Hello!
The south-westerly winds inform me that the summer is coming to an end. Thus, I am going to make the most of it, because for a lot of reasons (most tres personal) this feels like the last summer I am truly going to be able to enjoy completely. So here I am, making the most of it.
How, you ask? Like this.
I have been grateful to be able to visit those spots in Mumbai that most of us haven't visited since the summer of 1999. I am, of course, talking about the forgotten, parks, aquariums, museums and zoo. Although, to be true, the joyride to the past hasn't been all about the joy... Soon you'll find out why.
But I know one thing for sure now, Bombay isn't Bombay any more. Like many others, the change to "Mumbai" wasn't all cool with me. Even now, most of the time I refer to this city as Bombay when all my relatives from elsewhere call it Mumbai. Bombay stands for a lot of things in my life. It stands for my childhood, the glorious 90's. It stands for limited commercialization and for good and innocent times. It stands for purity, freedom and everything that makes Bombay, the city of dreams.
'Mumbai' makes me feel like I am stuck in a traffic jam, in Dharavi, in the heaviest rainfall, in a Rickshaw, without a jacket, wearing white, without any food, at night. *shudder*
But these recent visits to the defining spots of the city have now made me realize, I am now in Mumbai. Bombay is long gone...
Anyway.
So the first visit to the tourist spots of the city of Mumbai started with the Aquarium!
Details:
Name: Taraporevala Aquarium
Location: Marine Lines, Mumbai.
Built in: 1951
Closed on: Mondays
Entry fee: Rs. 15/- for Adults, Rs. 10/- for children
Photography and Videos not allowed. (Though everyone was clicking pictures. Som even with their flas lights on).
My rating for Taraporevala Aquarium: **
(And those 2 stars are for the aquatic animals for surviving there)
This is one aquarium you can't just swim through and have fun. Unfortunately, I went on a Sunday and exactly at a time when 2 other tourist buses had arrived. So it was terribly crowded and there were about 50-60 people in the queue before me. Also, there was a staff member of the aquarium yelling and screaming at me, and others, to move quickly and stand in line, and everything else you expect to hear in an over-crowded BEST bus. After standing in the sun, waiting in line to get tickets, we finally entered past the doors of the only aquarium in the city; and here's what I unleashed.
Stink. Darkness. Uncontrollable, wee bit rowdy crowd. And stink again.
The main exhibit area:
The first thing you see when you enter is a dolphins skeleton. It's huge, but didn't impress as much as it could have by just lying on the floor. Can someone buy the dead guy a glass case at least? Moving on.
The state of the aquarium is almost depressing. It is horribly maintained. There are paan stains all around the walls and boundaries. The whole place stinks thanks to the loo inside the first chamber, so much that I had to cover my nose and mouth with a scarf. It was so bad that I couldn't breath it directly.
The aquarium is very dark and dingy and not forgetting to mention, dirty!
Talking about the exhibits, the collection isn't impressive at all. But it is not that bad either. Some of the better parts of the collection were fresh water sharks, Moray eels, sea turtles, an alligator fish and skate fish. Some other sea inhabitants were hermit crabs, milky koi, Bottan shark, sting rays, puffer fish and bat fish.
While the list sounds good, but the condition in which they are made to live don't. The aquariums of the exhibit are dirty and the water looked stale and practically green due to algae or whatever. Oh, and some of them were even cluttered with fish poop.
The place just has fans and no air-conditioning making it the wrong place to visit during the summer. I fervently hope they add air-conditioning when and if they renovate. Much needed. Thank you.
The room with fossils and sea shells:
I hoped this one would have been better, considering most things here were dead and thus didn't need any cleaning. I was wrong. This section which had fossils and preserved dead fish, such as various types of star fish, also had aquariums with smaller kinds of fish (alive ones) on display.
The glass shelves and casings of the fossils and the rare sea shells were covered with dust. I, for one, am a cleanliness freak. The sight of those shelves sent me in depression, not to add the fact that these things that must be valued aren't even being cleaned.
