Page 466 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

464  SOUTHWESTERN INDIA

a Bandra Film City is where many
Bollywood blockbusters are
N of Mahim Bay. Mount St Mary
Basilica: Mount Mary Rd. Tel (022) 2642 shot, as are most Indian TV soaps
3152. Open daily. _ Bandra fête (Sep). and serials. Song-and-dance
routines, dramatic scenes and
The prosperous locality of Bandra, action-packed fight sequences
also known as the queen of the take place simultaneously on
suburbs, in the north of Mumbai, Film City’s dozen shooting stages,
is connected to the city by the against outsized backdrops of
Mahim Causeway. Amidst its medieval forts, dense jungles
modern apartment blocks, swanky and opulent cardboard palaces.
boutiques and restaurants, are A vendor on Mumbai’s crowded Visitors can enjoy guided tours of
vestiges of its past as a small Juhu Beach the grounds, theatres, recording
Portuguese enclave. A number of rooms, gardens and lakes, and
Roman Catholic churches were water and enjoying the sea even end up becoming a part
built by the Portuguese, who breeze. Vendors offering snacks, of the crowd at shootings.
retained Bandra until the late toys and fairground rides add
18th century. The most important to the mela (fair) atmosphere. f Sanjay Gandhi
of these is the Mount St Mary Juhu also has several luxury
Basilica, which attracts devotees hotels that serve as weekend National Park
of all faiths. Outside the church retreats for Mumbai’s tycoons Borivli. n Conservation Education
is a market selling wax models and Bollywood film stars. Centre, near elephant gate Goregaon,
of various body parts. Devotees The Prithvi Theatre, on Juhu (022) 2842 1174. Open Tue–Sun. &
with ailing limbs buy the appro- Church Road, was founded in 8 Kanheri Caves: Open Tue–Sun. &
priate model and solemnly place 1978 by one of Bollywood’s
it on the altar before the Virigin leading families, the Kapoors. It An hour’s train ride north of
Mary in the belief that she will stages plays in Hindi, Gujarati and Mumbai, this national park is
effect a miraculous cure. A English, and has a lively café, one of the few in India within
Portuguese fort, Castella de popular with Mumbai’s arty a metropolis and a popular
Aguada, also known as Bandra crowd. A theatre festival is held tourist spot. Surrounded by
Fort, is a watchtower on a hill. in November (see pp466–7). rolling hills, its deciduous
It offers spectacular views of forests harbour a wealth of
the sea and the hinterland. flora and fauna. Tiger and lion
Bandra’s plush Pali Hill locality, d Film City safaris are offered in fenced-
which has the villas of several off sections of the park.
Bollywood stars, draws crowds Goregaon East. n Contact Film City’s In a picturesque wooded area
of star-struck Indian tourists. Its Public Relations Office (022) 2840 1533. of the park is an extraordinary
other attractions are the sea- complex of 109 Buddhist caves,
front promenades at Bandstand Built in 1978 by the state the Kanheri Caves, dating from
and Carter Road, popular with government to meet the needs the 1st to the 9th centuries AD.
the local youth. Also situated of Mumbai’s booming Hindi The 6th-century Cave 3 is the
here is a small Koli fishing village. film industry, better known as most impressive, with its colossal
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Bollywood (see pp36–7), Film City Buddhas, richly carved pillars
officially known as Rajiv Gandhi sprawls over 140 ha (346 acres) and brackets and hemispherical
Sea Link, connects Bandra in the in the city’s northern outskirts. stupa. The caves, which are best
western suburbs with Worli in Bollywood produces some 800 approached through the Park’s
southern Mumbai. It has greatly feature films a year, making it northern entrance, have been
reduced the traffic and travel the world’s largest film industry, chiselled out of basaltic rock and
time within the city. rivalled only by South India’s demonstrate the influence of
Telugu and Tamil equivalents. Buddhist art and culture in India.
s Juhu Beach
N of Bandra.
The sandy coastline of Juhu
Beach lies north of the city
centre. This is not a beach for
leisurely sunbathing, though,
since it is always crowded. On
weekends, especially, it is packed
with families of picnickers
playing cricket on the beach,
paddling tentatively in the The extraordinary Kanheri Caves at Sanjay Gandhi National Park
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p700 and pp714–15

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