MTDC spl edition packs city's past treasure

Did you know that man appeared in Mumbai half a million years ago and has left behind his stone tools which have been found at Kandivli?
> Are you aware that 11th-century carvings of a naval battle between the Shilaharas and the Yadavas are still lying at Eksar near Borivli?
> Maybe you did not know that there are replicas of various monuments, including Mumbai CST, at Film City, the house of Bollywood.

The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has come out with a special edition of its magazine, ‘Maharashtra Unlimited’, on Mumbai city that is packed with these and many more interesting nuggets on Mumbai city, its growth and panorama. The compilation has articles from veterans such as archaeologist and Padma Shree professor MK Dhavlikar, members of the Archaeological Survey of India team, city research scholars and enthusiasts with fascinating pictures and rare, never-seen old-time images and maps of Bombay from the British Library Board.

Managing director of MTDC, Dr Jagdish Patil, says the old city lanes, by-lanes, streets and corners are studded with more history than ever can be stored in a museum. A separate chapter on the one-time defence fortifications that have been scattered all over the city highlights the fact that the crumbling walls of these forts have fascinating stories to tell.

“According to ancient scriptures, much before the British fortifications came up, the city of  Surparaka (present Nalasopara) is mentioned as the principal seat of the king with 18 gates with references to fierce battles fought on sea and land,” says circle officer with Mumbai’s Archaeological Survey of India, Mayur Thakare, who has authored a detailed write-up on the Guardians of History.

“The pace of the city matches the restlessness of the Arabian Sea by the side of which it lives.The issue takes you through the ancient caves to the modern architectural marvels of Mumbai. The city has been a capital of co-existence. Among the flood of humans across the length and breadth of the megacity, wildlife also has its home,” adds Patil.