Breach Candy

-Bird's Eye View of Breach Candy

Bhulabhai Desai Road, better known as Breach Candy or Warden Road is a niche up-market residential and semi-commercial locality of South Mumbai. Home to many of Mumbai's affluent class, it is also the location for the United States Consulate in Mumbai.

The area has many famous landmarks throughout its long and winding stretch, from the Breach Candy Hospital to the Amarsons and Tata gardens. There's also the elite Breach Candy club with India's largest swimming pool, molded in the shape of India. Just off Bhulabhai Desai Road is a girls-only Sophia College and the much sought-after Green Lawns school.

The 18th century Mahalaxmi Temple, which honors the Hindu Goddess of wealth and wisdom, is closely situated on the edge of sea. It is one of the most famous temples of Mumbai and attracts millions of devotees and tourists each year.

The area falls under the 'D-Ward' of the Bombay Municipal Corporation and shares the postal code 400 026 under the Cumballa Hill post office. It lies 21 kilometers south of Sahar International Airport and just 2 kilometers from the Mumbai Central station. It is also well connected by local buses run by BEST.

Geographically, this road curls around the Arabian Sea. Because of its picturesque location, real estate prices here are among the most expensive in the country.

History

In the past, Breach Candy was all jungle with very few bungalows and mansions built at long distances from each other. Most of the residents were Parsi aristocrats and colonial British. Some of these old bungalows and mansions still stand. The Breach Candy House, the Breach Candy Swimming Club and the Breach Candy Hospital have been present since the time of British rule.

At the northern foot of the Cumballa Hill, in the part now called Breach Candy, was a temple to three goddesses—Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. A creek to the north separated the island of Bombay from the Koli island of Worli. This creek was filled after the completion of the Hornby Vellard in 1784. Soon after, the modern temple of Mahalakshmi was built here.

What is now the Amarson garden and Tata garden were landfills with abandoned construction trucks, cranes and bulldozers probably used in land reclamation projects. A few of these trucks were parked in a truck-sized garage behind Scandal Point. Similarly, trucks, cranes and bulldozers were also seen abandoned on the land which is now known as Priyadarshini Park.

Notable residents

• Ronnie Screwvala, producer and CEO and founding chairman of UTV Group
• Zarina Mehta, executive at UTV Group and wife of Ronnie Screwvala
• Dr. B. K. Goyal, cardiologist and former sheriff of Mumbai
• Bhanu Athaiya, oscar winning costume designer for "Gandhi"
• Jagjit Singh, classical singer
• Aarti Chhabria, actress
• Salman Rushdie, author. Born and raised in Breach Candy, he describes the area as it was from Indian independence to the 1960s in Midnight's Children.
• Dinesh Hingoo, comedian
• Tanya Singh, actress and pop singer. Raised in Breach Candy
• Azim Premji, chairman and CEO of Wipro Technologies
• N.N. Sippy, film producer
• Manhar Udas, singer
• Shibani Bathija, screenwriter
• Supriya Sule, politician
• Tara Sharma, actress
• Partap Sharma, author and playwright
• Alyque Padamsee, theatre producer and actor
• Lilani Family, textiles and law
• Ramesh Balsekar, Advaita Vendanta master

Education

• Green Lawns High School

Important numbers

• Gamdevi Police Station - 23803505, 23802912, 23804505

Picture Links

• Gordon Gibbons Photographs of Breach Candy 1937-1940
• Farhad's Picture Gallery of Breach Candy