By the middle of the 19th century, the area known as Bombay Green had become what sources call “a dump of debris and coconut shells.” In 1869, a police commissioner called Forjett proposed that the city convert the sp...
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By the middle of the 19th century, the area known as Bombay Green had become what sources call “a dump of debris and coconut shells.” In 1869, a police commissioner called Forjett proposed that the city convert the space into a large garden surrounded by grand buildings. The garden was completed in 1872, and named Elphinstone Circle after then-governor Lord Elphinstone (who we kind of can’t believe isn’t a character in Lord of the Rings), before becoming Horniman Circle Gardens in honor of Benjamin Horniman, the pro-independence editor of the Bombay Chronicle Newspaper. Today the buildings surrounding the park house India’s premier banks, as well as the Asiatic Society of Mumbai. Boasting meticulously-maintained walkways and a funky art-deco type pipe sculpture (every public park needs a good art deco-type pipe sculpture), the park is a welcome expanse of green in a concrete-filled city. With a long history as a concert venue, Horniman Circle also hosts Ruhaniyat, the annual All India Sufi & Mystic Music Festival. If you go, be on the lookout for elphinstones lurking in the bushes.
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