Bhendi Bazaar
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Through Bazaar, Okra and British Raj
There are other markets surrounding Bhendi Bazaar such as Crawford Market (Phule Market), Chor Bazaar, Nul Bazaar, and other smaller ones.
Etymology
A theory posits that name comes from the British living on the southern division of the Crawford Market (or Crawford Bazaar), who used to call the northern side of Crawford Market - "behind the Bazaar", which the local people started calling Bhindi or Bhendi Bazaar (phonetically similar to the Indian term for Okra - bhindi).
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History
During the British Raj, Bhendi Bazaar was built as a labor camp for workers, engaged in the development of Bombay, to stay in. The buildings of the labor camp were later sold to private owners who in turn accommodated tenants based on the local pagri system.
As of 2011, the area is set to be revamped with the project being undertaken by the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust initiated by Mohammed Burhanuddin, head of the Dawoodi Bohra community.
Demographics and culture
Bhendi Bazaar is primarily a Muslim-populated area, home to Muslims with origins in all parts of India, especially Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and northern India. Shop-owners and hawkers in this market belong to different religious groups.
Old streets like Saifee Jubilee Street, Khara Tank Road, Dhabu Street (now called Raudat Tahera Street), Pakmodia Street, Zainabia Marg, Tokra Gulli, 1st Cooper Street, 2nd Cooper Street, 3rd Cooper Street, and Chor Bazaar (consisting of Mutton Street and Chimna Butcher street) are populated by Bohri Muslims of the Dawoodi Bohra (a sect of Ismaili Shia Islam) among other Muslim sects.
The area houses Raudat Tahera, the mausoleum of the 51st and 52nd Dai-al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras, Taher Saifuddin and Mohammed Burhanuddin. Bhendi Bazaar has the first two wing high-story tower of its own named Al-Saadah.
Bhendi Bazaar is famous for the food delicacies that it has to offer, it has been called 'A Glutton's Guide To Mumbai's Best Bohri Mohalla Food Joints'. A 2010 Bollywood film, Bhindi Bazaar, was shot in the area.
The famous Bollywood singer Mohammad Rafi lived in Bhendi Bazaar when he moved to Bombay from Lahore in the early 1940s. Rafi started his career in playback singing whilst living in a small apartment in Bhendi Bazaar.