Aamchi Varanasi

Mumbai is full of history stored inside the little-hidden pockets and the nooks of the city. With interesting stories waiting at every corner of the urban-metropolitan, one that amazes all is a quaint locality, hidden in the posh residential area of Malabar Hills.  Dubbed as Mumbai’s own Varanasi, Banganga is a centuries-old ancient water reservoir, tucked away in Walkeshwar. And conducting a walking tour A Trip To Banganga: Mumbai's Own Varanasi of the area, DraftCraft International reacquainted Mumbaikars with its vivid history and mythological connection yesterday.

Explaining why Banganga is known as Mumbai’s Varanasi, Gajanan Khergamker, founder of the think tank DraftCraft International, says, “Banganga is referred as Varanasi because all your last rites are performed at Banganga if you’re in Bombay. If you can’t go to Ganga, you can go to Banganga. Right from immersing the ashes to Terahvi, all are done at Banganga.”

Bathing Ghats at Banganga

Despite being a stone throw away from the sea, the water flowing through the inlet is said to be fit for consumption. “As legend says, when Ram, Laxman and Sita were on exile, Sita was thirsty, so Laxman shot an arrow on the ground and it resulted in water gushing through the ground,” reveals Gajanan. While walking on the steps, you could see locals bathing with a flock of ducks roaming around them. Gajanan explains the reason behind the waterfowl population, by saying, “Some legends also say that Banganga helps fulfil wishes, and when your wishes come true you release a wish duck. That’s why you’ll find a lot of ducks roaming around as well.”

The Aghori Samadhis are on one cremation ground apart from the multitude of temples around Banganga. The early morning tour took the participants through the narrow by-lanes, exploring the history while lending an ear to the current problems faced by the locals. Being a journalist as well as a lawyer, Gajanan works towards the social development of the community. “We work with the locals in the area of law and policy and we generate these tours primarily as fundraisers,” he reveals. Explaining the kinds of problems faced by the locals, he reveals, “Around Banganga, there used to be lot of drug addicts and drunkards hanging around, because it is a secluded place. The locals had a lot of problems. Then we intervened and cleared it up. We worked with the police and the locals.”

(Image: DraftCraft International)

With high-rises and plush bungalows around and Banganga in the midst of them, the contrasting landscape of the city becomes quite apparent. And hence, even though the locality, the history and the locals remain the same, Gajanan claims that every tour around the place gives a unique perspective to the participants. Looking at the fast-paced development in local issues as one of the factors, he says, “Even if you come on the same tour, you get a different experience. If you come on the Banganga tour now and you come after one week you get a completely different experience, because this is all about the law in motion. So they meet people who are actively involved in the issues this time and after one week the issues are completely different. It’s not like tourism tour. We have people who come for this tour over and over again. You can never really understand an area in one tour.”

The tour is conducted every weekend, and can also be customised for small groups.