A Am Chi Mumbai

AAMCHI MUMBAI a Mumbaikar’s heart-throb

Disclaimer This presentation is simply a compilation of information gathered from various sources (books, internet). We are not the authors of any piece of information & due credit goes to all those who did research & made this information available for mankind. The images used in this presentation are also downloaded from various sites on the internet & due credit goes to the respective creators of these images.

The Origin of Mumbai 

Made up of seven isles: Kolbhat (Colaba), Palva Bunder (renamed by British as Apollo Bunder), Mazgaon (derived from Sanskrit word Matsya Gram – fishing village, Parel, Mahim, Worli, Chhota Kolbhat (little Colaba). The bigger island in the North of Mumbai islands was Sashti (renamed by Portuguese as Salsette), also constituted of seven other smaller islands. And the other island to the East was Turbhe (called as Trombay by Portuguese)

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Deep-sea fishermen called the Kolis and salt makers called the Aagris were the chief inhabitants

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The name Mumbai was derived from the form of Maha Amba (Great Mother) Mumbadevi, worshipped by the Kolis

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The Mumbadevi temple was built originally by a Koli in 14th century atop Dongri hill. The temple miraculously escaped destruction during the Muslim & Portuguese rules. But British demolished it in 18th century. It was rebuilt at Pydhonie by a goldsmith, Pandurang Shivaji Sonar

A Kolin selling fish

Mumbadevi Mandir

Ancient Period 

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Artifacts found near Kandivali shows evidence of human civilisation since 250 BC 300 BC: Maurya Empire (Kanheri caves, Mahakali Caves, Mandapeshwar caves). Kanheri is derived from the word Krishnagiri (means black mountain in Sanskrit). The present Sanjay Gandhi National Park also existing in this era & was earlier called Krishnagiri National Park 185 BC: Satvahanas of Telgu region ruled the islands along with Konkan coast 1st century : Satvahana, then Shaka era AD 415, Traikutaka, Kalachuri dynasty (coins of the Kalachuri king Krishnaraja were found in the village Kavel present day Kalbadevi road) build the Jogeshwari caves dedicated to Lord Shiva 6th – 7th century: Chalukya dynasty (king Pulakeshin) established their capital on Gharapuri island 9th - 12th century : Shilahara era (Elephanta caves, Walkeshwar temple, Banganga Tank, Ambarnath temple). The Walkeshwar temple was destroyed by the Portuguese & rebuilt by Rama Kamath in 1715

Gharapuri Caves (called as Elephanta by Portuguese) (900 AD)

Mahakali Caves (300 BC), Andheri Jogeshwari Caves

Medieval Period 

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13th century: When Devgiri was besieged by the invader Allaudin-Khilji, Raja Bhimdev the son of Ramdev (the Yadav king of Devgiri), established his capital Mahikawati on isle of Mahim. Raja Bhimdev & his son Pratap Bimb transformed the island into a city of temples & settlements flourishing with plantations, fishing hamlets & vegetal cover, groves & woods, during the 13th century. 15th century: Mohemmedan invader Mubarak Shah destroyed many temples & cities after defeating Raja Nagardev in a battle at Byculla and thus conquered Mumbai. The Haji Ali tomb & the Mahim mosque were built around this time 16th century : Portuguese defeated the Muhameddans in a battle near the Bandra creek. They imposed their feudal system on the natives, demolished temples & built churches in their place. The temple of Walkeshwar & Mahalakshmi were cast down. In 1661, during the marriage treaty of Infanta Catherine of Portugal with Charles II of Britain, Portugal handed over the islands of Mumbai to Britain as dowry, but retained Sashti islands In the year 1668, the English East India Company took over the command of these money-minting islands under a lease agreement of 10 Pounds per annum In 1737 Sashti was captured from the Portuguese by the native Marathas, but finally lost it to the British in 1774, and was formally ceded to the East India Company in the 1782 Treaty of Salbai

