Reaching Mumbai via the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) was indeed special, and I waited for 3 years before I could apty claim to have ticked off a rare feat: that I was able to visit a WHS by arriving at another separate one. My friend who picked me up at the terminus and I spent some few hours in the inscribed property of Mumbai before heading out to Elephanta Island. Contrary to the image of Mumbai in mainstream media being so busy, dirty, and crowded, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that that part was not as bad as I thought! Our wandering from the Fort precinct to the Oval area was a wonderful experience and that face of Mumbai really looked like it was taken out of London, with an Indian flare to it. Just a few metres away and you get into another world altogether, the Art Deco ensemble, which I wished I also spent more time on. Overall, it is not hard to understand and see why Mumbai is a true world-class city not only for its economic and trading role in history, but, more importantly, for its architectural gems.

In 2017, Mumbai also bagged several recognitions in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, all of which are under its Victorian Gothic component. The St. Thomas Cathedral was awarded too in 2014, and I enjoyed very much checking it out. Dining at the historic Leopold Cafe in Colaba area was memorable as well. 

I, however, am interested to know what might happen to the extension nomination to include the Churchgate Railway Station in the present CST-WHS. I understand that the CRS is already within the inscribed property, but I wonder if it will still be pursued to be inscribed on its own merit as a serial component of the CST, considering that ICOMOS was quite firm and clear in arguing that the CST and the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai have different OUVs?

PS. A hotspot for Maharashtra can now qualify, with Pune as the center: CST, VGADEM, Elephanta Cave, and the Western Ghats on the Maharashtra side. If Matheran will also be successfully added to the Mountain Railways of India WHS, it will be another great addition to this cluster :)