Borivli

Borivali Borivli
Neighborhood
View of Borivali skyline from Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Borivali Location of Borivali in Mumbai
Coordinates: 19°14′N 72°52′E / 19.23°N 72.86°E / 19.23; 72.86Coordinates: 19°14′N 72°52′E / 19.23°N 72.86°E / 19.23; 72.86
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Mumbai
City	Mumbai
Population (1991)
• Total	600,000
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	MH-02 MH-47
Lok Sabha constituency	Mumbai North
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Borivali Magathane

Borivali (Marathi: बोरीवली) or Borivli is a neighborhood located in north-west Mumbai. Borivali is approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Mumbai Airport. The estimated population of Borivali in 2010 was 513,077.

Borivali was developed of what once used to be a congregate region of smaller towns namely; Eksar, Poisar, Vazira , Shimpoli, Mandpeshwar, Kanheri, Tulsi, Magathane and others, which were situated on and around Mount Poinsur, between the Dahisar River and Poisar River.

It is believed that the name "Borivali" comes from existence of a lot of bushes of a sweet fruit called "Borr(Marathi)" meaning berries in English. Hence, named the town of berries literally 'bori-vali'. The existence of the ancient temple of Lord Ganesha "Shree Svayambhu Ganpati devalaya" in Vazira naka area, meaning the 'self manifested ' or the 'one that is created from its own accord' in Hinduism and Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, at Mt. Poinsur, Christian church are the true examples of the mix of ethnicity and vibrant cultural mix of the population living here since ages.

The pre-historic era's "Mandpeshwar" and "Kanheri caves" stand a testament to the rich history of this place. Borivali was spelt 'Berewlee' by the then ruled India under the British Raj Era. It is also spelled and pronounced as "Borivli".

Borivali is lush green still even after being populated densely due to the presence of "The Sanjay Gandhi National Park" (SGNP), previously known as the "BORIVALI NATIONAL PARK" in east and the lush mangroves in the west end of Borivali .

Borivali was once inhabited by various ethnic groups who had huge parcels of lands and cultivated fruit orchards and were called "wadis" simply meaning orchard in Marathi. Almost all the land here was rich and fertile, suitable for agriculture and cultivation of fruits; especially mangoes (Aamba), sapota (Chickoos), coconut trees (Naaral) are abundant here.

Other than this it was also a fishing haven due to its proximity to the local "Gorai" beach. Gorai beach is one of the hidden gems of Mumbai city, less populated and still cleaner than most of its counterparts.

Borivali boasts a shopping mall, one of the earliest in Mumbai, called "Indraprastha" Due to trade and urbanization,Borivali has emerged as one of the major neighborhoods after Bandra, Andheri, due to its rail, road network and airport connectivity and development of schools, colleges, offices and industries during the last 40 years.