Matunga

Matunga flower market

Matunga (Marathi: माटुंगा) is a district located in the central part of Mumbai. It is a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. This station is called Matunga on the Central railway line, Matunga Road on the Western line and King's Circle, (officially named, Maheshwari Udyan) on the Harbour Line. The main places of interest here are temples and restaurants.

History

A historical picture of the Church of Mary, Help of Christians

Mt. Carmel church, Matunga

Matunga formed a part of the seven original islands of Mumbai with Mahim (then known as Mahikavati). Mahim, or Mahikawati as it was known, was the capital of Raja Bhimdev, who reigned over the region in the 13th century. Raja Bhimdev's origins are not clearly known. He may have come from Anahilwada-Patan in Gujarat or from the dynasty of Yadavs in Deogiri. He built a palace and a court of justice in Prabhadevi, as well as the first Babulnath temple. Raja Bhimdev stationed his elephant cavalry near Mahim. This place was referred to as Matanga (मतंग), the Sanskrit for elephant. This is the name from which the present-day name "Matunga" has been derived^{[citation needed]}.

Matunga was among the first planned suburbs of Mumbai. The Dadar-Matunga-Wadala-Sion plan of 1899-1900 was formulated to evenly distribute population as well as provide better living standards.^[1]

Education hub

In 1937, the general council of Salesians of Don Bosco approved a plan to buy 60,000 square yards (50,000 m²) land in Matunga from the Bombay Municipal Corporation. The Corporation approved the sale on July 16, 1937. The Salesians bought the land for Rs. 229,160. The Don Bosco High School (formerly known as The Catholic Educational Institute) run by them was shifted from the rented premises at Tardeo to the new Don Bosco camp

References

1. ^ [1]