Mulund

Mulund
—  suburb  —
Mulund Location of Mulund in Mumbai and India
Coordinates	19°10′12″N 72°57′18″E / 19.17°N 72.955°E / 19.17; 72.955Coordinates: 19°10′12″N 72°57′18″E / 19.17°N 72.955°E / 19.17; 72.955
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District(s)	Mumbai Suburban
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)

Mulund (Marathi: मुलुंड) is a upscale suburban neighbourhood in north-eastern part of Mumbai, India. It is also a railway station 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 it is also easy to go to Thane or Mumbai North-Western such as Borivali from here, using the Ghodbunder Road. It is called as the Prince of Suburbs to rival the Queen of Suburbs, Bandra.

History

Historical records of Mulund dates back to the time of Mauryan empire . In those days Mulund and nearby suburbs together were known as Muchchalind. Mulund is the earliest planned suburb of Mumbai city, a gridiron plan was designed by architects Crown & Carter in 1922, which extends from present day Mulund station to Paanch Rasta junction in Mulund (West).

Mulund was home to a cosmopolitan mix of large number of educated middle class residents and several industrial factories along present day L.B.S. road, some of which are the pharmaceutical companies - Hoechst Wellcome, Glaxo, Merind and Johnson & Johnson. Engineering companies like Richardson Cruddas, Bombay Oxygen, Chicago Pneumatic, ACC, Agfa & Gabriel were also around. Eventually these industrial units have shifted out of Mulund and have been converted to shopping malls and luxurious residence apartment complexes altering the landscape and skyline. Johnson and Johnson factory still remains one of the avant garde modern architectural landmarks of Mulund.

Towards the late 90s this suburb acquired a new image with winds of globalization 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. Along the link road, there is D-MART and the world-class hospital - Fortis Hospital. 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 densely populated than what it used to be, it still remains one of the greenest and safest places to live in Mumbai. The pleasant living conditions and easy access to different parts of the city and its outskirts, have attracted many new residents. The population is around 3,30,000 according to the 2001 census data.^[1]

The Prince of Suburbs

R Mall

R-Mall is a mall situated in Mulund, a suburb of Mumbai, India. Developed by Runwal Developers Pvt. Ltd., the 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m²). mall with a frontage of 700 ft (210 m). It was designed by Chapman Taylor & Partners (UK), a leading architectural firm in designing shopping malls.^{[citation needed]} R Mall is a 4-storeyed air-conditioned mall covering an area of approximately 80,000 sq ft (7,000 m²) on each floor with elevators, escalators and central staircase atrium to connect all the four levels. Besides, cargo-lifts have also been placed for goods transport in service corridors. R-Mall has a free multi-level car parking facility. Apart from shopping, the mall also has a complete set of leisure activities like a 1,300-seat 4-screen multiplex, video games and a host of speciality restaurants serving various international cuisines.

Nirmal lifestyles

Nirmal Lifestyles is a shopping mall located on the LBS Marg in Mulund West.It was developed after the Nirmal Lifestyles group acquired land from the now-defunct Hoechst factory. With an area of one million square feet, it is the largest shopping mall in the suburbs of Mumbai and one of the largest in India. The Mall houses branded stores like Shoppers Stop, Fab India, Provogue, Wills Lifestyles, Health & Glow, Nokia Store, @home and many small shops. Shoprite Hyper which was changed to 'Food Right' is located here.

Nirmal Lifestyles consists of two parts - Commercial Mall and Residential Complex. Nirmal Lifestyles Residency consists of two phases, each of which consist of 4 buildings each, which are 16 floors high in Residency I, and 18 floors in Residency II. In alliance with the US Open Nirmal Lifestyle came up with India’s first Sports Lifestyle Apartments namely the 'US Open Apartments' with a state-of-the-art fitness center on the 46th floor of the high rise building.

