The grand and Gothic-inspired building of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai is awe-inspiring at any time of the day. But when this UNESCO-listed world heritage site and the headquarters of Central Railway is lit up, it is simply stunning. Do click on the photograph below to see the details.
I came across the CST building, all lip up, a couple of Saturdays ago. It was around 7.30 pm and I was in a cab, homeward bound when suddenly CST appeared glowing like a jewel. I was lucky to get the red signal, which meant that I had time for a couple of quick photographs with my mobile phone, before the traffic surged ahead.
While I love to see monuments lit up and showing off their architecture, I really wish the colours are subtler and nicer. I found the pink and blue colours that light up CST quite garish and geared towards grabbing your eyeballs.
What are you think? Did you like the colours of CST? How do like your monuments lit up? Subtle? Eyeball grabbing? Thematic?
Do tell. 🙂
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Mumbai Lens is a photographic series which, as the name suggests, is Mumbai-centric and is an attempt to capture the various moods of the city through my camera lens. You can read more posts from this series here.
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Hey Sudha, I have seen the monument lit up in various colors – green, yellow, multi-colors and even colourless on some days. These colors on the picture look garish, but overall, I love that it is lit up. Even more, I love the crowd opposite the monument, happily clicking away at the pictures.
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Once I get over the colossal waste of electricity, I love the fact that monuments are lit up. I just wish it was aesthetically done. Pink, blue and yellow gold may look nice in a chaniya choli, but not on a building like this. A single colour, preferably white or soft yellow would look best.
In my travels, the lighting of two monuments come to mind immediately. The Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajasthan and the Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The former used yellow and the latter white. The effects were stunning.
I like looking at the people who stop to take pictures or just stare. 🙂
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Right. One day i will take the pictures of the people photographing CST.
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Love the pic, makes me miss my hometown 😦
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Welcome here, Leena. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. 🙂
Mumbai send its love to you and hopes that you will visit her soon.
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I love the picture Sudha even though like you said the colors were a little garish. But I think they are bright to catch our attention 😉 Its beautiful!
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In the case, the purpose of lighting the monument is solved. See, I even wrote about it ! 😉 😛
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Good click by you, especially since you were in a cab! 🙂 I’ve seen the beautiful Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus lit up in gold, purple and blue before. My favourite is it lit up in this mesmerizing emerald – https://goo.gl/JfwTwU . One can never get enough of this monument!
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Welcome to ‘My Favourite Things’, NairJP, and thank you so much for stopping by and commenting.
The cab was stationary when I took this photo, thanks to a red signal. Now you know why the click was decent enough. I have seen CST lit up only once before in the colours of the Indian flag. I didn’t particularly like it, but it was definitely better than the one that I have shared here.
Thanks for sharing the photograph of the green-lit CST. It is stunning. Eerie and mysterious. Made me think of the Slytherins from Harry Potter immediately, though !
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Wow! That is indeed a wonderful photograph! The railway station is a marvellous architectural splendour even at daytime. Simply beautiful!
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Thank you, Ajish. The CST building is stunning and when you see the individual details, you begin to appreciate it even more. 🙂
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Looks beautiful in the night.
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That it does. I think architecturally and with the minute details, no other building in Mumbai represents the city as much as CST building. 🙂
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The colours are a bit like we are in the midst of holi not diwali! 😉 Personally I love monuments that keep to highlighting in a single hue… a warm white or golden tone… I absolutely loved how Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort was lit up and the view from Raas Haveli. Our CST….? Not so much my style though I love the building.
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Holi? 😀 I laughed so much when I read that, but you’re right. I don’t know why these colours were chosen.
I haven’t seen Mehrangarh Fort lit up, but I have seen Kumbhalgarh Fort lit up. It was a full moon night and the gold of the fort and silver of the moon in an otherwise pitch black darkness remains unforgettable.
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Heheh – glad I could amuse. 😉 The Kumbhalgarh Fort sounds fabulous!
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I find it a little garish. But yes, there’s something magical about CST. It makes me take a deep breath, stand back and take in the view with awe each time I see it.
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Yup, garish or not, CST is still a stunner. One upon a time I would see it everyday. Then there came a time when I wouldn’t see it for weeks, sometimes months. These days, I see it every Saturday and my heart does a little flip when I see it. 🙂
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I’m quite biased when it comes to Mumbai and CST, how I’d enjoy watching it in the cab, during the day and at night. I love it and even more when I am no longer in India. I am quite subjective but love reading it. The magic of Mumbai and iconic CST:)
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You’re in good company, Vishal. I’m quite biased when it comes to Mumbai as well. 🙂 But pink and blue on a building is a bit too much to take. 😛
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Yeah, a little garish. I reckon just warm white will be just as spectacular..
P.S. I like that picture above – the one with the pine cone 🙂
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A warm white or a soft yellow would be perfect, though I wouldn’t mind this green as well: https://goo.gl/JfwTwU
That pinecone picture is one of the headers offered by WordPress for this theme.
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I would have preferred subtle yellow lighting highlighting the niches and gargoyles in its shadow. These colors make it look like a dandiya setup 🙂 or maybe, that was the intent… “Festive colors” ?
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Dandiya, eh? Maybe that was the intent for I though that pink and blue combination would be perfect for a lehenga 😛
Did you see this one: https://goo.gl/JfwTwU
PS: A very warm welcome to “My Favourite Things”, Venkatesh. Hope to see you around here more often. 🙂
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I totally agree with you! For every Mumbaikar and people from outside who visit this city, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus has been an important site to see. The lightning done on various special occasions gives a unique charm to it. Also, the mind blowing click oozes the beauty of the place.
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A warm welcome to my blog, Revathi. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Glad to have your vote on my side. I hope someone from Central Railway is reading this post and the comments and taking note of it. 😉
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Hi,
i likes your blog and i regularly follow your post, every time you give us useful information that help us lot, thanks for sharing your views.
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Thank you very much, Manoj. Do keep visiting and reading the posts on my blog. 🙂
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