Bhuleshwar – The magical Zone of Mumbai

“But I wanted to see all the places around and only then settle for the dress of my choice,” my daughter said. I tried to persuade her to take the dress that was lying in front of us in the shop counter but my daughter wanted to see a lot of variety. Finally we came back home and she said she wanted to go around Mumbai to decided on the right colour. So his vacation when we had time, I took here around the city of Mumbai. As we entered the area of Bhuleshwar, it was nice to see the lovely shops that are crowded in this place. There was a lot of colour, and vibrant ambience to the whole place.

There were collections of glass bangles, and the variety of colours completely dazzled me. The sight was completely different from a normal tourist locale and the great selection of glass bangles was a treat to many who had come here to shop for this kind of stuff.

Then we went to the other shops around. There were shops selling embroidered stuff. What variety and collection of artistic work on cloth! The embroidery with intricate designs on the clothes with a lot more to take back home. Beautiful stuff and I was happy I came here at least once to experience the beauty of Mumbai shopping in Bhuleshwar.

Then there were the sweet shops. If bangles and clothes had colours, the sweets were no less behind. There were sweets of all colours here. Pink, green, yellow, white and they just beckoned us to go and taste one of them. Dieting and health was set aside for the day and we went and tasted some of the best sweets in town here. They were priced reasonably and well charged too. Though the lanes were very narrow, the heat was quite unbearable, the crowd too much, yet there was an air of enjoyment and pleasure here which set the place apart from the rest.

This is where I found many people with absolutely odd professions to attend to. I was quite intrigued by the collection of professions that I found here. Bhuleshwar lately came into news for the bomb blasts that happened in the silver market and the jeweler’s paradise Zaveri Bazaar. Of course, the blasts did disappoint and scare many but business is back as usual here now. So here I found the best of gold and silver jewellery shops and I thought the next time I came here I should come prepared for some jewellery purchase too.

Here is where you would find the densest bazaars of the city of Mumbai. You can see the fruit and vegetable market in the Crawford Market area, the silk and cloth Market in the Mangaldas market region, the Chor Bazaar with the best of antique and furniture. Also come to Dhabu Street to get the best of leather goods. If you want junk, antiques and many other reproductions then don’t miss the Mutton Street.

We got down at Marine Lines and then walked up to the Metro Theatre near this place. Marine Lines is mainly famous for the textile market that is here. The wholesale traders are found here and then you could go to the Parsi Dairy Farm in the Princess Street where you get the best ice creams. Bhuleshwar is near the Kalba Devi area which is the main area in Marine Lines.

My daughter was quite excited but exhausted after so many purchases. So we had lunch at the Rajdhani hotel. This was near the Mangaldas Market where we had a good Gujarati Thali. Then we had some falooda in the milk shake joint in front of the market.

In fact there is a tour walk through the Jama Masjid, Crawford Market, Mirchi Galli, Mangaldas Market , Phool Galli, Mumbadevi temple and the zaveri Bazaar. My sister who is a tourist guide often takes her tourists on a walk round this place Bhuleshwar. Also there is the Madhav Baug which is a part of the tour. The Mirchi Galli is a place which is famous as a spices market. Then the Jama Masjid is the place where the oldest Muslim community still lives. It is believed that they have been here since the 6th century. The Phool Galli is a place where you get a lot of flowers. Then the ancient temple of Mumba Devi from which the city of Mumbai gets its names completes the tour.

We went to the Panjra Pole which is a shelter for animals. Here we saw how the sacred cow is respected. Actually I felt Mumbai is not about monuments, forts or any construction. Mumbai’s beauty lies in its bazaars.

There is actually a regular walk tour which starts at Crawford Market then proceeds further. It is not for kids as it is too crowded here. It is better to wear light cotton clothes for this walk as it is comfortable.

Just visit Bhuleshwar and get lost in a melee of clothes, jewellery, spices and food.