Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

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History:
The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel is a five star hotel located in the Colaba region of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, next to the Gateway of India. Part of the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, this building is considered the flagship property of the group and contains 565 rooms. From a historical and architectural point of view, the two buildings that make up the hotel, The Taj Mahal Palace and the Tower are two distinct buildings, built at different times and in different architectural designs.
The hotel has hosted notable guests such as The Beatles, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Bill Clinton, Jacques Chirac, The King & Queen of Norway, The Duke & Duchess of Kent, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, Roger Moore, Joan Collins, Mick Jagger, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Deep Purple, Michael Palin, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Oprah Winfrey, as well as professional cricket teams on tour.

The Taj Mahal Hotel was commissioned in Indo-Saracenic style by Tata and first opened its doors to guests on 16 December 1903.
It is widely believed that Jamsedji Tata decided to build the hotel after he was refused entry to one of the city's grand hotels of the time, Watson's Hotel, as it was restricted to "whites only". However, this story has been challenged by some commentators that suggest that Tata was unlikely to have been concerned with 'revenge' against his British adversaries. Instead they suggest that the Taj was built at the urging of editor of The Times of India who felt a hotel "worthy of Bombay" was needed.
The original Indian architects were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, and the project was completed by an English engineer, W. A. Chambers. The builder was Khansaheb Sorabji Ruttonji Contractor who also designed and built its famous central floating staircase. The cost of construction was £250,000 (£127 million today). During World War I, the hotel was converted into a 600-bed hospital. The dome of the hotel is made from steel as used in the Eiffel Tower. Jamsedji Tata imported the same steel during that time. The hotel was the first in India to install and operate a steam elevator. The hotel imported American fans, German elevators, Turkish baths and English butlers, for the first time in India.
The side of the hotel seen from the harbour is actually its rear. The front faces away to the west. There is a widespread misconception that the architects building plans were confused by the builder so that he built it facing away from the harbor. This is not true, as the hotel was deliberately built facing inland, possibly because the horse carriages in which guests came to the hotel could more easily approach the hotel from the city. The carriages were then taken to Wellington Mews. 40 years ago, the old front was closed off, and since then, access has been made through the harbor-side entrance. Wellington Mews has now been converted into luxury service apartments operated and owned by the Taj group.
On the site where the tower wing now stands used to be a hotel called Green's Hotel at the Apollo Bunder, which was purchased by the Taj Mahal Hotel. Green's was popular among sailors due to its low cost and was notorious for its wild parties. In 1973, Green's hotel was demolished and the present Tower wing was constructed in its place.
Mr. Jamshyd D. F. Lam (Retd. Sr. Vice President IHCL) of the Taj Group was the General Manager from 1980 to 1985, during which time the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower was ranked as the fifth best hotel in the world for two consecutive years. The hotel was ranked 20th in Asia in the prestigious Conde Nast Traveller Readers' Travel Awards of 2010.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Marine Drive, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in night time mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Marine Drive, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

History:
Marine Drive is a 4.3-kilometre-long boulevard in South Mumbai in the city of Mumbai. It is a 'C'-shaped six-lane concrete road along the coast, which is a natural bay. The road links Nariman Point to Babulnath and Malabar Hill. Marine Drive is situated over reclaimed land facing west-south-west. The bay is part of the Arabian Sea. In 2012, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai announced that the entire road would be resurfaced, 72 years after it was originally laid.
The official name for this road, though rarely used, is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road. It was earlier known as Sonapur to local Marathi people. The highlight of Marine drive is the beautiful promenade along the road where many of the citizens take in a breath of fresh air and view the sunset. The promenade is lined with palm trees. At the northern end of Marine Drive is Chowpatty Beach. This is a popular beach famed for its Bhel puri (local fast food). Many restaurants also line this stretch of the road. Further down this road lies Walkeshwar, a wealthy neighbourhood of the city, also home to the Governor of Maharashtra, Justin Bieber visited there.
Most of the buildings which were built by wealthy Parsis sport an art deco look that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Miami in the United States is the only city in the world that has more art deco buildings along the seafront than Mumbai.
Real estate prices along the esplanade are among the highest in India, and fourth in the world at US$2100 per square feet. A lot of celebrities live here, making it one of India's premier residential community. Many hotels dot the drive, most prominent among them being the 5-star Oberoi (formerly the Oberoi Hilton Tower however reverted to the original name as of early 2008), The Intercontinental, Hotel Marine Plaza, Sea Green Hotel and a few other smaller hotels. Marine Drive is the preferred connecting road between the central business district located at Nariman Point and the rest of the city.
Marine Drive is also known as the Queen's Necklace because if viewed at night from an elevated point anywhere along the drive, the street lights resemble a string of pearls, forming a necklace. It is also the world's largest viewing gallery and hence has been a host to a number of events that take place along the promenade. It is the major attraction in Mumbai city. It is a tourist place.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Eros Cinema, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