View of the ghat, Banganga tank & ancient temple of Walkeshwar

Major Settlements of Mumbai 

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During the Shilahar era (800-1000AD) GharaPuri (present day Elephanta) was the capital and flourishing trade center was established in sashti island During Raja Bhimdev’s reign the main inhabitants were various Maharashtrian castes viz. Palshis, Pachkalshis, Kunbis, Bhandaris, Vadvals, Bhois, Agris, Pathare Prabhus and Brahmins. The Bhandaris were originally toddy trappers; the Vadvals were gardeners The Portuguese had the primary goal of proselytizing rather than development of mumbai. They carried conversion in the area of Caval, Chaul, Bassein & Thane, thus introducing Christianity in this region. The Hindus (primarily konkanis) who did not succumb to the oppressions for conversions, migrated to other parts of Mumbai & thus Konkanis became a part of the oldest inhabitants of Mumbai. During the 17th century, Parsis were one of the earliest immigrants to move to Mumbai. The Parsi community has contributed significantly to the development of the nation. Famous Parsis are Dadabhai Naoroji, Jemshetji Tata, Ratan Tata. The printing press was introducted to Mumbai by Bhimji Parikh, a Parsi trader in 1670 In 1757, Kamathis, construction workers from Andhra Pradesh arrived here and set up base. The region was the low-lying area near present day Mahalaxmi. The region became known as Kamathipura. Around the same time, many Gujrathis, Kathiawaris, Kutchis & marwaris arrived to mumbai to oversome droughts & famine in their homeland. These communities spearheaded the development of commerce & trade in the city Almost all settlements were largely along the religious lines. For e.g. locality of pydhonie physically sperated Hindu & Muslim settlements The Sindhis who were a resident of the state of Sindh, lost their homes during the partition since and took shelter in Mumbai & settled in Sindhunagar (Ulhasnagar) & contributed to the progress of trade & commerce.

Greater Mumbai Reclaimed from the Sea 

In 1782 William Hornby, then Governor of Bombay Presidency, initiated the Hornby Vellard project of connecting the isles, despite resistance from East India Company. By 1845 the seven southern islands had been connected to form Old Mumbai, with an area of 435 sq.km. Railway viaducts and road bridges were built in the 19th century to connect Mumbai island to Sashti, and Sashti to the mainland. The old railway bridges over the Bhayandar & Naigaon creeks can still be seen from the Virar locals. The channels separating Mumbai and Turbhe islands from Sashti Island were filled in the early 20th century.

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The present day area from Bandra to Dahisar are a part of Sashti island. The ancient Kanheri caves, Jogeshwari caves, Mahakali caves fall in this region

(right): Mumbai after reclamation (left): Fort area after reclamation

Fact: It took 60 yrs (17841845) to merge the 7 islands of Mumbai into one landmass

British Raj (1700–1947 AD) As per the legend, 1784, when the Hornby Project kept failing to fill the breach at worli, the chief engineer, a Pathare Prabhu, dreamt of Goddess Lakshmi in the sea near Worli. He searched the waters & actually found an idol of the Goddess & built the Mahalakshmi temple in the sea. Only then did the Hornby Project work resumed without failures Right: Mahalakshmi mandir Marine Drive, 1930

Below: Rajabai Towre under construction: Mumbai University Building & Rajabhai tower, standing 260 ft tall and endowed with amazing sculptures, it was financed by Cotton entrepreneur and banker Premchand Roychand in the late 19th century

Some Old Memories Kalbadevi Road

Oval Maiden, check the Rajabai Tower in the backgrond

Carnac Road, now renamed as Tilak Marg – notice the Crawford market in the back ground