Summary:
The exhibits, like I said aren't completely unfortunate. But don't expect much action or think that you will get a feel of the real life of the ocean, because most fish were lying dull. In some aquariums, there were just 1 or 2 of the kind. You and I, both, can imagine what must have happened to the rest if they were alive. All in all, give it a visit considering it costs almost nothing.
I spent as little as 10 minutes there, which included a second round of seeing everything again. Make other plans too, the day you go visit Taraporevala Aquarium so that you feel like you made use of the time and travel.
Rumor has it that the aquarium will go through massive repair and would be renovated to have an underwater sea walk and a glass vision sea-world. Something like that in Ocean Park, Hong Kong. (You can view my personal experience of that here: http://devikabharadwaj.blogspot.in/2011/12/day-3-ocean-is-always-alive.html)
I hope they are successful in achieving this dream. One good aquarium isn't too much to ask for in a city likeBombay, oops Mumbai, is it?
Hoping to fish through a better aquarium again.
Au revoir,
Miss Bee.
I tweet on: https://twitter.com/#!/DevikaBharadwaj
Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/shoestopper
Website: http://www.shoestopper.com/
P.S.- I apologize if I have made a mistake in identifying the fish in the photographs. I was, admittedly, in a rush to get out of the heat and stink there. :(
The south-westerly winds inform me that the summer is coming to an end. Thus, I am going to make the most of it, because for a lot of reasons (most tres personal) this feels like the last summer I am truly going to be able to enjoy completely. So here I am, making the most of it.
How, you ask? Like this.
I have been grateful to be able to visit those spots in Mumbai that most of us haven't visited since the summer of 1999. I am, of course, talking about the forgotten, parks, aquariums, museums and zoo. Although, to be true, the joyride to the past hasn't been all about the joy... Soon you'll find out why.
But I know one thing for sure now, Bombay isn't Bombay any more. Like many others, the change to "Mumbai" wasn't all cool with me. Even now, most of the time I refer to this city as Bombay when all my relatives from elsewhere call it Mumbai. Bombay stands for a lot of things in my life. It stands for my childhood, the glorious 90's. It stands for limited commercialization and for good and innocent times. It stands for purity, freedom and everything that makes Bombay, the city of dreams.
'Mumbai' makes me feel like I am stuck in a traffic jam, in Dharavi, in the heaviest rainfall, in a Rickshaw, without a jacket, wearing white, without any food, at night. *shudder*
But these recent visits to the defining spots of the city have now made me realize, I am now in Mumbai. Bombay is long gone...
Anyway.
So the first visit to the tourist spots of the city of Mumbai started with the Aquarium!
Taraporevala Aquarium Review
Details:
Name: Taraporevala Aquarium
Location: Marine Lines, Mumbai.
Built in: 1951
Closed on: Mondays
Entry fee: Rs. 15/- for Adults, Rs. 10/- for children
Photography and Videos not allowed. (Though everyone was clicking pictures. Som even with their flas lights on).
My rating for Taraporevala Aquarium: **
(And those 2 stars are for the aquatic animals for surviving there)
This is one aquarium you can't just swim through and have fun. Unfortunately, I went on a Sunday and exactly at a time when 2 other tourist buses had arrived. So it was terribly crowded and there were about 50-60 people in the queue before me. Also, there was a staff member of the aquarium yelling and screaming at me, and others, to move quickly and stand in line, and everything else you expect to hear in an over-crowded BEST bus. After standing in the sun, waiting in line to get tickets, we finally entered past the doors of the only aquarium in the city; and here's what I unleashed.
Stink. Darkness. Uncontrollable, wee bit rowdy crowd. And stink again.
The main exhibit area:
The first thing you see when you enter is a dolphins skeleton. It's huge, but didn't impress as much as it could have by just lying on the floor. Can someone buy the dead guy a glass case at least? Moving on.
The state of the aquarium is almost depressing. It is horribly maintained. There are paan stains all around the walls and boundaries. The whole place stinks thanks to the loo inside the first chamber, so much that I had to cover my nose and mouth with a scarf. It was so bad that I couldn't breath it directly.
