When India is mentioned, people always have an unspeakable emotion in their hearts-this land seems to be always full of surprise. Not long ago, “Mysterious Superstar” starring amir khan was released. In the film, the Indian girl named Yin Xiya broke free and came to Mumbai to pursue her musical dream. Why Mumbai?
As the second most populous city in India and the largest seaport, Mumbai presents the ultimate contrast. There are some of the most luxurious landmarks and the largest slums in Asia. The “Gate of India” facing Mumbai Bay was built in 1911, which combines Indian and Persian architectural styles. Standing there, you can feel the pulse of the city. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal (formerly Victoria Railway Station) has been in operation since 1887, and old railway tracks, old trains, aged ticket offices, and even old ceiling fans whirring overhead are still in service; Dharavi slum, famous for the movie Slumdog Millionaire, is the first slum in Asia and the second largest in the world. Schools, mosques, markets and houses coexist here, and people of different faiths and backgrounds live in peace here. The coastal avenue extending along Baker Bay was built in 1920, like a crescent moon on the beach, attracting tourists from all over the world…
Mumbai is a “dream city” beyond imagination. It is not only the shining home of Bollywood, but also the favorite location of countless movie lenses. Those pictures full of dramatic tension are often frozen here. At the same time, it is also a “two-sided city” with intertwined contradictions, where luxury and extreme poverty, modernity and primitivity, hope and disillusionment collide fiercely, constantly impacting the senses of every visitor, which is unforgettable.
A drama-like terminal
India was once a British colony, and its railway construction once led Asia. As early as 130 years ago, there was an enviable railway network and beautiful railway station here.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal (formerly Victoria Railway Station) is India’s most magnificent railway station. Its design is modeled after the late medieval Italian Gothic style and took ten years to build. The eye-catching stone dome, tower, pointed arch and undulating ground layout, together with the architectural elements of Indian palaces, form a unique eclectic style of Mumbai, and become an outstanding representative of the intersection of eastern and western cultures. In 2004, it was listed in the World Cultural Heritage List.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal
The first impression given to tourists in Mumbai is often that the old buildings left by the British a hundred years ago are still barely used, while the newly rising tall buildings stand proudly in the humble streets. Most amazingly, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal still maintains its basic appearance when it was put into operation in 1887-old tracks, old carriages, mottled ticket halls, and even those huge old ceiling fans still whirring above the platform, sending cool breezes. These ceiling fans are amazing in size, and only four of them can “grace” the whole platform, which may be enough to be selected as “the best in the world”.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal
Gazing at this vivid scene like a nostalgic movie picture and looking up at the exquisite carvings on the magnificent Gothic facade, you may feel that it is not enough for UNESCO to list this station as a World Heritage Site. It seems that the Indian government should be awarded a “Special Award for the Activation and Utilization of Cultural Relics”.
Many cultural heritages in the world are still, and only a few are still breathing and running. Such a legacy can turn back time, let the drifting dandelion return to the stem, and let the lost fireworks bloom again.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal
Even 130 years later, the most classic parting scene in Bollywood movies is still set in chhatrapati shivaji’s terminal.
In terms of visual aesthetics, the architectural appearance of this railway station is like a magnificent fusion of European-style cathedral and Indian palace. The exterior wall decoration is gorgeous and complicated, and the stone dome, tower, pointed arch and the changing ground layout set off each other.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal
I believe that everyone who passes through here, rich or poor, will feel that they are the protagonists of life dramas. Here, they say goodbye to their relatives, friends and lovers, or rush to the sweaty construction site… Beautiful figures dressed in silk sarees pass by, men walking barefoot with vegetable baskets on their heads flash by, and gentlemen with briefcases and shiny leather shoes pass by-everyone is the protagonist of his own life, carrying joys and sorrows, love and hate unimaginable to outsiders.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal
This most beautiful and busiest railway station in India is like an old man who has seen all the vicissitudes of the world. His heart is no longer rippled by the twists and turns of one family, nor is he lamenting for the ups and downs of the fate of a state and a country. He had been sitting still for too long, he was too tired.