Some Old Memories Queens Road

Church gate station with Marine drive in the background

View from Malabar hill

Bullock cart on Mumbai streets

Mumbai and Indian Independence • •

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Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 in a hall overlooking the Gowalia Tank Maidan In the historical trial of Bal Gangadhar Tilak under the Bombay High Court (for charges of sedition put forth by british), Tilak spoke out to the world as to what was in the minds of the Indian people - “Swaraj (independence) is my birthright and I shall have it”. This statement aroused a sleeping nation to action making them aware of their political plight under foreign rule Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, arrived in Bombay in 1915 after giving a spirited fight against inhuman apartheid in South Africa and thus the concept of “Swadeshi”, “Ahimsa” & “Satyagraha” were introduced in India In 1921 (after the death of Tilak) Mumbai’s citizens contributed over Rs. 1 crore to “Tilak Swaraj Fund” which gave a immense boost to entire freedom struggle The Quit India Movement took off from Mumbai on August 7, 1942 by the Congress Party in a public meeting at Gowalia Tank Maidan (now renamed August Kranti maidan). The Mumbai Mutiny of 18th Feb 1946 marked the first and most serious revolt by the Indian military personnel of the Western naval fleet against the British rule. From the initial flashpoint in Mumbai, the mutiny spread and found support through India, from Karachi to Calcutta and ultimately came to involve 78 ships, 20 shore establishments and 20,000 sailors. This is was the last straw that broke the camel’s back and forced the mighty British empire to finally announce India’s independence

First Indian National Congress, 1885

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Freedom Fighter, Editor, Social Reformer

Gowalia Tank (The tank has been buried and a ground created over it)

Interesting Nomenclature (origins) … Some of the earlier most inhabitants were Kolis (whose major occupation was fishing), Agris (salt-makers), Bhandaris (who were toddy trappers), Vadvals or Malis (were gardeners). Thus there were a variety plantations on the islands which gave name to quite a few places in mumbai.  Elephanta island – original name was Gharapuri (or Puri, place of caves), which was called by Portuguese as Elephanta after seeing a monolithic basalt sculpture of an elephant at the entrance. The britishers made a failed attempt to move take the elephant to British museum (fortunately their crane broke down and the elephant today sits just outside the buyculla zoo)  Dhobi Talao – washerman’s pond until 17th century, its been buried since then  Parel – derived from the Parali Vaijanath Mahadev temple of the 13th century dedicated to Shiva. The Portuguuese demolished this & built a Jesuit church & convent in its place  Elphinstone circle – original name Amliagal (meaning - in front of tamarind tree, even today a Tamarind land exists)  Chinch Bunder (south of Dongri near the shore) – chinch means tamarind in Marathi  Bhendi Bazar – derived from a bhendi plantation  Umerkhadi – derived from a couple of umbar (Ficus Glomerata) trees which existed along the shore of the khadi (creek in Marathi) The entrance to the Gharapuri Caves (Elephanta) in  On the shores of Umerkhadi was a hamlet Pydhonie (which means foot-wash in ancient days Marathi) A comparatively narrow belt of land to the hills were thickly grown with plantations:  Phanaswadi – phanas (jackfruit in Marathi) plantations  Kelewadi – plantain (banana) groves in Marathi  Khetwadi – khet means farm in Marathi  Khotachiwadi – meaning Khot’s place. It was founded by a local named Khot who leased plots to east indians  Girgaum – gir (mountain in Sanskrit), gaum (village) – village at the foot of mountain (Malabar hill). Nearby was the shrine of Gav-devi (the deity of the village).  Adjoining Phanaswadi is Cavel (derived from Koli name Kolwar) is located to the north-east of Dhobitalao near the Chira Bazaar area. from the Koli name Kolwar. The Kolis of this village were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Cavel thus became a Christian enclave  Bori Bunder – bori means sacks in Marathi, bunder is port. Port where sacks are offloaded & stored

Old Mumbai

Interesting Nomenclature (origins)                       