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History:
The Eros Cinema is an Art Deco style cinema located in Mumbai, India. It has a seating capacity of 1,204 people per show.
Architects Shorabji Bhedwar designed the Streamline Modern building, it marked the beginning of Back Bay reclamation in early 1938.
The foundation of Eros Cinema was laid in 1935. The cinema opened in 1938 and construction of this building on the then newly reclaimed Backbay plot housing shops and other businesses, apart from the cinema, took about two and a half years to complete. Partially faced with red Agra sandstone, this building is painted cream. The two wings of this Art Deco building meet up in a central block. The foyer is in white and black marble with touches of gold. Marble staircases with chromium handrails lead up to the upper floor. The murals are in muted colours depicting Indian architectures.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Mount Mary Church, Bandra, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

This picture is taken with a long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Mount Mary Church, Bandra, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, more commonly known as Mount Mary Church, is a Roman Catholic Basilica located in Bandra, Mumbai. The Basilica is one of the most visited 'religious places of worship' in the city. Every September, the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on the first Sunday after 8 September, the birthday of the Virgin Mary. This is a week long celebration known as the Bandra Fair and is visited by thousands of people.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Gateway Of India, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

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History:
The Gateway of India is a monument built during the British Raj in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. It is located on the waterfront in the Apollo Bunder area in South Mumbai and overlooks the Arabian Sea. The structure is a basalt arch, 26 metres (85 feet) high. It lies at the end of Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg at the water's edge in Mumbai Harbour. It was a crude jetty used by the fishing community which was later renovated and used as a landing place for British governors and other prominent people. In earlier times, it would have been the first structure that visitors arriving by boat in Mumbai would have seen. The Gateway has also been referred to as the Taj Mahal of Mumbai, and is the city's top tourist attraction.
The structure was erected to commemorate the landing of their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder, when they visited India in 1911. Built in Indo-Saracenic style, the foundation stone for the Gateway of India was laid on 31 March 1911. The final design of George Wittet was sanctioned in 1914 and the construction of the monument was completed in 1924. The Gateway was later the ceremonial entrance to India for Viceroys and the new Governors of Bombay. It served to allow entry and access to India.
The monument has faced three terror attacks from the beginning of the 21st century; twice in 2003 and it was also the disembarkation point in 2008 when four gunmen attacked the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

CST Railway Station, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

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Mumbai CST
Station Code CSTM
Arrival and Departure Enquiry 131
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, earlier known as Victoria Terminus, is a UNESCO world heritage site and historic railway station which serves as the headquarters of the central railways in Mumbai, India and is the busiest railway station in India. The terminus serves central railway trains stop point in Mumbai and the Mumbai suburban railway as well. Mumbai CST, the western most terminus of central railway provides access to Khopoli, Dhanau, Karjat, Churchgate and Panvel.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Indian Railway Track, India

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Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Erode Railway Station, Erode (Dist), Tamil Nadu (India)

This picture is taken with a long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

CSI Church Main Entrance, Erode (Dist), Tamil Nadu (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Erode Junction, Erode (Dist), Tamil Nadu (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Erode Junction, Erode (Dist), Tamil Nadu (India)

This picture is taken with a long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Red Fort, Delhi (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode. The Red Fort is a 17th-century fort complex constructed by Rajput King, Prithviraj Chauhan in the walled city of Old Delhi (in present day Delhi, India), after defeat of Rajput it served as the residence of the Mughal Emperors. The fort was the palace for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's new capital, Shahjahanabad, the seventh city in the Delhi site. He moved his capital here from Agra in a move designed to bring prestige to his reign, and to provide ample opportunity to apply his ambitious building schemes and interests. It served as the capital of the Mughals until 1857, when Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British Indian government.
The fort lies along the Yamuna River, which fed the moats that surround most of the walls. The wall at its north-eastern corner is adjacent to an older fort, the Salimgarh Fort, a defence built by Islam Shah Suri in 1546. The construction of the Red Fort began in 1638 and was completed by 1648. The Red Fort has had many developments added on after its construction by Emperor Shah Jahan. The significant phases of development were under Aurangzeb and later under later Mughal rulers. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. The earlier Red Fort was built by Tomara king Anangpala, now known as the Qulb Mosque.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

India Gate, New Delhi (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in night mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

India Gate, New Delhi (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in night mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

India Gate, New Delhi (India)

This picture is taken with a long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in night mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

India Gate, New Delhi (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode. The India Gate is the national monument of India. Situated in the heart of New Delhi, it was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Originally, a statue of George V, Emperor of India stood under the now vacant canopy in front of the India Gate, but it was removed to Coronation Park together with a number of other British Raj-era statues. Following India's independence, the India Gate became the site of the Indian Army's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, known as Amar Jawan Jyoti ("the flame of the immortal soldier").

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kottayam (Dist), Kerala (India)

This picture is taken with a mid long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kottayam (Dist), Kerala (India)

This picture is taken with an extreme long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kottayam (Dist), Kerala (India)

This picture is taken with a long shot by Sony Cybershot 16x zoom digital camera in day time mode.

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary (16 km from Kottayam town, on the banks of the Vembanad Lake)

Main attractions: Local birds like the water fowl, cuckoo, owl, egret, herons and the water duck, as well as the migratory Siberian duck.

The best time to bird watch: Between June and August. (Migratory birds: November- February)

Boats: Houseboats and motor boats are available on hire for bird watching cruises on the lake.

Subin Sebastian

(Creative Photography)