Fifty Years Ago, Mumbai’s Juhu Beach Looked Like This! Old Video Sparks Nostalgia And Cleanliness Debate Online

· Free Press Journal

Mumbai: Juhu is one of the iconic places in Mumbai. The place is famous for its cafes, temples, views, but most importantly, the iconic Juhu Beach, the heart of Mumbai. But today, the beach is battling with human waste, finding it hard to breathe in tons of waste and polluted water. A decades-old photograph and video of Mumbai's iconic Juhu Beach have gone viral on social media, leaving many users nostalgic while also sparking a discussion about the city's changing coastline and cleanliness.

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The photo was shared by Mumbai Heritage and it is believed to be taken in 1939, meanwhile, the video is around 50 years ago. The image offers a glimpse of a quieter, cleaner and less crowded Juhu than the one Mumbaikars know today. Keep on reading to know more.

Juhu Beach

A wide stretch of pristine sand

The vintage photo shows a wide stretch of pristine sand with very few people in sight. Unlike the bustling beach of today, there are no food stalls, plastic waste, vehicles or dense crowds. The serene scene has prompted many social media users to reflect on how rapid urbanisation and increasing tourism have transformed one of Mumbai's most popular public spaces. The photo was shared by Mumbai Heritage on X and it captioned, "Juhu Beach, Mumbai, 1939. Restored from damaged black-and-white photographs."

Another video of old Juhu Beach

There is another proof of how the beach actually was before development. There is a video shared by indiathatsbharat on Instagram, showcasing an old video of Juhu. At first instance, it looks like a beach from a foreign country. The video caption reads, "Fifty years ago, Mumbai’s Juhu Beach looked like this. Calm waves, clean shores, and vast stretches of golden sand defined one of the city’s most iconic beaches."

Several users expressed nostalgia in the comments, recalling childhood visits to Juhu Beach when the shoreline was cleaner and the sea appeared less polluted. Others pointed out that population growth, commercial activities and poor waste disposal have significantly altered the beach over the decades.

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Netizens reaction

The image also reignited conversations about beach conservation. Many users urged citizens to avoid littering and called for stronger waste management measures to preserve Mumbai's coastline. One user commented on Instagram named black4u9ww and wrote, "OMG! Was Juhu really like this fifty years ago?"

Another user named shaikh saad wrote, "Yeh desh British Or Mughalo ke haath me hi achcha tha."

jesuismohan wrote, "Juhu wasn't like this, 15 years so ... The Ganesh festival has destroyed the sea there."

Another user captioned, "The British kept India clean if only they treated brown folks better I’d have wanted them to stay. They would have beaten the backward Indians into fashion for littering the place."

Criticising the population of India, one user said, "That's what Indian people have done to this country by increasing population."

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About Juhu Beach

Juhu Beach remains one of Mumbai's most visited attractions, drawing thousands of locals and tourists every day. It is especially crowded during weekends, festivals and Ganesh Visarjan. It is a coastal suburb which is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova to the north, Vile Parle to the east, and Santacruz to the south. Juhu was called Juvem by the Portuguese.

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