Powai had been a traditional wooded outskirts of Mumbai ever since. In the ancient times it has found mention in the Marathi history alongwith Mahim. The Padmavati Devi Temple in the precincts of IIT dates way back to the 10th Century A.D. as per Archeological Survey of India. The genesis of the name Powai possibly came from the word "POUMWI" which would have been corrupted from the word "POUMA" which also means "PADMA" in Sanskrit.
Powai as a location is basically famous because of the Powai lake and it is believed that the present location of Powai Lake was the original Powai Valley -- a central village, with several clusters of huts each having its own well. Powai village was also served by a rivulet resulting from the rain waters of the lowest slopes of the Western Ghats, now seen as the hillock on the South end of the Lake, with streams from the Eastern & North eastern slopes of hills.
The authorities during the British regime intended to augment the water supply to Bombay City by creating a lake from this rivulet and in 1891 this was achieved by constructing two stone dams across two hillocks each dam was and still is about 10metres high. The spread of the water body thus achieved was about 370 acres or 2.10 Sq Kilometres and the depth varied from about 10 ft (off periphery) to 40 ft at its deepest. The lake is about 17 miles from central Bombay.
Powai Lake was built by the British at an initial cost of Rs 6.5 lakh in 1890. It was named after Framaji Kavasji Powai Estate, which was given to one Dr Scott in 1799 on payment of yearly rent of Rs 3,200. After Dr Scott’s death in 1816, Powai was taken back by the government in 1826 and leased once again to Framaji Kavasji, a Parsi merchant. At the time, Powai lake supplied two million gallons of water to Bombay. However, after Tansa Lake became a more viable option, in 1892, Powai was turned over to the picnickers.
However, after all this effort by the authorities it was found that the waters of Powai were polluted and unfit for drinking various studies were conducted which repeatedly confirmed these findings till finally the project was abandoned. Then Powai Lake was leased out to the Western lndia Fishing Association a quasi government organisation who used it for both fish culture and Angling but later the Bombay Presidency Angling Association was formed and approved by the then Bombay Govt.
Powai was once a princely estate belonging to Sir Mohammed Yusuf. In 1943 just before independence in 1947 the Freedom Fighter Chandrabhan Sharma arrived in Bombay and happened to lease and subsequently buy Powai Estate in a strange twist of fate from Sir Yusuf for a paltry sum. Powai comprised of five villages : Saki, Kopri, Tirandaz, Powai and Paspauli then.
In the late fifties a portion of Powai was given to the Government to set up Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). The then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had personally come to finalise the area and on meeting Chandrabhan Sharma motivated him to give the land at no cost in the name of Nation. At the same time a young engineer from US called Toubro had got a major contract in Mumbai and had leased vast tracts of land to L&T from Sharmas.
Powai's modernisation started with Sharma's construction business in 1975 under the flagship of GHP Corp. Prashant Apts was the first modern Bldg to come up in Powai after IIT followed by the 13 floor Bhawani Tower.
The modern or the new Powai came into existence after 1985 when the Hiranandanis got permission from the government to convert this agricultural land to residential complex. They purchased vast tracts of land between Powai hill & Powai lake from the Sharma Family & Annapurna Farms belonging to the Dharias & Ghambirs. These jungles saw themselves being converted to a planned township by the vision of Hiranandani Builder to what it look today. Hafeez contractor's elevation and facade has completely changed the skyline which now has become a role model being emulated by other builders in India.
Today, Powai has three distinct landmarks that makes it the fastest growing suburb of Bombay namely the Powai Lake, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the new township of Hiranandani Gardens. The prevalence of a modern mixed township with the best amenities: Shoopoing Malls, modern Hospital, schools, entertainment hubs, a Go-kart course, MNC banks; concentration of corporates, call centres and quite a few shooting studios have this as an ideal residential destination. Mention maybe made of the Powai plant of L&T and the Shipping Institute that add prestige to the locale. The recent progress of JVLR II to emerge as a Western to Eastern link axis will snowball this as one the best connected part of Bombay by 2009 AD.
