Ladies Coupe

Someone once told me, “You cannot get lost in Mumbai. All you need to do is head to the nearest local station! And you shall find your way from there.” It was a useful piece of advice back then.

I have come to realize now trains in Mumbai are much more than what they seem.

I remember feeling terrified every time someone mentioned about traveling in Mumbai trains. This was when I had just shifted to the city. It probably came from that one bad experience I had had almost four years ago, of being almost crushed amidst smelly, strange men in a general compartment in a Borivali local, at the peak evening hours. That incident alone was enough to unnerve me.

I can gladly and proudly say I have come a long way from there. Not only have I become quite an expert in traveling by locals now, I sort of even enjoy them. Off course, I try and still avoid the peak hours. But no other public transport could be this convenient as are the local railways!

One of my favorite past times while traveling in trains is to look at people. I have no qualms of admitting my experiences are limited to the ladies coupe, but those are a universe in itself! There is a distinct world within, as it is without. And you shall be enveloped as soon as you step into one.

You shall find all kinds of women here: the hoity ones, the housewives, the working women with ear phones, college students, women carrying fish-smelling baskets, utensils, kids and the hijras. For the entrepreneurs, Mumbai locals are a paradise. From stitched Gujarati fabrics to knick knacks, from trinkets to veggies and snacks: making life simple for women hustling to reach their destinations.

Gaze through the wide range of posters and adverts put up on the brown rusty walls. Some of them are as enchanting as the people themselves. Here are few examples:

Call ********** for housemaids/ governess/ etc

Have problems planning your finances? Call ********

Mardon mein masti bhar de… (Makes your man naughtier.)

For placements call ******** No sales or door-to-door marketing job guaranteed!

Want to lose weight? Call ********

Dil tera diwana hain sanam,Khata hun main 'Stay on' ki kasam.. (hilarious one)

I could go on and on, but truth of the matter is, the locals are not just a mode of transport. Call me a romantic, but for me it is a microcosm of what Mumbai represents. Its colours are as vibrant as the variety of make up you shall see on the women, and in different stages. You shall make friends here and even some enemies. But there’s one thing common in them: they are all in a hurry. They are all busy to reach somewhere. And they might just push you aside if you are caught day dreaming. They do not have the time. They are too busy doing what they need to do.

The city would come to a standstill if these wheels were to ever stop. Come incessant rains or the scorching summers, these wheels not only reduce the vast spaces to few minutes, but also represent the day to day struggle, that is aamchi Mumbai.

To live to eat -I

There are those who eat to live and then those who live to eat. I definitely belong to the latter category. One of the first things my partner and I did after landing in Mumbai was to invest in a Mumbai Times Food Guide. For foodies such as me, this book is a must-have and a treasure! Not only does the Guide have a budget- and cuisine-wise index, but it also has an area-vise index. Though we like to make our own reviews, those of Rashmi Uday Singh are quite helpful as well! It’s become our weekend project since then to tick off the ones tried and to try the ones we haven’t ticked yet. I do not think we shall cover all (till we are here), but we shall definitely give our best shot.

Recently I discovered this amazing little joint: Café Churchill. It’s located on the same side as Leopold, but within a good walking distance from here on, quite near Bata, in fact. You can almost miss it, it’s that small. So do keep your eyes open as soon as you reach Bata!

Consider yourself lucky if you don’t have to wait. But it's a small price to pay, believe me. I was working too the particular day I visited and I could see the pleasant surprise in people who didn’t have to wait! The décor is average. The food is simply to kill for. The food is awesome (I don’t care if I sound repetitive). Pastas, sandwiches, soups, grills: the menu is quite endless! The vegetarians too shall not be disappointed. No doubt, this place is so popular with the locals.

My colleague and I ended up sharing a Chicken Hawaiian sandwich and grilled chicken with peppered sauce (served with steamed veggies and mashed potato). A word of advice: do save the place for the dessert. The pastries (that is the only thing they serve) are to die for! We decided to go our separate paths, where the desserts were concerned. It definitely was a good decision. My Irish Cream Coffee Cake was absolutely exquisite and my colleague took a Lemon Cheese cake. And this place is quite decently prized too. A meal for two can cost you about 600 bucks.

Food is an integral part of the Mumbai culture. Be it the street food (a separate post's coming soon) or the neighborhood joints, the 5-star palates or unique restaurants, most are quite an eclectic mix of creativity, service and entrepreneurship. They will charm you and make you come back for more.

I know I can’t wait to go back to Café Churchill. They have me hooked for sure!

A grieving Mumbai

Mumbai is grieving, along with the rest of India. Who knew a group of merely 15 men could not only bring the whole city to a standstill, but could kill people, more than 350 and injure much more, so effortlessly and with such lack of emotion. Who could think they could bring resources and ammunition in such manner and with such ease? Where are those politicians now? And what sense of duty have they shown? If they did have one, they would have simply resigned. Where are Bal Thackeray and the MNS activists? "It is a big city, and these things happen." Says the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, R.R. Patil. “They had plans to kill more than 5000 people…” He goes on. As if, it’s an achievement they killed a mere 300(!).

