Saturday Photohunt - Looking down

Looking down from the JJ flyover at the erstwhile Crawford market, now called the Mahatma Jyotiba phule market in South Mumbai.

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That's my world

Crawford Market (officially Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Market) is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. It is named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner of the city. The market is situated opposite the Mumbai Police headquarters, just north of Victoria Terminus railway station and west of the J.J.flyover at a busy intersection. The market houses a wholesale fruit, vegetable and poultry market. One end of the market is a pet store. Most of the sellers inside the market nowadays sell imported items such as foods, cosmetics, household and gift items. It was the main wholesale market for fruits in Mumbai until March 1996, when the wholesale traders were relocated to Navi Mumbai (New Bombay). The building, completed in 1869, was donated to the city by Cowasji Jehangir. After India's independence, the market was renamed after Maharashtrian social reformer, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule. In 1882, the building was the first in India to be lit up by electricity. The edifice is a blend of Norman and Gothic architectural styles. The friezes on the outside entrance depicting Indian farmers, and the stone fountains inside, were designed by Lockwood Kipling, father of novelist Rudyard Kipling. The market covers an area of 22,471 sq m (24,000 sq ft) which 5,515 sq m (6,000 sq ft) is occupied by the building itself. The structure was built using coarse buff coloured Kurla stone, with redstone from Bassein. It has a 15 m high skylight awning designed to allow the sunlight light up the marketplace.

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