The imposing Gateway of India is one of the most visited and photographed structures of Mumbai. And a visit to Mumbai is not complete without seeing the Gateway of India. It’s a pride of Mumbai and has its own importance in the history of this city and that of the country. It stands at the end of Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg at the Apollo Bunder that touches the Arabian Sea.

However, hardly anyone knows of the replica or a miniature of Gateway of India. This may sound confusing - but if one passes through the narrow lane of Bhendi Gully in Gamdevi, one can watch for this piece of heritage.

The replica of Gateway of India (right) at Gamdevi in Mumbai. Photo by Mrityunjay Bose/DHNS

The exact address: Yaswant Siddhi Raobahadur Desai Co-operative Housing Society Ltd, CS No: 1704, 2/1705, Bhendi Gully, Off Harishchandra Goregaonkar Marg, Gamdevi, Mumbai - 400007.

The building once used to be the ancestral home of Raobahadur Yeshwantrao Harishchandra Desai, the superintendent manager of Gateway of India. The six-foot-tall replica is located in the parking lot cum courtyard and is protected properly.

Suhas Desai and his wife Shobha, the descendants of Yeshwantrao, has preserved this miniature and a vintage lamp-post.

"The Gateway of India replica is properly protected," said Siddharth Fondekar, who conducts ’The Girgaon Chronicles’, a heritage walk of the area for Awestrich, that specialises in people, places and stories. "People do not know of this place but I feel it has its own importance," he said.

Yeshwantrao was also the supervisor of many other attractions in Mumbai like the Prince Wales Museum, Royal Institute of Science, General Post Office, Sir Cawasji Jehangir Public Hall and many others.

Gateway of India
The Gateway of India was built to celebrate and honour the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to India for their formal proclamation as Emperor and Empress of India at the Delhi Durbar in December 1911. The foundation stone for the monument was laid by Sir George Sydenham Clarke, the Governor of Bombay on 31 March 1911 at what was a crude jetty used by the fishing community.

A cardboard model of the proposed structure was presented to the Royal visitors and the final design of Scottish architect, George Wittet was sanctioned on 31 March 1914. The formal inauguration of the Gateway of India was done by the Viceroy of India, Rufus Isaacs, Earl of Reading, on 4 December 1924.

The Scottish architect George Wittet combined the elements of the Roman triumphal arch and the 16th-century architecture of Gujarat. Its design is a combination of Hindu and Muslim architectural styles; the arch is of Muslim style while the decorations are of Hindu style. The gateway is built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete.