Mumbai’s one of the most posh localities, Bandra, known for housing celebrities and commercial hotspots like BKC, was once a cluster of 25 small villages. These were merged to form a village called Vaindre,
which over time evolved into the modern Bandra, according to an Instagram reel shared by anchor-influencer Prashant Dattatreya Rao.
“Until 1950, Bandra was not a part of Mumbai. Made by merging 25 small bastis, it formed into a village called Vaindre. Even today, the old village consists of regions like Sherli. Names like Ranwar and Chui still exist…The first inhabitants were the Koli, Agri, and Bhandari communities,” he explained the video now going viral on social media.
When Juhu Was An Island
Shedding light on Mumbai’s history, Rao shared that affluent locality Juhu, known as “Beverly Hills of Bollywood,” was once an island and relied on Bandra for drinking water.
“Residents travelled by boat for water to Bandra…..I am standing right now at Bandra Fort, the same place where the famous song ‘Aaj Kal Tere Khwab Mein Aati Ho’ was shot. Beside it lies Bandstand, where British army bands once held parades during colonial times. History feels alive here,” he said.
Story Of Mount Mary Church
On Bandra’s contemporary name, Rao highlighted that it comes from “Vandre,” and “Bandra” is a Portuguese adaptation. In 1570, Portuguese priests began religious conversions here. By 1650, most of Bandra village had converted to Christianity. They built a small chapel on a hill, which we now know as Mount Mary Church, he explained.
“In 1700, Arab pirates attacked Bandra and damaged the Mount Mary statue, breaking one arm. Villagers replaced the statue. Later, in 1761, the broken original statue was repaired. A detachable infant Jesus figure was added and placed in the church. That same statue can still be seen today,” Rao further said.
Bandra today remains one of the most expensive places to live in India and houses celebrities like Shahrukh Khan and Gauri Khan, Salman Khan and John Abraham. Even a modest 2 bedroom-flat can cost a minimum of Rs 2 crore here. However, Rao noted there was a time when one could buy a bungalow here for just Rs 5,000, highlighting the extraordinary journey of the locality.
