal Lifestyles. Urban Tadka, Masala are contemporary Indian restaurants. Rajdhani, Rajthali & Rasoi serve some good Thalis. While Al Fresco seating is a crowd puller in Timbuctoo, the hooka and deserts do it for Mocha. Pop-Tates - R-Mall and The Fun Bar - Nirmal Lifestyles bring in the Pub style dining to Mulund.

Bombay Blues, Bistro, Noodle Bar, are worth a try. Pizza lovers can relish on their Pizzas at Pizza Hut, US Pizza, Dominos and Smokin' Joes. Fast food lovers can bite into burgers at McDonalds at Nirmal Lifestyles. Thai Chi serves some excellent Chinese and Thai dishes, so does Wok opposite Ambe Dham.Wok is for the ones with tighter budget.

Coffee lovers can enjoy their coffee at several Cafe Coffee Day outlets, Costa Coffee and Mocha, Mulund is yet to get a Barista.

Places of Worship

Main article : Places of worship in Mulund
Mulund is home to people from various walks of life and as a result, there are a large number of temples, churches and other houses of worship.
The number of places of worship in Mulund is so high that they cannot all be listed in the main article. Please see the related article instead : Places of worship in Mulund

Parks & Promenades

• C D Deshmukh Garden (One of the well maintained garden in Mumbai)
• Yogi Hills Garden
• Kalidas Gardens (Sonar Bangla)
• Sambhaji Garden
• Johnson & Johnson Park
• Lala Tulsiram Garden (Devidayal Garden)
• Girish Swami National Park

Events & Incidents

• 7th October 2008 - Skywalk Virodh Samiti a part of Shopkeepers Welfare Association held a meeting at 11am, Kutchi Lohana Mahajanwadi
• Chanakya Awards presented by Mulund Parents Association on 19 July 8 Thursday.

External links

• Your Ultimate Gateway to Mumbai's Most Happening Suburb - Mulund
• Everything you need to know about Mulund
• Mulund in Pictures & Music
• Times of India - Mulund Plus
• Mid day - Mulund
• IIT Bombay Train Guide to Mulund