Tracing the places of worship with ancient roots in Thane Ghodbunder.

Ghodbunder has a rich history dating back to the pre-Portuguese era when it was the hub of horse-trading. Horses were the commodity and they would be bought all the way from the Arab world and traded here while spices, cotton, salt as well as one of the local fabric would be exported. The ease of navigation in Thane creek where the Ulhas river flows and gets merged into the Arabian sea aided in developing trade and commerce. Portuguese fortified the area, remnants of various fortifications still exist like Ghodbunder fort, Gaimukh fort  (now it's a church), Nagla bunder fort (in ruins) as well as Thane fort (now a jail). All along the banks of Thane creek, there have been many villages like Ghodbunder village, Chene village, Waghbil, Kolshet, Majiwada, etc which have been very old settlements. As people settled here, they built places of worship. Today these religious places over a period of time have undergone renovation or have been rebuilt but traces of heritage or deities which have a lot of archaeological significance can be still be found. I have been exploring these religious places with ancient roots and have documented a few of them here.

Ruins of Portuguese era church: Inside the Ghodbunder fort lies the ruins of an ancient church built by the Portuguese, What is unique about the church is its dome-like shape and minarets which clearly shows the Islamic architecture influence which comes from the fact that Nizamshahi troops would regularly pass by the creek. A small dargah also stands close to the church.

The church entrance wall has two engraved angels which can still be seen. Unfortunately, the church lost its importance post-British era and was in fact converted into a hotel that was functional from 1960 to as late as 1975. Today the church cum hotel lies in shambles.

Shree Amruteshwar Shiva temple: Ghodbunder village is also home to a self-manifested Shiva Linga temple. This 300 years old temple was in fact constructed by Shri Babul Seth - grandfather of the great philanthropist and one of the major landlords of Bombay during the British era Shri Jagannath Shankerseth. He had moved from Murbad near Kalyan to Ghodbunder village to do business and constructed his house and the temple. His bungalow is not existing now but the temple still stands and has a dome-shaped structure along with small minarets which is a blend of Indo Islamic architecture.

The temple interiors have still retained old architecture like wooden pillars, wooden frames in the ceiling, and wooden partitions which are seen typically in Konkan temple architecture.

There is a unique stone idol of Goddess Ganga which is a rarity. Also, there are many old idols of other gods and goddesses located within the temple premises. 

Ghormal - Our lady of hope church: On the road leading to Nagla Bunder near Vadavli on a small hillock lies a small church. It is believed that the Gaimukh fort used to exist here which was converted into a private chapel by the Franciscans around or before 1630. During the Maratha conquest of 1737, the chapel was destroyed and lay in ruins for a long time.

Villagers from nearby villages and from as far as Vasai, Kashimira, and Bainel would travel in bullock carts and horse carts for Sunday feast and then picnic with the family under the shade of the forest. For a long time, the church was without any roof. Later in the 19th century, some parishioners got together to construct the church roof and steps to reach the top of the hillock. The church was completely renovated in 1995. 

Today the church has nice decorated interiors with two large mosaic tiles artwork and a mural on the ceiling of the altar. A small dargah also lies in the garden outside the church entrance.

Posh Mata temple: This is a very old and discrete temple located at Bhaiyender pada on the main Ghodbunder road and houses a very beautiful idol. The temple is known as the Poshmatra dev temple but locals have also been worshipping it as Posh Mata temple. What is unique about this temple is its main deity idol carved in stone. The idol in the standing position is some warrior god with a weapon in the hand and a large pendant worn on the neck. 

The idol is seen wearing unique headgear and has a belt worn on frill type of attire from waist below. The temple also has five smaller idols placed along the walls next to the main idol. From the outside, one would never realize that temple houses such a unique deity and a wonderful heritage.

Ram Temple of Kasarvadavli: The temple is located at a distance of 5-10 minutes off the main Ghodbunder road near a small lake. It is said to be around 250 years old temple dedicated to Lord Ram but also has multiple shrines. The main attraction here is an idol of Lord Vishnu which is in a sleeping position on top of his serpent, the avatar of Vishnu is known as "Shesh Narayan". It is believed that such an idol is presumably the only one of its kind in the entire Maharashtra state. Shesh Narayan is worshipped in the South of India where many temples are dedicated to this lord. Locals themselves don't know how and when was the idol placed here.

Shendoba temple of Vadavli: Shendoba is a deity that has been worshipped by the shepherd, hunters community since ancient times along with other deities like Khandoba and Kolomba. The one of its kind temple of this deity lies hidden on a small hillock behind upcoming high-rise building projects. The temple is located in a very serene environment on a hill and can be reached by a series of steps. Locals confirm that they have been worshipping the deity for generations and are quite old. Though the temple has been completely redone in recent years it retains the two original deity stones which are self-manifested but it is smeared in vermillion from all years and idol figures have disappeared completely.

The temple has an arrangement in the courtyard for doing sacrificial offerings and even a traditional kitchen space outside to cook. So many locals do come here with families for animal sacrifices and feast on the offerings. But the courtyard is beautiful with trees providing shade and benches put all over and top it with the view of Ulhas river flowing at a distance and an uninterrupted view of open agricultural land around the temple. It makes it a serene and peaceful place. 

Janki Devi temple of Vartak Nagar:  This is yet another very old temple dedicated to a goddess whose idol is said to be self-manifested. The original temple traces back to the Shilahara dynasty which ruled over Thane from the 8th to the 13th century. This temple was destroyed during the Portuguese rule and was reconstructed by the locals later. 

The goddess is known as gaondevi of Majiwada. The idol of the temple is situated few meters below ground level of the sanctum. The temple is also said to have sheltered the famous saint Ramdas whose bust lies in the temple courtyard.

Ruins of Portuguese era church: Just outside the Janki Devi temple there is a huge open ground that has an interesting structure that is taken over by nature. One can see trees growing on the walls. It is a ground fort also known as Bhui-kot which also for a period of time served as a church during the Portuguese era. 

The church lies completely in ruins with only four walls. Some motifs on the walls and two huge cross which is clearly a later addition to the two large entrances are seen today. The land has some ownership issues with church authority and the temple trust. But due to sheer neglect unfortunately the kot is today in complete shambles and places are full of garbage dumped by nearby localities.

Chirma Devi temple: This tribal goddess temple is located 2kms off the main Ghodbunder Road near Haware city which is on the fringes of the National park boundary. The temple deity is mainly worshipped by the Adivasis living in the small hamlets inside the forest area. 

The main idol is of the goddess while there are two more stone idols which seem to be broken remnant of a large idol. One of the idols has a leopard or tiger figurine indicating that it could be the forest god Waghoba.

Waghyadev temple at Konkanipada: Konkanipada is one of the many tribal hamlets located inside or on the fringes of Thane national park. Inside the forest area close to the hamlet lies a very interesting temple of a deity protecting the forest and its people known as Waghoba. Big cats have been worship has been an age-old tradition of the forest-dwelling community. The deity of Waghoba is carved on wood and has a figurine of a big cat smeared in vermillion. There are few such tribal deities temple across the states but to find it in heart of Mumbai city is a rare thing.

These are just a handful of places of worship whose roots trace back a few centuries and I am sure this is not the end of the list. There may be many more with interesting tales and heritage values. It just needs to be highlighted so that we can better preserve them for the future.