Residential areas in Mulund

• Palm Acres
• Deendayal Nagar
• Neelam Nagar
• Vasant Oscar
• Nirmal Lifestyles Residency
• Nirmal Lifestyles - City of Joy
• Nirmal Lifestyles - US Open
• Kesar Baug
• Lok Everest
• Ashok Nagar
• Lok Kedar
• Swapna Nagari
• Vaishali Nagar
• Vardhaman Nagar
• Govardhan Nagar
• Gavanpada
• Shreenath Apartments
• Tambe Nagar
• Sai Asha Daya
• Neelam Nagar Phase 2
• Mithagar Road
• Yogi Hills
• Mhada Colony
• Mulund Colony
• Arunodaya Nagar
• Lok Nisarg

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Mulund

Mulund is well connected to other suburbs and other cities as well by adequate network of trains, BEST buses and roads including a national highway. Mulund is a stop for slow local trains as well as most fast local trains on the Central line of the Mumbai suburban network. The station is equipped to accommodate 12-car local trains. More information can be found in the main article Transportation in Mulund. Mulund Depot is one of the major depot in Mumbai. Some major routes of Mulund Depot B.E.S.T.

1. 368 : Mulund Depot To Prabodhankar Thackrey Nagar Bus Station, Seewri.

2. 373 : Vaishali Nagar To Mahul Village.

3. 513 : Gavanpada Fire Brigade To Vashi Railway Station/Airoli Bus Station.

4. 396 : Mulund (West) Check Naka Bus Station To Agarkar Chowk.

5. 403 : Mhada Bus Station To Agarkar Chowk Via. Seepz.

6. 512 : Mulund (West) Check Naka Bus Station To Nerul Bus Station.

7. 408 : Mulund Railway Station To Mahim Bus Station.

8. 495 : Gavanpada Fire Brigade To Thane Station(East).

9. 484 : Mhada Bus Station To Pawar Nagar, Thane.

10. C-61 : Mulund Depot To Mira Road Station(East) Via. Ghodbunder Road.

11. C-44 : SEEPZ Bus station to Powar Nagar.

12. AS-1 : Cadbury Junction To Backbay Depot.

13. AS-5 : Cadbury Junction To Bandra-Kurla Telephone Exchange.

14. AS-512 : Mulund (West) Check Naka Bus Station To Nerul Railway Station.

15. AS-700 : Thane Station(East) To Borivali Station Via. Ghodbunder Road.

16. A-13 EXP. : Hiranandani Estate, Thane To Backbay Depot.

Railway

Main article: Mulund railway station

Educational institutions

See also: List of Bombay Colleges

Mulund has one of the best tertiary educational institutes in Mumbai, K.E.T.'s V.G.Vaze College, commonly known as Kelkar College amongst students located in Mulund East. Located in Mulund (West), the Mulund College of Commerce is another tertiary institution, which is reputed for its specialization in the Commerce stream.

Mulund has several educational institutes in both English and Regional language mediums:

• Mulund College Of Commerce
• Sharon English High School
• Indian Education Society's KG, Primary and Secondary school (King George)
• Rajeev Gandhi High School
• Lokmanya Tilak English High School(LTEHS), formerly Vaze school
• Purandhare High School
• Sau Laxmibai English Medium High-School
• Nalini Yashvantrao Doede Vidyalaya
• Mulund Vidya Mandir
• Vani Vidyalaya
• St. Mary's Convent High School
• Smt. Vidyaben D. Gardi High School.
• H.K. Gidwani High School
• Holy Angels' High School
• Bhosala Military School
• Sheth Moti Bhai Pachan Rashtriya Shala (S.M.P.R.)
• Gyan Sarita High School and Junior College
• Navbharat Nutan Vidyalaya
• Wamanrao Muranjan High School
• Wamanrao Muranjan Jr. College of Commerce & Science & Bifocal(Comp Sci & Elect.)
• St. Pius X High School
• St. George High School
• V.P.M.'s B.R.T. English High School
• Girish Swami Gyan Vidyalaya
• V.G. Vaze college
• NES International School Mumbai
• Smt. N. G. Purandare High School & Degree Night college
• Sheth Karamshi Kanji English School
• Navbharat Nutan Vidyalaya
• SIO's Vani Vidyalaya High school
• Friends Co-Operative Education Society School
• Mulund High School
• J.J. Academy
• Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir
• Jai Bharat High School and College of Commerce
• Dayanand Vedic Vidyalaya
• Nutan Saraswati Vidyalaya

Hospitals

• Prasad Surgical & Children Nursing Home
• Prasad Polyclinic & Diagnostic Centre
• Suyog Hospital & ICCU
• Maruti Nursing Home : Fracture & Women's Hospital
• Rushabh Shah Hospital
• Drishti Eye Care Centre
• Upasani Maternity Hospital
• Navjivan Hospital
• Orthomax Orthopaedic Hospital
• Gokul Hospital
• Saidham Hospital
• ChandraGanga Hospital
• Chetna Critical Care Unit
• Hira Mongi Navneet Hospital
• Dr. Shetty's ENT Hospital
• Dhanwantry Hospital
• Swastik Hospital
• Shreyas Infertility and IVF center
• Shrushusha Hospital
• Fortis Hospital

