walking through gold mohur

after a fun filled movie - jaane tu ya jaane na (dont miss the "pappu cant dance" song), my wife and i decide to treat ourselves to a kailash lassi - near dadar station, eastside.

walking down the lane from hindmata junction towards dadar station, we come across 2 textile mills.
on a whim, my wife walks into one (the Gold Mohur Textile Mill) and asks for a tour.
and surprise, surprise, the person there lets us a free unaccompanied walk through the premises.
it took some topping the JTyjn experience, but the 'mill walk-through' was amazing.
we saw the carding room. here is a carding machine. imagine standing in front of a football ground sized room filled with such machines. mind boggling. like this one.
and the classical iconic chimney. see the one at phoenix mills and a 3-in-1.
what an outstanding sight from right under it.
there is a lovely tank with tons of ujala-white swans.

gold mohur and 3 other mills were originally supposed to be sold to 'developers', but now there is a revival buzz. the guy there was certain that some mall is coming up there.

the story of the mumbai mills is pretty sad and depressing. these properties are at the center of the most severe pitched battles between the private developers, the government and the activists. here is a NDTV feature on the changing face of girangaon.
here are some vignettes from the net on this story, darryl d'monte's interview, the legendary datta samant, datta samant's interview
am waiting to read this book - One Hundred Years, One Hundred Voices: The Millworkers of Girangaon, An Oral History By Meena Menon and Neera Adarkar.