The Gateway of India, built to honour the King of England, has since been wit­ness to some memorable moments in Indian history

The Gateway of India is Mumbai's most famous monument. This is the starting point for most tourists who want to explore the city. It was built as a triumphal arch to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay prior to the Dur­bar in Delhi in 1911, complete with four turrets and intricate latticework carved into the yellow basalt stone.

The foundation stone was laid on March 31, 1911 by the Governor of Bombay Sir George Sydenham Clarke, with George Wittet’s final design sanctioned in August 1914. Between 1915 and 1919 work proceeded on reclama­tions at Apollo Bundar for the land on which the gateway and the new sea wall would be built. The foundations were completed in 1920, and construction was finished in 1924. The Gateway was opened on December 4, 1924 by the Viceroy, the Earl of Reading.

Ironically, when the Raj ended in 1947 as' India attained independence, this colonial symbol also became a sort of epitaph: the last of the British ships that set sail for England left from the Gateway. The last British troops to leave  India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light' Infantry, passed through the gate in a ceremony on February 28, 1948. Today this symbol of colonialism has got Indianised, drawing droves of local tourists and citizens. Behind the arch, there are steps leading down to the water. Here, you can get on to one of the bobbing little motor launches, for a short cruise through Mumbai's splendid natural harbours.