Crawford Market

Probably the last bastion of British Bombay, poised between the two worlds — the Fort and the bylanes of the old town. The structure is a cross between Flemish and Norman architecture with a bas-relief depicting Indian peasants in wheat fields just above the main entrance.

The frieze was designed by Lockwood Kipling, father of British novelist Rudyard Kipling. He designed the fountain inside the market as well, but today it is barely visible, squashed under mounds of apples and mangoes.

Crawford Market covers an area of 72000 square yards and was built of coarse Coorla rubble, relieved by bright redstone from Bassein. The Arthur Crawford Market was built during the tenure of Arthur Crawford as Bombay’s Municipal Commissioner.

The market was renamed Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market after a famous social reformer and houses a wholesale fruit and vegetable market, poultry, fish and meat stalls and a few stalls selling smuggled goods like Mars, Toblerone and Kraft cheese.

During summer, the market smells of sweet mangoes as the King of Fruits swarms the place. If you happen to frequent this part of Mumbai city during summer, drop in at Badshah Juice Centre for a mango milkshake. You won’t regret it.

The market is situated opposite the Mumbai Police headquarters, just north of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station and west of the J.J. flyover at a busy intersection.