Cityflo and Salaam Bombay Foundation Turn Mumbai into a Living Classroom for Independence Day

Written By: Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar is a Senior Journalist at Travel and Tour World with more than 10 years of experience in travel and tourism journalism. A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Jadavpur University, he combines strong research, industry knowledge and storytelling expertise to produce engaging, insightful and impactful travel news and fascinating feature stories.

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August 16, 2026 00:26 GMT+5:30

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Cityflo and Salaam Bombay Foundation marked Independence Day 2026 by taking 15 students on an educational journey across Mumbai’s historic, cultural and contemporary landmarks, combining mobility, learning, photography and urban exploration while creating a meaningful connection between travel, tourism and youth development.

Mumbai, August 15, 2026: This Independence Day, Cityflo and Salaam Bombay Foundation joined forces to transform Mumbai into a living classroom, taking 15 students on a carefully curated journey through some of the city’s most significant landmarks and giving them an opportunity to explore history, heritage, creativity and modern urban life beyond traditional classroom walls. The initiative also demonstrated how local travel and tourism experiences can become powerful educational tools, allowing young people to engage directly with the destinations, stories and cultural spaces that have helped shape Mumbai and India.

The students travelled comfortably on a Cityflo bus as they moved across the city, turning an everyday urban mobility experience into a wider journey of discovery that connected transport with education, culture and creative expression. By encouraging students to observe the city closely, the initiative highlighted how travel and tourism can support experiential learning, particularly when historic places and contemporary attractions are brought together within one accessible and thoughtfully designed itinerary.

How Did the Independence Day Tour Bring Mumbai’s History to Life?

The educational journey included visits to the Gateway of India, Mani Bhavan, August Kranti Maidan and the Sir J J School of Art Gallery, while the students also travelled past the site of Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s memorial, connecting them with important chapters in Mumbai’s cultural and national history. The tour created an immersive travel experience by placing students within the physical spaces associated with India’s past, allowing tourism and local exploration to become part of a broader understanding of heritage, identity and the events that continue to influence the country.

The Gateway of India offered a direct encounter with one of Mumbai’s most recognisable architectural symbols, while Mani Bhavan and August Kranti Maidan provided historical context linked to India’s freedom movement and the struggle for independence. Such journeys demonstrate the growing importance of educational tourism, where travel is not simply about reaching a destination but about understanding its stories, architecture, communities and historical significance through direct observation and personal experience.

Why Was Photography Central to the Students’ Experience?

For students involved in Salaam Bombay Foundation’s photography programme, the journey became more than a sightseeing excursion because they were encouraged to document Mumbai through their own creative perspectives and capture the architecture, landmarks and spontaneous moments they encountered. Their photographs are expected to reach a wider audience through Cityflo platforms across Mumbai, giving the young participants an unusual opportunity to transform a travel and tourism experience into visual storytelling that can be shared with thousands of urban commuters.

Photography allowed every student to interpret the same city differently, reinforcing the idea that Mumbai’s heritage and tourism appeal are not defined by monuments alone but also by personal perspectives and the everyday life unfolding around them. As their work travels across the city, the initiative creates a direct connection between young creative voices and public transport, ensuring that the students’ observations of Mumbai can continue their journey long after the Independence Day tour itself has ended.

What Does the Partnership Mean for Sustainable Urban Mobility?

The collaboration brought together Cityflo’s focus on shared and sustainable urban mobility with Salaam Bombay Foundation’s wider mission of empowering adolescents through education, media, arts, sports and vocational skill development. It showed how travel can be made more purposeful when mobility providers, social organisations and educational programmes work together, while also underlining the potential for tourism and urban transport to contribute to more inclusive and liveable cities.

Sankalp Kelshikar, Co-founder, CMO and Head of Cityflo Corporate, said that the way a city moves is closely connected with the way it grows, adding that the company’s commitment to accessible and sustainable cities extends beyond transportation into experiences that create value for communities. He explained that the partnership gave students a chance to experience Mumbai, engage with its history and imagine its future, while their photography ensured that the perspectives developed during the journey could continue travelling across the city.

How Does the Initiative Create Opportunities Beyond the Classroom?

Savio Pashana, Head of Communications at Salaam Bombay Foundation, emphasised that meaningful learning can happen when young people are given opportunities to explore, observe and express themselves beyond conventional educational environments. The excursion combined historical and cultural exploration with a contemporary perspective, while the prospect of showcasing the students’ photography on Cityflo buses created a valuable platform for creative visibility and potential professional confidence.

This approach reflects a wider opportunity for the travel and tourism sector, where educational excursions can increasingly combine destination discovery with skills development, cultural awareness and creative participation. For young people, travelling through familiar places with a new purpose can reveal dimensions of their own city that may otherwise remain unnoticed, proving that tourism experiences do not always require distant destinations to create lasting educational value.

A Positive View from Travel And Tour World

Anup Kumar Keshan, Editor-in-Chief of Travel And Tour World, praised the initiative, saying, “Cityflo and Salaam Bombay Foundation have created a truly meaningful Independence Day experience by proving that travel can educate, inspire and empower at the same time. Taking young students through Mumbai’s living history while encouraging them to document their own perspectives is an excellent example of responsible and inclusive tourism. This collaboration connects sustainable mobility with heritage, creativity and opportunity, while giving young people a platform to see their city differently and share their stories with others. Such initiatives strengthen communities and demonstrate how the travel and tourism industry can contribute positively to education, cultural awareness and the future of urban destinations.”

The collaboration ultimately reinforces the shared belief that cities are best understood by moving through them and engaging directly with the people, places and stories within them. By combining shared mobility, photography, heritage exploration and youth empowerment, Cityflo and Salaam Bombay Foundation have presented a model in which travel and tourism can extend beyond recreation and become a practical force for education, creativity, inclusion and stronger connections between young people and the cities they call home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Cityflo and Salaam Bombay Foundation Independence Day initiative?

Cityflo and Salaam Bombay Foundation organised an educational tour across Mumbai for 15 students, combining heritage exploration, photography, urban travel and experiential learning.

Which Mumbai landmarks did the students visit?

The itinerary included the Gateway of India, Mani Bhavan, August Kranti Maidan, Sir J J School of Art Gallery and the Paradox Museum, while the group also travelled past Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s memorial site.

Why did the students take photographs during the tour?

Students from Salaam Bombay Foundation’s photography programme documented Mumbai’s landmarks, architecture and moments from the journey through their individual creative perspectives.

Where will the students’ photographs be displayed?

A selection of photographs from the tour will be showcased across Cityflo platforms, allowing the students’ perspectives of Mumbai to reach a broader audience across the city.

How does this initiative support travel and tourism?

The programme demonstrates how local travel and tourism can support education, heritage awareness, creative skills and youth development by turning city exploration into an immersive learning experience.