Up the Malabr hill was a plantation of babul trees which lend the name to famous Babulnath temple. The Worli creek to the north of this island was called Kshirsagar & the khind in the hills got denigrated to Breach Candy. There were tad (brab) palms below the hills which gave the name to Taddeo (Tardeo) Byculla – derived from Bhaya (Cassia fistula) & khala means at ground level At extreme south of Parel island was a tamarind covered valley, hence the name Chinchpokli Parel – pronounced as Paral, derived from the Parali Vaijanath Mahadev temple built by the Brahmins of the 13th century dedicated to Shiva. The Portuguese demolished this & built a Jesuit church & convent in its place North of Parel was the boat hamlet Naigaon derived from Nyaya-gaon (nyay means justice), which was the court of justice in the days of Raja Bhimdev. Further north were rows of banyan trees, which gave the name Vadala (vad means banyan in marathi Bamnoli (between Vadala & Parel) derived from Baman-aali (baman is Brahman & aali means row) which was a Brahmin settlement The name of the 7th island was also derived from the rows of banyan (vad) as Vad-ali (aali means row) or Varali (Worli) The northern most main island (present day Bandra-to-Bhayandar) was called Sashti (which means 66), since it comprised of group of 66 villages. It was called as Salsette by Portuguese Thane – derived from Sthan or Sthanaka, capital of Shilaharas. Slabs & copper plates of this era were discovered in Thane Mazgaon – derived from Machchagram (machcha – fish, gram-village) Bhuleshwar – named after the temple of Shiva (Bholenath) Trombay – original name Turbhe. Trombay given by Portuguese Pydhonie – feet-wash in Marathi – indicating that this was once a creek. This was one of the first piece of land to be reclaimed from the sea Khar – (salty in Marathi) for its vicinity to the sea near Khar Danda Dharavi derived from daar (which means the door of the island) Khumbarwada – kumbhar means potter. Potters from Saurashtra lived here Sewri derived from Sivawadi Versova – original name Vesaave which was a koli hamlet Bandra – original name Vandre (which means Bunder or port) Santa-cruz – named by Portuguese. Local name Shantinagar Goregaon is named after the Gore family who lived there since ages

Geography & Topology of Greater Mumbai  

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Mumbai peninsula is 2 meters above sealevel the area of Greater Mumbai is 603 km2, comprising Bombay City 157 km2 and Suburbs 446 km2. Greater Mumbai district (smallest in Maharashtra) & covers an area of 437.71 sq. km. that constitutes 0.14 per cent of total area of Maharashtra Greater Mumbai comprises the Mumbai, South Sashti and Turbhe Islands, The entire Greater Mumbai is made of Deccan basalt flows & their acid & basic variants and also some fossiliferous sediments mainly of tufaceous & partly of fresh water origins rich in fauna Almost 50% of the city area and 23% of the suburban area has been reclaimed from below sea-level by infilling, & pushing the sea outward through dykewalls like those of the Back Bay reclamation

Greater Mumbai (satellite image)

Mumbai lies over more than 10 seismic fault lines. The coastal plain to the east of Mumbai is prone to earthquakes of even higher intensity, upto 7.5 on the Richter scale.

Mumbai’s Harbours The Harbour Bay is studded from south to north with many islands:  Kansa or Gull islet (easter side)  Karanja islan,  Cross or Gibbet island, (situated opposite the Victoria Dock)  Butcher island  Elephanta island  Oyster Rock  Hog island (1km east of Elephanta),  Henery and Kenery. Ferry Wharf is a wharf along the Thane Creek, along the coast of Dockyard Road on the Eastern seafront of Mumbai. The wharf serves as the port for numerous fishermen who bring in their daily catch. Ferry services link up JNPT, Uran to the west, and Rewas and Mandwa to the south

Right centre: Mumbai’s Harbours in present days Right below: Oyester rock in the background

Apollo Bunder (area before Gateway of India was erected)

Kanheri Caves (300 BC), Borivali

Creeks, Marshes, Tidal Swaps, Lakes, Hills The central horse shoe valley in the hills used to be drained south by the Mahim river in the past. This river has been dammed in its upper reaches, so mruch so this valley today accommodates three small fresh water lakes, the Tulsi, the Vihar and the Powai, one below the other, that supply the city with 3 per cent of its domestic and other needs of water supply. Below Powai, the river today is mostly a storm drain and a gutter of sewerage, blocked off by the construction of the Santacruz airpoit at its Kurla end. The lower reaches is a shallow, fastly silting up drain of industrial wastes emptying into the Mahim Bay. The Kanheri hill complex has a radial drainage system, with numerous rain torrents washing down its slopes in all directions. The largest of them is the Dahisar river that rises on the southern flanks of the Kanheri hills, and drains west to join the Marve creek; this river, however, has been blocked to form the Dahisar project, to augment the water supply to the city to a small extent. Juhu, Varsova, and Marve, are sand bars pushed inland by the sea, and resting on knolls, Dharavi and Rai Murdhe. Today they form together a single land mass, off the Ulhas mouth. . Surrounding the central hilly region, are extensive lowlying plains, that are reclaimed tidal marshes and flats just above tidal levels. They are widest to the west and south of the central hilly region, and narrowest to the north. In the east, along the Thane creek, sizable stretches of tidal swaps and salt pan areas, especially around Bhandup, still survive