Clubs and associations, NGOs, NPOs

• NiRWA - Nirmal Residency Welfare Association
• Shri Kutchi Desiya Saraswat Brahmin Mahasthan
• Maratha Mandal Mulund Mumbai
• HIRWA - Hillside Residents Welfare Association
• Shopkeeper's welfare association
• Mulund Parents Association
• Cycle-e-Thon, An eco club, Mulund
• Shri Kutchi Lohana Mahajan Mulund
• Chakram Hikers, Mulund East
• Mulund Toastmasters Club
• Nair Welfare Association
• Mulund Fine Arts Society
• Shri Kutchi Dassa Oswal Jain Sarvodaya Mandal
• Karuna (Helping Stray Animals)
• Youth Ultra Vision Association (Y.U.V.A)
• G S B SABHA, Mulund

Sport clubs

• Strikers Sports Club

• Sports(Football)and Cultural Association,Mithagar[FCM]

Sports for development organisations

• The Ball Project

Mulund Gymakhana, Navghar Road Mulund East, Mumbai, India

Rotary International Clubs in Mulund

• Rotary Club of Bombay Mulund East
• Rotary Club of Mumbai Salt City
• 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

Newspaper

• Mulund News Paper, The leading Gujarati newspaper in the Mulund, published every Tuesday.
• PNR Newspaper, the only multi-lingual paper published in Mulund.
• The Times Of Mulund Powai,a supplement of The Times of India,published every Saturday.

Entertainment

Kalidas Hall, Mulund

Mulund has several cinema halls including Big Cinemas (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 holsts 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 Big Cinemas. Nirmal Lifestyles is the largest mall with a number of stores like Shoppers Stop, and restaurants including McDonald's, and cafe including Manchester United Cafe Bar, Cafe Coffee Day, apart from six screen PVR multiplex. Cypruss is one of the popular hangout place of youngsters' in Mulund near Yogi Hills - also a shortcut to go Sanjay Gandhi National Park & Tulsi Lake.

Night life

Mulund is one of the few suburbs of Mumbai to boast of a vibrant night life. The centre of it all lies within Nirmal Lifestyles mall, near Nahur. Several western cuisine restaurants, along with some Indian restaurants are located within the mall, and it also has two nightclubs.Overall, the night life in Mulund has a sober and peaceful feel to it.

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 are home to 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.Its 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,Campus,Kampa and others.

Vishwa Samrat, Taste Buds, Amantran, Atithi, Sitara, Bansuri, Nisarg, Ram Punjab etc. are decent for Indian cuisine.A Pure vegetarian Multi-cuisine fare is available at Exotic Flavors. Urban Tadka and 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 Hut, US Pizza, Dominos serve pizzas, while McDonalds has an outlet at Nirmal Lifestyles. Thai Chi serves some excellent Chinese and Thai dishes, so does Wok which is comparatively cheaper.

Coffee lovers can enjoy their coffee at several Cafe Coffee Day outlets, Costa Coffee and Mocha, Mulund is yet to get a Barista. choclate lovers like choclate sandwich at tarkeshwar snacks & juice center(jitu bhai)

Places of worship

Ganesh Chaturthi being celebrated at Sambhaji Hall, Mulund (E)

Main article : Places of worship in Mulund
Mulund is home to people from various faiths and as a result, there are a large number of temples, churches and other places of worship.
Please see the related article -Places of worship in Mulund for details.

Parks and promenades

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

Notable residents

• Nitin Chandrakant Desai, renowned Bollywood Art Director.
• Kirit Somaiya, Ex Member of Parliament.
• Shishir Shinde, Co-founder of MNS & currently MLA.
• Atindra Sarvadikar - Indian classical vocalist of kirana gharana.

References

1. ^ "Mumbai's Population". Information on Mumbai Population. Indiaonlinepages.com. http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/mumbai-population.html. Retrieved 22 October 2011. 

External links

• Your Ultimate Gateway to Mumbai's Most Happening Suburb - Mulund
• Times of India - Mulund Plus
• Mid day - Mulund
• IIT Bombay Train Guide to Mulund
• Mulund Information