Bhendi Bazaar is a market (

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

) in

South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahalaxmi (Western side), Byculla ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, India. Bhendi Bazaar occupies an area between Mohammed Ali Road and Khetwadi. The closest Central and

Harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

lines station for the Mumbai Suburban Railway is

Sandhurst Road Sandhurst Road (station code: SNRD) is a railway station serving Dongri area of South Mumbai, India, on the Central and Harbour Lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is the third stop from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Named after ...

, and the closest Western railway stations are

Charni Road Charni Road (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʃəɾniː ɾoːɖ is a neighbourhood in the southern part of Mumbai. It is served by Charni Road railway station. Geography and Location Charni Road is strategically located along the western coastli ...

and

Grant Road Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

. The bazaar is popular for shopping viz antique and hardware items. It is also home to the popular

Bhendibazaar gharana The Bhendibazaar gharana is one of the vocal gharanas of Indian classical music, which originated in Bhendi Bazaar area of Mumbai in 1890. The founders of the gharana originally belonged to the Moradabad area of Uttar Pradesh. Upon migrating to ...

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

. There are other markets surrounding Bhendi Bazaar such as

Crawford Market Crawford Market (officially Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai) is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. The building was completed in 1869, and donated to the city by Cowasji Jehangir. Originally named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal ...

(Phule Market),

Chor Bazaar Chor Bazaar is one of the largest flea markets in India, located at Mutton street, near Bhendi Bazaar in Grant Road, South Mumbai. The area is one of the tourist attractions of Mumbai. The word ''"chor"'' means 'thief' in Marathi, Gujarati a ...

, Nul Bazaar, and other smaller ones.

Etymology

A theory posits that name comes from the British living on the southern division of the

(or Crawford Bazaar), who used to call the northern side of Crawford Market - "behind the Bazaar", which the local people started calling Bhindi or Bhendi Bazaar (phonetically similar to the Indian term for

Okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

bhindi Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions around the wor ...

History

During the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, Bhendi Bazaar was built as a labor camp for workers, engaged in the development of Bombay, to stay in. The buildings of the labor camp were later sold to private owners who in turn accommodated tenants based on the local

pagri Phari or Pagri (; ) is a town in Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China near the border with Bhutan. The border can be accessed through a secret road/trail connecting Tsento Gewog in Bhutan () known as Tremo La. the town had a popu ...

system. , the area is set to be revamped with the project being undertaken by the

Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) is a non-profit organization established in 2009 to undertake one of urban India's largest makeover projects of sheer magnitude and impacting around 20,000 people. The redevelopment project was, envisioned ...

initiated by

Mohammed Burhanuddin Mohammed Burhanuddin (6 March 1915 – 17 January 2014) was the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq of Dawoodi Bohras from 1965 to 2014. He led the community for 49 years in a period of social, economic, and educational prosperity; strengthened and re-institu ...

, head of the

Dawoodi Bohra The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. They number approximately one million worldwide and have settled in over 40 countries around the world. The majority of the Dawoodi Bohra community re ...

community.

Demographics and culture

Bhendi Bazaar is primarily a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

-populated area, home to Muslims with origins in all parts of India, especially Maharashtra,

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and

northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

. Shop-owners and hawkers in this market belong to different religious groups. Old streets like Saifee Jubilee Street, Khara Tank Road, Dhabu Street (now called Raudat Tahera Street), Pakmodia Street, Zainabia Marg, Tokra Gulli, 1st Cooper Street, 2nd Cooper Street, 3rd Cooper Street, and

(consisting of Mutton Street and Chimna Butcher street) are populated by Bohri Muslims of the

(a sect of

Ismaili Shia Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept Mu ...

Islam) among other Muslim sects. The area houses Raudat Tahera, the mausoleum of the 51st and 52nd Dai-al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras,

Taher Saifuddin Taher Saifuddin (4 August 1888 – 12 November 1965), also known as Tahir Sayf al-Din, was the 51st and longest serving Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras. Saifuddin adapted the modernisation in Western and European ideas, and establishe ...

and

. Bhendi Bazaar has the first two wing high-story tower of its own named Al-Saadah. Bhendi Bazaar is famous for the food delicacies that it has to offer, it has been called 'A Glutton's Guide To Mumbai's Best Bohri

Mohalla is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. History Historically, mahallas were autonomous social inst ...

Food Joints'. A 2010

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

film, ''

Bhindi Bazaar Bhendi Bazaar is a market (bazaar) in South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Bhendi Bazaar occupies an area between Mohammed Ali Road and Khetwadi (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Khetwadi. The closest Central Line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Central an ...

,'' was shot in the area. The famous Bollywood singer Mohammad Rafi lived in Bhendi Bazaar when he moved to Bombay from Lahore in the early 1940s. Rafi started his career in playback singing whilst living in a small apartment in Bhendi Bazaar.

References

{{Reflist Retail markets in Mumbai Bazaars in India

Etymology

History

Demographics and culture

See also

References