Girgaum

Girgaon गिरगाव Girgaum
Neighbourhood
Girgaon back road, c. 1905
Girgaon
Coordinates: 18°57′11″N 72°48′47″E / 18.953°N 72.813°E / 18.953; 72.813Coordinates: 18°57′11″N 72°48′47″E / 18.953°N 72.813°E / 18.953; 72.813
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
Metro	Mumbai
Elevation	12 m (39 ft)
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	400004

Girgaon, also spelt formerly Girgaum, is an area in southern Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. The culture in Girgaon is diverse and varied. Like most areas of cosmopolitan Mumbai, residents span diverse languages, religions, traditions, festivals, and attire. Girgaon occupies prime residential real estate due to increasing demand just because of its prominent location in South Mumbai. The Sanskrit term "Giri" stands for hills, whereas the Sanskrit word "gram" denotes a village. Thus, Girgaon means a village at the foothill of mountains. A birds' eye view from the top of Malabar Hill will justify this etymological finding.

Khetwadi, originally an area with a sparse population living off agriculture and plantations, developed in the mid-19th century with the widening of Parel road and the Girgaon road (then called the Breach Candy Road). In 1839, Grant Road was completed, leading to migration of a large number of people into this area. Girgaon got its own station much later at Charni Road which was opened in the year 1867. Today it has become a hub for diamond traders and wholesalers of almost all the traditional businesses.

There are a large number of temples in this area. The most well-known is Thakurdwar, built by the ascetic Atmaram Baba, who died in 1838. The Kalbadevi temple, dedicated to Kali, was moved to its present site from its original location in Mahim during the rule of the Gujrati sultans. The Dadi Seth Agiary was built in 1783, the Hormusji Wadia Fire temple in 1839.

Each area of Girgaon follows its own customs. Communities like the Marathi-speakers, Gujarati, Konkani, Jains, Marwaris, Christians, and Hindus follow their own customs and rituals. They celebrate different festivals, follow different customs for birth, marriage, death, and other important events. Therefore, while it is easy to sense that Girgaon is different from other societies, it is very difficult to define conclusively what is essentially Girgaon or to see how such a diversity of peoples and cultures can be related to one another.