Step into Bhendi Bazaar and the place hits you instantly. The noise. The rush. Shopkeepers calling out, scooters brushing past your elbow, old buildings packed so close they look like they’re holding each other up. It’s pure Mumbai chaos. Familiar, messy, alive.And yet, here’s the funny part. The name Bhendi Bazaar has absolutely nothing to do with bhindi. Zero okra involved.That myth got a fresh reality check recently thanks to chef Ranveer Brar. In a quick Instagram reel, he’s casually cooking bhindi – adding haldi, lal mirch, the works, while dropping a history nugget most of us never heard growing up. Very on-brand, honestly. According to Brar, the name goes way back to British-era Bombay. The area sat right behind Crawford Market. So the British, in their no-nonsense way, just called it “behind the bazaar.” Simple enough. But try saying that fast, every day, in local accents. Over time, “behind the bazaar” got chopped, bent, and Indianised into Bhendi Bazaar. It stuck.But that’s not the only story people tell.There’s another theory that’s been around for years. Some believe the name comes from “bhandi,” the Marathi word for utensils. Advocate Zubair Azmi, who runs the Bhendi Bazaar Research Academy, has spoken about how potters once lived and worked in the area. They made and sold everyday utensils there. So Bhandi Bazaar slowly turning into Bhendi Bazaar? Not impossible at all.
Either way, vegetables don’t really enter the picture.Back in the day, Bhendi Bazaar was mainly a residential area for workers involved in Bombay’s trade economy under British rule. As the city grew into a major port, this pocket became tighter, busier, and more crowded. Narrow lanes, ageing buildings, life packed into every inch. Many people compare it to Old Delhi, but with that unmistakable Mumbai energy. Even today, it’s home to a large Dawoodi Bohra community, known for strong business roots and deep ties to the neighbourhood.And honestly, Bhendi Bazaar isn’t alone when it comes to misleading names.
Take Chor Bazaar. It wasn’t named because everything there was stolen. It was called Shor Bazaar first, thanks to how loud it was. Breach Candy has nothing to do with desserts either, it comes from “Burj Khadi,” a name that slowly got twisted over time. Even Colaba was once Kola-bhat, named after the Koli fishing community that lived there long before the city took shape.Mumbai is full of these little language accidents. Names shaped by accents, habits, shortcuts, and time.So the next time someone cracks a joke about Bhendi Bazaar and bhindi, you can set the record straight. The name isn’t about food. It’s about history, people, and the strange, wonderful way a city talks to itself and slowly changes its own words.