The aquarium is very dark and dingy and not forgetting to mention, dirty!
Talking about the exhibits, the collection isn't impressive at all. But it is not that bad either. Some of the better parts of the collection were fresh water sharks, Moray eels, sea turtles, an alligator fish and skate fish. Some other sea inhabitants were hermit crabs, milky koi, Bottan shark, sting rays, puffer fish and bat fish.
While the list sounds good, but the condition in which they are made to live don't. The aquariums of the exhibit are dirty and the water looked stale and practically green due to algae or whatever. Oh, and some of them were even cluttered with fish poop.
The place just has fans and no air-conditioning making it the wrong place to visit during the summer. I fervently hope they add air-conditioning when and if they renovate. Much needed. Thank you.
The room with fossils and sea shells:
I hoped this one would have been better, considering most things here were dead and thus didn't need any cleaning. I was wrong. This section which had fossils and preserved dead fish, such as various types of star fish, also had aquariums with smaller kinds of fish (alive ones) on display.
The glass shelves and casings of the fossils and the rare sea shells were covered with dust. I, for one, am a cleanliness freak. The sight of those shelves sent me in depression, not to add the fact that these things that must be valued aren't even being cleaned.
Summary:
The exhibits, like I said aren't completely unfortunate. But don't expect much action or think that you will get a feel of the real life of the ocean, because most fish were lying dull. In some aquariums, there were just 1 or 2 of the kind. You and I, both, can imagine what must have happened to the rest if they were alive. All in all, give it a visit considering it costs almost nothing.
I spent as little as 10 minutes there, which included a second round of seeing everything again. Make other plans too, the day you go visit Taraporevala Aquarium so that you feel like you made use of the time and travel.
The photos are dark and unclear, because I did not want to use the flash light as it would scare them and also because I don't have a good camera. :P
But this will give you a fair idea of how the place looks!
But this will give you a fair idea of how the place looks!
 |
| I think that's the lonely Alligator fish |
 |
| That's one type of Shark |
 |
| That's the Moray eels, which are supposed to be quite the dangerous aquatic animals |
 |
| I don't know if you can tell the difference, but that's a fish in the bottom corner (Notice the condition of the aquarium from the inside) |
 |
| Turtles. There were many of these. See how dirty the water is! |
 |
| Turtles |
 |
| Hermit Crab |
 |
| Can't tell what that is. |
 |
| Skate fish |
 |
| Sea turtle (Sorry for the shaky picture. It was horribly crowded and I was being PUSHED!) |
 |
| Sea turtle (Sorry for the shaky picture. It was horribly crowded and I was being PUSHED!) |
 |
| Sea Snails, I think. |
 |
| Shark |
 |
| Out of order |
 |
| The Taraporevala Aquarium, Marine Lines, Mumbai |
Rumor has it that the aquarium will go through massive repair and would be renovated to have an underwater sea walk and a glass vision sea-world. Something like that in Ocean Park, Hong Kong. (You can view my personal experience of that here: http://devikabharadwaj.blogspot.in/2011/12/day-3-ocean-is-always-alive.html)
I hope they are successful in achieving this dream. One good aquarium isn't too much to ask for in a city like
Hoping to fish through a better aquarium again.
Au revoir,
Miss Bee.
I tweet on: https://twitter.com/#!/DevikaBharadwaj
Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/shoestopper
Website: http://www.shoestopper.com/
P.S.- I apologize if I have made a mistake in identifying the fish in the photographs. I was, admittedly, in a rush to get out of the heat and stink there. :(
Whereto next?...and if you haven't do read 'Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found' - one of the best narration about Mumbai...
ReplyDeleteThe museum... :D
ReplyDeleteI had read it, but back in 2005. So it's as good as not having read it because I don't remember anything. But I will catch up to it soon. :)
Hi..Thanks for writing a review about Taraporewala Aquarium, a must visit place in Mumbai. The place contains an impressive variety of marine and freshwater fishes, including some coral fishes collected from the Lakshadweep.
ReplyDelete