A visit by a young cousin made me realize what the importance of the top hot spot of Mumbai, The Gateway Of India, is. 'Where's the main gate of India?', he said the moment he alighted from the train at V.T. Station. I was puzzled.
'What? main gate of India? what's that?'
'Aw, uncle, come on...from where everyone enters into Mumbai...This IS Mumbai, isn't it?'
'Yes'
'So where's the gate? I know one has to enter through a gate to enter Mumbai, isn't that true?'
Then it struck me and I said, 'yeah, of course...'
He was referring to the Gateway of India.
I told him that we will have to travel a bit to reach the gate. We took a cab to the Gateway of India and the excitement in my nephew's eyes was motivation enough to visit this monument and the biggest tourist spot of Mumbai, which obviously I had not visited for quite sometime now...and even if I have, sometimes while visiting the Taj Mahal Hotel, situated right opposite the Gateway, I have hardly noticed "THE main gate of India"
Anyway, I asked the pesky nose-picking toddler whether he knew anything at all about the gateway. He didn't, poor boy... and neither did I... (Oh my Gawd, now what do I do?)
I knew I won't be able to get out of this now that I have broached the subject. Then God sent me a saviour- the cab driver, God bless him.
He started narrating the story of the Gateway of India...as follows...
"It was built way back in 1911...uhh...December I think..."I was impressed. This guy seemed more educated than me, for sure. (Later I found out he was, actually more educated than me...shit...nevermind that now)
He continued...
"The Gateway of India was built to honor the visiting King and Queen...their names were... yeah... King George V and Queen Mary. They were visiting Mumbai, which was Bombay then for the first time..."(But how did they make the structure so fast? Surely they must have planned the whole thing.)
"Of course...you are not as smart as you look, do you?"The tot laughed...as I sulked...
"The foundation stone was laid on 31 March 1911, by the Governor of Bombay-Sir George Sydenham Clarke. The full construction was finished only in 1924. It was inaugurated on December 4th 1924 by the Viceroy. You know what...this is the gate from where the last of the British troops went out after India became independent. It was like a festival here...big ceremony..."The nephew asked, 'but how do you know all this?'
"I was born here and lived most of my life here...so I decided to study everything about this place."
The nephew's eyes remained wide opened as the taxi drove right in front of the Gateway of India. He was not the only one, though. I was wide eyed, baffled too. It was evening and the beautiful monument looked even more beautiful. My nephew walked through the gate many times as he wanted to truly ensure that his entrance to Mumbai is properly established.
Needless to say, this visit was one of the most memorable ones, except for the depressing fact that I was less educated than a taxi driver.(I hate myself)
Road Directions to Gateway of India From V.T. Station
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Driving directions to Gateway of India, Maharashtra
 | VT station |
| 1. | Head south on Dr Dadabhai Naoroji Rd/ | 0.2 km |
| 2. | Turn left at Walchand Hirachand Marg | 0.4 km |
| 3. | Turn right at S Bhagat Singh Marg | 0.4 km |
| 4. | Continue on Mint Rd | 0.3 km |
| 5. | Continue on Shahid Bhagat Singh Rd/ Go through 1 roundabout | 1.5 km |
 | Gateway of India Maharashtra |
