This August 15, rediscover Mumbai’s Independence Day spirit the way its people did in 1947. From using public transport to festive gatherings, heritage cafés to freedom landmarks, here’s how to relive the city’s first hours of freedom in 2025
Say it with the Tricolour. File pic/Aditi Haralkar
Rise and remember
File pic
Start your day at August Kranti Maidan (formerly known as Gowalia Tank) in Grant Road West, where Mahatma Gandhi delivered the historic “Quit India” speech on August 8, 1942. In 1947, crowds thronged this maidan with cheers and music. Today, it’s quieter; yet standing on that ground, you can still feel its revolutionary pulse.
Walk the Freedom Mile
File pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Stroll down what’s called Freedom Mile or Heritage Mile. Dadabhai Naoroji Road, named after India’s first nationalist Parliamentarian, saw celebrations when the city’s first Indian police commissioner, JS Bharucha, took charge. Pause at Horniman Circle, where the flag was hoisted in 1947. Admire Flora Fountain and look down to see tram tracks still cemented in.
Reflect at Mani Bhavan
Visit Mani Bhavan in Gamdevi, which was Gandhi’s Mumbai headquarters during key nonviolent movements. Though he left in 1934, the two-storey building remained a symbol of India’s moral commitment. On August 15, 1947, it is said that early crowds visited the site to pay tribute.
Dine where they used to
File pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Relish lunch at cafés that were serving Bombay when India became free. These spaces reflect the melange of post-Partition food culture, open to all castes after Gandhiji’s secular vision took hold. In 1947, these doors were a liberated space. Today, still a good reminder of how the city gathered as one.
Bade Miya, established in 1946, still slings its famed seekh kebab and Mughlai classics in the same corner.
Britannia & Co in Ballard Estate has existed since 1923 and offers Parsi fare amid vintage décor that’s survived decades of change.
Shree Thaker Bhojanalay in Kalbadevi opened before 1947 and still serves Gujarati thalis made, where your lunch, grain by grain, recalls years of tradition.
Pancham Puriwala grew from a small shop in 1848 to a restaurant that still serves puris. It has seen the Bombay Fort and Mumbai city evolve.
Sunset treat
File pic/Atul Kamble
End your day at CSMT’s viewing deck and marvel at the lit-up terminus and BMC building. Dressed in tricoloured lights, these structures come to life. Besides, there’s some beauty in observing them minus the hullabaloo of traffic around.
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