My heart bleeds to think of the trauma thousands of people must have gone through. I feel the same dread I'd have felt if a group of strangers would have walked in into my home and violated my space. I too am grieving like the rest of Mumbai. I don’t know how to express this helpless anger, except may be through this post. All I have done for the past 48 hours is being glued to the television and the newspapers. At one point it seemed like a Bollywood flick, but a never-ending one. But all the more bone-chilling because it was all very much real. The eerie silence and tension on the Mumbai roads (even in Dadar) the day after was very real.

The trauma of the family and friends who have lost their loved ones and of those who were stuck in their rooms for hours is something beyond me. I cannot even begin to think of the terror the staff must have felt, and yet, they were driven by their sense of duty to protect their guests. The terror of those who were stuck in their hotel rooms for hours and hours, with only tap water to drink, and may be, some tidbits to eat (and may be not even that). The uncertainty of death looming in corridors and of not knowing which room it shall knock. Of being marooned in their rooms for hours, with hopes of being rescued, but ending being charred to death. Of being reunited with families after some gruelling hours, of not knowing whether he or she will live.

The death toll is now slowly coming in. The official figure says a 183 currently. But they were more than just a number. They were individuals who were not supposed to die. Not like this. Least like this. And they left in their wake their families who would continue to be haunted by frantic text messages and whispered pleas of help. My heart goes out to them.

And then there were individuals who gave up their lives on the line of fire, that is, the security forces. Literally so. Police officers, firemen, National Security Guards and army men who did not return. I salute them. I salute their courage. And I salute the hotel staff who thought first of their guests and then of themselves, if at all. I salute the ordinary man who came out of his or her home to help those on duty.

I have seen many acts of terror in the past and every time it happens, I cannot get used to it, cannot accept it, lying low, irrespective of its degree or form. But this form of terror seems to leave me strangely helpless and yet frustrated and angry. The only way we can do justice to the sacrifices is by not forgetting it, by not wiping it off public memory.

I know it has been permanently etched on mine.

Firsts in Mumbai!

The Durga pujas went by last week and I haven’t had so much fun in days. Well, for firsts, both husband and I were working all the days, so we could not really venture out in the day time… but we did pretty well for ourselves methinks! This was the first time I saw durga pujo in Mumbai. Well, you’ll think what’s the difference?? Believe me, lots… the city makes all the difference. Am born and brought up in Delhi and there the “Pujo” (as Bengalis fondly call it) has its own amazing colours. I am not much of a Bengali, believe me, but when it comes to Durga pujo, this is one event when i become very "bengalish".
Well, for the uninitiated, Durga pujas basically mean five days (and nights) of pandal hopping, seeing the beautiful idol of Ma Durga (Indian Goddess of valour and courage, who was created by the Gods to kill the demons.. yep, the good vs. evil bit), standing in long endless queues for bhog, gorging on Bengali delicacies and snacks, meeting friends, chatting endlessly, watching cultural shows in the night, gorging some more food and showing off new clothes each day morning AND night (and there are 5!). Well, this is in Delhi... My experience of the Kolkata pujo was lot different, and that’s another story, altogether.
Despite lack of time and crazy days at work, we managed to pack in as much as we could! That’s what surprised me the most actually. There were days we were both dozing off in the cab, but we still had to go. We completely kept to the tradition of pandal hopping and gorging on yum food … though I never expected to do so. Food yes, but not pandal hopping, basically because each pandal is located at one corner of the city.
Now there are only a handful of pujos in Mumbai. Most of them are organized by the Bengali personalities living in Mumbai. The most popular ones are those of Abhijeet’s in Lokhandwala and of Rani Mukherji’s in Santa Cruz. Whereas the former had an air of mela atmosphere, the latter was more traditional and more exclusive. Then there is the traditional pujo held each year at Ramkrishna Mission at Khar. The idol was made in a traditional style, and still beautiful. There is another in Bandra organized by Shakti Samantho and Basu Chatterji. And this one I liked the best, in terms of the décor (with Jamini Roy paintings, huge traditional lanterns), the scale (not too huge and yet spacious enough) and huge food stalls. Then we went to the pujo at Chembur. This pandal is on its 87th year and somehow, one can feel the difference in the fervor here!
But nothing prepared me for the Durga pujo at Vashi (New Bombay). We started for Vashi at 9:30 pm and battling the crazy traffic reached in one and half hours. And the place is huge! The place was so startling may be because I am yet to see so much open space in itself in Mumbai. There must have been more than 2000 people in the entire pandal at 11:00pm, and yet we could not even feel the crowd! This place was amazing.
And the amount of food I ate this time is not funny actually. From begunis (deep fried slices of brinjal with a coating of gram flour) to biriyani (Awadhi style), from mishti doi (sweet curd) to gulab jamun, from kebab wraps to an expensive Thai fare. A gastronomical delight!
Well end of the day, I could definitely skip the traffic snarls (we spent more hours in a cab than in the pandal!) any day. But I did not know there was such a large Bengali community living in Mumbai. I might still be missing the Durga pujo (can’t help if I am biased), but the Mumbai Durga pujo might just made up for it –almost!
Well I am only discovering Mumbai, and enjoying every wee bit. This was only one page among many! Here's to firsts, a city i fall in love with each day. :)