I passed by Navi Mumbai, a satellite town, many a times much before I settled in Belapur, and wondered how nice it would be to settle down, on the way to Uran or Pune. It was the sectors that had all the infrastructures, like broad roads, flyovers, houses constructed in a pattern and only the local inhabitants who lived, giving a appearance of a place to reside in the near future; that future came and I started residing in Belapur after residing in briefly at nearby places in Navi Mumbai, little before the crowd started coming in search of better residences and infrastructures when compared to the choking Mumbai city!
very recently I came to know the why the city was named Belapur, by a local inhabitant, who revealed this place was abundant in Bela trees, the leaves very dear in worshipping lord shiva. The tri leaflets symbolise the Trishul of Lord Shiva. The trifoliate leaves also signify the Holy Trinity- Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva symbolising creation, preservation and destruction. The leaves signify the three syllabi of AUM. The leaves are used in many ayurvedic medicine preparation since ages. 
The core Belapur village not very far from where I reside has a couple of old temples, among them a shiva temple and a lake; it found a way to express its history through the Powle’s, Sonthake’s, Mandlik’s the village priests for all occassion and functions, the early inhabitants and my evening friends!. Every evening without fail a small gathering would assemble and conduct a bhajjan session at Pandurang temple on the banks of the lake, whose echo could be heard from the distance, with the mixing of the “dholbeats” “cymbals” and the chiming bells of the temple, a nice symphony to hear even from a distance. All the areas near the temple complex would seem to be charged with the positive energy during the dusk. I would sit under a big Banyan tree sometimes and watch the scenes unfolding. After the bhajjan session sonthake would sometimes meet me and take me through the history with his dramatic gestures and seriousness . The shiva temple known as Amruteshwar, when renovated recently revealed its existence since the Pandava era, by the religious brass symbols, and spiritual artifacts revealed under the temples main “kalash” which surprised many of its local residents, who happily revealed to others the historical finds after burying the finds under the “kalash” thus burying its history once again for a future revelation when another renovation would take place. Also revealed was the Shiv Lings true identity to his sincere follower in the presence of a pious sage. Thus a ”halo” prevails in the temple area and felt by its devotees.
Very adjacent to this temple is a Hanuman temple in its old stone form greased by the vermillion mark. Long ago when the temple needed a renovation, a crane was summoned to lift the stone idol structure which was found to be very heavy to be lifted by bare hands of many. Even the chains of the crane could not dislodge the idol which was embedded in the earth, so strong it was grounded. After many trials wiser counsels prevailed and the Hanuman idol was allowed to rest where it was, further implying the sanctity of the idol in its place. Ramnavami and Hanuman jayanti is celebrated with all the religious fervor with a ‘fair’ opening for a couple of days only. This festival is eagerly looked forward even today!. Another tale which would not exist in our government chronicles is Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba making an appearance near the vicinity of temples where the salt pans existed, to launch salt satyagraha , the more documented being the “dandi” march taken by Bapu!. This was vouched by Mr Sonthake who said his sister was a witness to this event.
The area near Belapur was under Portuguese rule around 1560, before it was captured by the Siddis of Janjira. In those days, the town was called Belawal by the locals, and Sambayo or Shabaz by the Portuguese. In 1682, the Portuguese recaptured Shabaz, only to lose it to the Marathas led by Chimmanji Appa in 1733, who made a vow then that a garland of beli leaves would be placed in the Amrutheshwar temple! and after the victory the garland was placed and the fort nearby was christened Belapur killa meaning fort. The Marathas ruled the area until June 1817, when it was captured by the British East India Co. The British partially destroyed the fort under their policy of razing any Maratha stronghold in the area.
Belapur is also surrounded by lush greenery all around, and its much more organized than other parts of Navi Mumbai. There are a couple of waterfalls situated around, the more famous being “pandhavkhada” where people often come for treking and nature trails. 
To lend culinary support we have “Babu wada wale’ who churns out delicious batatawada’s, and bhajia’s at very reasonable price, till date no complaints of any stomach ache has circulated in this area! 
Very similarly we have a south Indian from Salem in Tamil Nadu who runs a shop in the name of ‘hotchips’, two persons run this shop and one is always sure of getting hot banana chips, potato chips and other south indian condiments. To cater to different pockets we have good restaurants and bars too! in an area I have named it as “Restaurant and Bar street” bang on the main Palm beach road.
Topography around Belapur is mostly green with the panvel creek forming a big circle of back water area, with varieties of birds . The mountains you see in the background is likely to disappear, and you are likely to see the control towers, watch towers and runways crisscrossing with Navi Mumbai Airport finally coming up after many hiccups.
It’s almost two decades since living in Belapur and the connection between Arunachala hills in Tiruvannamalai and Belapur which means the place of ‘bel leaves’ an important plant in the worship of Lord Shiva has begun to sink in, but sadly I am yet to come across a “Bel tree” , as I have only heard about its existence somewhere in Belapur!.
Through the Eyes of Arunachala! 