Tulsi lake

Powai lake

Harbour in monsoon

Old Mumbai’s Transport System The Bombay Tramway Company Limited was set up in 1873. The tramcars were of two kinds—those drawn by one horse and those drawn by two. In 1905, The Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company Limited started the first electrically operated tram-car appeared on Mumbai’s roads in 1907. The passing years aggravated the problem of rush-hour traffic and to ease the situation, double decker trams were introduced in September, 1920. Dadar TT is Dadar Tram Terminus Early Trams Top: BEST’ first bus Left: a gas street lamp.

Mumbai saw its first bus run on 15 July 1926 between Afgan Church and Crawford Market. Double deck buses were introduced in 1937 in order to cope better with the growing traffic. BEST is now The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking. Mumbai Suburban Railway is the oldest in Asia established in 1847, then known as The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company (G.I.P., for short) was established in 1849. Old Churchgate Rlwy Station

Its first train, the first in the country, ran from Mumbai to Thane on 16th April 1853. In 1865, the railway went over the Borghat. By 1870 Calcutta and Madras had been linked with Mumbai by rail. The Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (BBCI) was started in 1855. The first motor car appeared on Mumbai roads in 1901.

Mumbai and Civil Aviation It all began on October 15, 1932. It was on this day that J.R.D. Tata, the father of Civil Aviation in India and founder of Air India, took off from Drigh Road Airport, Karachi, in a tiny, light single-engined de Havilland Puss Moth on his flight to Bombay via Ahmedabad. He landed with his precious load of mail on a grass strip at Juhu.

Pioneers of Mumbai … Raja Bhimdev became the earliest pioneer of Mumbai in the 13th century who established his capital Mahikawati on one of the isles called Newale or Barad-bet (deserted island, “bet” in Marathi means island), present day Mahim. He built his palace & temple of goddess Prabhadevi in Naigaon (between Wadala & Parel). Even today, the same place is called Bhima Raja’s wadi. He built a court of justice in Prabhadevi, as well as the first Babulnath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva named after the Babul trees which were the main components of a forest covering the low-lying areas of this island. He introduced many fruit-bearing trees, including coconut palms to the island

Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian Cinema

Jamshetji Tata – the first pioneer entrepreneur who strived for economic independence of India during the British rule. He started an industrial revolution for swadeshi manufacturing of iron, steel, textile, electrical power generation. The Tata brand is his tribute to the nation

Dadabhai Naoroji, Freedom Fighter & Founder of the Indian Nation Congress in Mumbai

Madame Bhikaji Cama She raised the First Flag of Indian Dr. Homi Bhabha, pioneer of nuclear science, founder of the Indian Atomic Energy Independence at a Socialist Confernce programme. While India was striving for in Germany & was very active in the independence, he spearheaded the country in Indian freedom struggle an advanced field of science & technology. He founded TIFR, which is one of the best Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, school of physics in the world Social Reformer Founder member of Prarthana Samaj Bhau Daji Lad, Educationist, Social Reformer, in Mumbai which engaged in a Sheriff of Mumbai. He was instrumental in campaign of reformation without the some of the major reconstruction efforts alienating the more orthodox of the city, since 1857. elements of the society

Nana Jagannath Shankarshet, businessman & entrepreneur He was an Indian philanthropist and educationalist. An active leader in many arenas in Mumbai life. He founded many schools, Sanskrit library in Mumbai, member of Mumbai Education Board

Bharat Ratna Maharshi Keshav Karve, He was the Pioneer of Women’s Education & Upliftment & the right for widows to remarry in India. He established the first university for women in India in 1916, which is currently known as SNDT Women’ University

