125 birthday bumps for Dombivli station

The densely populated suburb of Dombivli contributes significantly to Thane district, and had the highest population growth rate (35.9%) between 2001-11.

This year, on November 7, it will cross a milestone when its railway station turns 125. Dombivli railway station was built in 1886, 33 years after the first train ran between Mumbai and Thane.

Dombivli’s residents have begun preparations for the big day. Sudhir Joglekar, who is coordinating with local clubs and residents’ associations for the celebrations, said, “Dombivli conjures up images of a dormitory community which works hard to keep Mumbai running. Most of the staff hired by the Mantralaya is from here.”

Central Railway senior PRO, AK Singh, said that the railways have begun refurbishing the entire station and is and that it is among the top-ten revenue spinners. “We have a new building and a foot-over-bridge at the station. The platform’s height has been raised and the flooring work is almost done,” he told DNA. 

The first mention of Dombivli dates back to 1075, when King Harpal Dev referred to Dombivli on the stone inscriptions at Mahul village near the Turbhe Port.

“Other villages like Chole (now Thakurli) to the west, Aayre village on the east and Patharli in the south were more populated,” points out the 1950 treatise on the city Dombivli Shaharacha Itihaas (The History of Dombivli city) which adds, “The name Dombivli is derived from its inhabitants — the ‘Dombs’ (the ones who conduct Hindu cremation rites at the pyre).”

According to the book, the current name came into vogue with the arrival of the Portuguese who, unlike the Indians, did not consider the Dombs to be outcastes. It was only after the well-known trader of his times, Narayan Atmaram Patkar, settled down in Kopargaon near Dombivli in 1880, that others began to flock there.

“Construction of homes as residences for his staff soon began and workers grew, too,” recounts local historian Sunanda Oak who adds, “By the end of 19th century farmers began cultivating paddy which was sold from Kalyan to Mumbai.”

Apart from the local Agri (farmers) and Koli (fishing) community, the region saw steady growth in the Chitpavan community among the Maharashtrians, who brought in the culture of classical music and theatre. “Even now, Dombivili is considered the second cultural capital of the state after Pune,” points out Oak, adding that this was the first to start the concept of Shobha Yatras for the Hindu New Year Gudi Padva which have become a rage since. 

But there’s another side to Dombivli, too. The station may have been spruced, but beyond it lies a Dombivili that symbolises unplanned development. Local resident Sandeep Apte, 29, laughs about couriers and postmen who routinely give residents letters not marked in their name. “They request us to save them the trouble by handing them over through the kitchen windows since the buildings are soclose to each other,” he points out. “There is also the fear of disease due to poor sanitation. In 1990, 13 people lost their lives to the mysterious ‘Dombivli fever’.”

The way dormitory communities are forced to live in such these conditions actually inspired a movie called Dombivli Fast. The most telling scene of the movie is the climax when the protagonist, Madhav Apte, is shot in the train. An injured Madhav Apte asks the Inspector whether he can sit by the window once before dying.

“I’ve spent a lifetime travelling and rarely made it to the fourth seat,” he says.

Meanwhile, Dombivli residents are hopeful that the celebrations will highlight its gritty side, too. “There’s a way of life that this place represents. We should celebrate the ugly and the good. It will make others empathise with the place and its people,” said Surekha Chitnis a bank employee who runs a music class in the first class compartment of the 8:17 local she takes everyday.