Mulund to Mahim: Tracing Mumbai streets named after women

Few know Nepean Sea Road as Lady Laxmibai Jagmohandas Marg or that Thane’s Smt Gladys Alvares Marg was renamed. Of Mumbai’s 2,000 km of roads, under 150 km honour women, per BMC data. Exclude goddesses and famous figures, and fewer than 300 remain. This Women’s Day, Sharmila Ganesan Ram traces real trailblazers.

Pandita Ramabai Marg, Gamdevi
Now part of heritage walks, the street linking Nana Chowk to Marine Drive honours Pandita Ramabai, whom historian Uma Chakravarti called “the most controversial Indian woman of her times.” Born Rama Dongre in 1858, orphaned at 16, she mastered Sanskrit and earned the titles Pandita and Saraswati. Widowed young after marrying outside caste, she later converted to Christianity. Founder of Arya Mahila Samaj, she wrote The High-Caste Hindu Woman (1887) in the US and founded Sharada Sadan, a shelter that imparted vocational training and education to widows, in 1889 in Bombay. A century later in 1989, Harvey Road--leading to the sea--was renamed for this woman who swam against the tide

Smt Sakarbai Barku Patil Marg, Mulund
Three JCBs now greet you at this small, semi-circular stretch in Mulund (W), a connector between the Tehsildar’s and rationing offices off Sarojini Naidu Road. Named in 2021, the road honours Sakarbai Barku Patil aka “Jiji”. Born into a family of freedom fighters in 1924, Sakarbai learnt to read by tracing letters in sand. She urged girls to study, balanced work and motherhood, and fed the needy. A nearby garden bears her husband’s name.

Lady Jamsetjee Road, Mahim
Before 1845, crossing from Mahim to Bandra during monsoon was perilous; ferries often capsized. In 1841 alone, up to 20 boats overturned. Avabai Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy — Lady Jamsetjee — donated over Rs 1 lakh, plus Rs 40,000, to the British govt to build a causeway on one condition: no toll would be charged. In April 1848, the Mahim Causeway opened to the thunder of four six-pounder guns, linking Bandra to Mahim. Used by both the rich and the poor, Lady Jamsetjee road, stretching from Dadar’s Sena Bhavan to the Mahim Causeway, reminds that public good can outlive self interest

Laxmibai Kelkar Marg, SION
Popularly known as “Mausiji”, Laxmibai Kelkar founded the Rashtra Sevika Samiti in 1936. After meeting KB Hedgewar—a physician who founded the RSS in 1925—to propose a women’s wing, she was urged to form an autonomous body aligned in ideology but distinct in structure. Launched in Wardha on Vijayadashami with 100 members, it grew to 40,000 by the 1970s. A mother of eight, Kelkar led until her death in 1978. Today, a bustling street in Sion bearing her name is known for hosting traditional ‘Gondhal’ performances

DR Kashibai Navrange Marg, Gamdevi
Once Alexandra Road, this stretch behind August Kranti Maidan honours Dr Kashibai Navrange, a pioneer of women’s healthcare in 20th-century Bombay. Born in 1858, she was among the city’s first Indian women doctors and the first to open a private clinic. A Wilson College graduate, she earned her Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery in 1907 and soon established a dispensary in Bhuleshwar, offering women the elusive comfort of being treated by a female doctor. She later founded a maternity hospital, launched a Milk Fund for expectant and lactating mothers, taught home nursing to married women across caste lines and even began vocational training for women. After the 1934 Bihar earthquake, Dr Navrange led women doctors into purdah households. Renamed after her death in 1946, the Gamdevi road--housing a prominent girls’ school and a women’s hostel --bears her imprint