Shivaji Park turns 100: Mumbai's jewel nurtured generations of cricketers, Mallakhamb gymnasts

Growing up as a millennial in  Mumbai, I distinctly remember the significant role played by Mumbai's shiniest jewel, the huge Shivaji Park ground, in my life. In the 90s, when life was simpler and we had no 'screen time,' I and my brother would frequently go on outings with my grandmother, and most of these, practically every public celebration, community festival, post-school garden time and just 'hanging out' would take place here. It was our happy place. 

I especially remember the nine-day mela during Navratri leading up to Dussehra with so much fondness - to witness the death of evil while standing humbly in a sea of humanity; the ground would be packed with people from faraway places joining in the revelry. 

And then, of course, the cricket frenzy that really made Shivaji Park what it is today. It gave us legends, an entire line-up of them, from Sachin Tendulkar who quite literally became our 'God' to his equally established predecessors Ajit Agarkar, Vinod Kambli, Sandeep Patil, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar. Those pictures of a young Sachin learning the ropes and acing his game under the guidance of his late coach Shri Ramakant Achrekar inspired many a generation of young and budding cricketers and continue to do so even today. 

No conversation around Shivaji Park can ever move ahead without a mention of how it provided a fertile ground for passionate gymnasts of Mallakhamb, who've been at it for close to 75 years now. "We have been here for these many years that the history of Shree Swami Samarth Vyayam Mandir is as old as the history of this ground itself. We two, go a long way," says Padma Shri Uday Deshpande, the founder/owner of the Vyayam Mandir who's credited with taking the sport of Mallakhamb, international, to the Paris Olympics last year. 

"But an uplift for Shivaji Park is long due," says Smita Vinchurkar, a photographer who's grown up in the area and continues to be a regular. "I have been coming here for my evening post-work walks ever since I first began working. And even before that, I would often frequent Shivaji Park with my mother, when she'd hang around with her circle of friends. And then again, we'd visit the small temple inside the Park which now looks quite fancy," adds the 47-year-old who lives just a few blocks away.  

A training session at the park | Vishnu V Nair

Both, fitness influencer Ankita Konwar and her celebrity husband Milind Soman, too, swear by Shivaji Park and the vibes it provides for fitness enthusiasts like them. In an earlier interview with THE WEEK, Konwar said that the place has become an integral aspect of her daily exercise regimen, as it "simply lets her be," and it is the vibe that the ground offers, which is "unmissable and addictive." 

Dev Shah, a 12-year-old school student from Matunga and a "crazy cricket buff" is a regular at the cricket academy at Shivaji Park, four times a week and would not trade his time here with anything, he insists. "I love it here. I cannot imagine playing cricket anywhere else except here because this is where the action is. My coach and all my teammates here are the best and I get to learn so much. When my idol, the god of cricket played here on this very ground, I had no reason to not travel here all the way from home. Shivaji Park is the place to be for any cricketer in the country and I'm lucky I can be here literally every week," he says with all the enthusiasm he can muster.   

Sadly, as the ground celebrates 100 years this year, it has been making headlines for dust pollution. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and BMC  are now set to carry out greening of the ground through grass plantation as the untethered red soil and fine particles that make up for the ground, pollute the air, leading people to protest. Those who've seen the ground up close over the years, hope it soon gets "proper lights, more washrooms and changing rooms, water counters and spectator seats."