Marine Drive, Mumbai

Marine Drive
मरीन ड्राईव्ह
Queen's Necklace
Neighbourhood

Air India (left), Oberoi (centre) and NCPA (right) buildings at Marive Drive, Nariman Point
Marine Drive

Location in Mumbai

Coordinates: 18°56′38″N 72°49′23″E / 18.944°N 72.823°E / 18.944; 72.823Coordinates: 18°56′38″N 72°49′23″E / 18.944°N 72.823°E / 18.944; 72.823
Country India
State Maharashtra
Metro Mumbai
Languages
 • Official Marathi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)

Marine Drive is a 3.5-kilometre-long boulevard in South Mumbai in the city of Mumbai. It is a 'C'-shaped six-lane concrete road along the coast, which is a natural bay. The road links Nariman Point to Babulnath and Malabar Hill. Marine Drive is situated over reclaimed land facing west-south-west. A promenade lies parallel to this road. Marine Drive is also known as the Queen's Necklace because, if viewed at night from an elevated point anywhere along the drive, the street lights resemble a string of pearls in a necklace.

Details

The official name for this road, though rarely used, is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road. The promenade is lined with palm trees. At the northern end of Marine Drive is Chowpatty Beach. This is a popular beach famed for its Bhel puri (local fast food). Many restaurants also line this stretch of the road. Further down this road lies Walkeshwar, a wealthy neighbourhood of the city, also home to the Governor of Maharashtra.

Most of the buildings which were built by wealthy Parsis sport an art deco look that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Real estate prices along the esplanade are high. Many hotels dot the drive, most prominent among them being the 5-star Oberoi (formerly the Oberoi Hilton Tower however reverted to the original name as of early 2008), The Intercontinental, Hotel Marine Plaza, Sea Green Hotel and a few other smaller hotels. Marine Drive is the preferred connecting road between the central business district located at Nariman Point and the rest of the city.

Former singing superstar of 1950s Suraiya lived here in 'Krishna Mahal' in the ground floor apartment from 1940s till her death on 31st January 2004 (as a tenant of Shah family). The house was first taken on rent by her mother Mumtaz Begum. Many other film stars, like Nargis, Raj Kapoor lived nearby in 1940s and 50s.

In 2012, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai announced that the entire road would be resurfaced, 72 years after it was originally laid.[1]

Major events

Marine Drive has hosted the following major events in recent times.

References

  1. ↑ Makne, Eknath (October 22, 2012). "Marine Drive will be smoother ride soon". Mumbai. Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 2012-10-29.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marine Drive, Mumbai.
  1. ↑ "Marine Drive turns 100, many more to come - Typical Indian". Typical Indian. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
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