Senapati Pandurang Mahadev Bapat, Freedom Fighter, Social Reformer Major figure in the Indian Independence struggle, which earned him the title “Senapati”

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Scholar, Social Reformer, Jurist. He spent his whole life fighting against social discrimination. He was the chief architect of Indian Constitution

Acharya Pralhad Keshav Atre (Literaturist, Social worker). An active member of the Unified Maharastra Movement. Though he was a Brahmin, he worked for removing the curse of untouchability

Dr. C. D. Deshmukh first Governor of RBI , Finance Minister of India He was member of Board of Governers of IMF & IBRD. An active supporter of Unified Maharashtra Movement

These are just a few representational pioneers of Mumbai. There are many more who had a hand in the making of Mumbai as one of the leading cities of Free India

Mumbai’s Life-line

Mumbai Suburban Railways’s operate on 2 zones: CR & WR carry a total of 6.3 million passengers every day

BEST runs a total of 3,408 buses, ferrying 4.5 million passengers daily over 340 routes

Mumbai Today … Siddhivinayak mandir, Prabhadevi

Juhu Beach

Hutatma Chowk

Shivaji Park, Dadar

Mumbai’s faithful “night-watchmen”

Shoepolish boys

Rajabai Tower

Mumbai Today …

Wankhede Stadium

Taj Hotel, Gateway

Fact: Jamshetji Tata was denied access to Watson Hotel since he was an Indian. In retaliation, he set up the Taj Hotel

Marine Drive

Fact: Nariman Point was named after Khursheed Framji Nariman, a Parsi visionary

India’s Business Capital … Hanging Garden, Malabar Hill

Stock Exchange, Dalal Street

Dadar Flower Market

Vidhan Bhavan Nehru Science Center, Worli Mantralaya

Haji Ali tomb

BMC

Central Library

Dhobi Ghat, Mahalakshmi

High Court

Mumbai Invincible …

Clockwise from right: 1) Dahi handi 2) Women riding bikes during Gudi Padva parade 3) Ganesh Chaturthi festival

Aamhi Mumbaikar … Master Blaster- Sachin Tendulkar

Little Master Sunil Gavaskar

A Dabbawala

The dutiful BEST bus conductor

Dr. Nitu Mandke, Surgeon

Shubha Raul, Mayor

Harish Kapadia Himalayan Explorer

Lata Mangeshkar with Amitabh Bacchan, Balasaheb Thackeray, Sachin Tendulkar

The Mumbaikar Spirit …            

Like a mother whose heart always has space for any number of children, Mumbai has crossed all limits & adjusted herself to accommodate all those who beseeched her A confluence of many varied cultures of the country – a mini India in the true sense Where two natives (Maharashtrians) tend to speak Mumbaiyya with each other, instead of Marathi Which does not rest for a moment even after being hit by worst disasters – riots, bomb-blasts, floods, strikes, accidents, terror-attacks Where there is always scope for adjusting one more commuter continuously even in a jam-packed local, defying the laws of Mass & Volume Where distance is measured in minutes/hours .. For eg. the distance b/w work-place & home is usually 2hrs Where your driving skill ought to achieve a precision of 0.5mm (bumper-to-bumper) with 0% tolerance, even while manouvering around a pothole Where you need to be skilled in jumping off/on a bus/train few secs before it stops, if you happen to be in the first row near the door while alighting/boarding a bus/train Where 8 people can share a 6ftx6ft kholi & can still make space for more Where you don’t need a reason to play/talk cricket Where you don’t need your own vehicle to commute from one end of the city to another at any time (thanks to the nearly 24hr coverage of BEST buses, Locals, black-n-yellow metered rides) Where the cheapest, quickest & most exciting shopping of varied items can be done in the train itself

… this is Aamchi Mumbai Language Spoken: Mumbaiyya Staple Food: Vada-pav Staple Drink: Cutting

Fact: Vada-paav was born 35yrs back when Ashok Vaidya a snack seller outside Dadar station decided to experiment