Make this Republic Day memorable by going on a shrine hop and acquainting yourself with many religious places in Mumbai
Mumbaiites are not new to heritage walks, birdwalks and even chai walks in the city. But it’s the first time we hear of a shrine hop and we are intrigued. And considering the city’s bursting with shrines belonging to various faiths and religions, we also wonder why no one thought of it before. On January 26, Manjari Verma and Avani Patel of Broken Compass, a venture that provides unique travel experiences to people, are offering a chance to others to visit some of the numerous religious places that dot the city’s landscape.
The Haji Ali Dargah at Worli is one of the places the shrine hop will cover during the walk
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“Mumbai is such a cosmopolitan city and it has so many shrines belonging to various faiths. When we were thinking of doing a day walk in the city, this was the one thing that kept coming up, so we decided to do a shrine hop,” says Patel. The co-founders of Broken Compass also thought that it would be interesting for people to re-connect with the city and acquaint themselves with places they might never have looked at with interest before. “On weekends, most people in Mumbai go for movies or catch up with friends. I’m sure nobody on their own, will go and visit shrines on a weekend. This is a great way for people to get acquainted with the city they live in,” says Verma.
The four-hour-long walk will comprise a visit to places like Knesseth Eliahoo Synagogue; St Thomas Cathedral; Banganga Tank; Babu Amichand Pannalal Adishwarji Jain Temple; Parsi Towers of Silence; Babulnath temple; ISKON; Mahalakshmi Temple; Sadhu Bela Ashram; Haji Ali Dargah; Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Temple; Magen David Synagogue; Tiphereth Israel Synagogue and Mumbadevi Temple. “As the places are far from each other, we will arrange for a vehicle to take people there,” informs Verma.
A group of 10 people will be accompanied by Anjali Tolani, a professional from the travel industry, who will dole out nuggets of information regarding these place. “The talk won’t delve deep into the religion itself, but will be a bit about the origins of the faith, the architecture and design of the shrines among other things of interest to people,” adds Patel. As a policy, Broken Compass does not repeat its walks, but the duo say that they may consider doing another shrine hop if they get more enquiries.
When: January 26, 9 am-2 pm
Duration: 4-5 hours
Fee: R1,500 inclusive of travel
Registration: Last day to register
January 24
email: info@brokencompass.in or call Manjari Verma on 9819355116
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