MUMBAI: The sea breeze was familiar, and the walking track remained unchanged in spirit, but Friday morning at Bandra's iconic Joggers Park carried an unusual sense of nostalgia. Thirty-six years after inaugurating the park, former Maharashtra chief minister and veteran politician Sushilkumar Shinde returned to the same venue, not as a chief guest with official protocol, but as one among hundreds of regular walkers who now call the park their second home.
More than 100 joggers, senior citizens, and Bandra West residents gathered at the park on Friday to celebrate its 36th anniversary, reminiscing about memories of morning walks, friendships, film legends, and changing lifestyles that have unfolded along the sea-facing park over nearly four decades. For many, the celebration felt less like an event and more like a reunion.
A Walk Down Memory Lane
"Back then, walking in parks was not common. People cycled or played sports, but there wasn't this culture of jogging and morning walks," recalled Bandra resident Asif Farooqui, who has been associated with the park since its early years. "Today, people who walked here in the 1990s are coming with their children and grandchildren. It has become shared heritage," he recounted.
Farooqui, who said he has walked alongside Shinde at the park for years, decided to organize the informal gathering after realizing the former minister had completed 36 years since inaugurating the park in 1990.
Transformation from Dumping Ground to Green Haven
Built along the Bandra seafront, Joggers Park was among the city's first parks designed specifically around a walking and jogging track, a concept locals compared to global urban parks such as Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York. The development of the park is largely credited to late Bandra corporator and sports coach Oliver Andrade, fondly known as "Sir" among locals. Residents recalled how Andrade transformed what was once a dumping ground into a landscaped public space overlooking the sea.
The proposal was later backed by actor and then MP Sunil Dutt, while Shinde, then urban development minister, facilitated approvals and inaugurated the park, Farooqui said.
Enduring Legacy
Several attendees from the original inauguration in 1990 also attended Friday's gathering. "There are people here who have not missed their morning walks for decades," said a resident during the event. One 75-year-old senior citizen drew applause after joking that she had "never needed a doctor because Joggers Park itself kept her healthy."
Residents said the park gradually evolved into a social and cultural hub as much as a fitness space. "You come here for a walk and end up meeting friends you've known for 20 years," said another regular walker. "It became a place where relationships were built."
