Mumbai's Boat People!

One of these days I found these "convertibles" on the coast at Macchimar Nagar, between Cuffe Parade and Nariman Point. It took me a while to realise that these are boats waiting out the monsoons! Till then they act as shanties.

Churchgate Parking Lot Banyan Tree

You can find Banyan trees lurking inconspicuously in most usual places, like this one in the parking lot of Churchgate opposite Eros.

Cuffe Parade2

Cuffe Parade is a piece of reclaimed heaven. But it is also a symbol of what all is wrong with Mumbai. The residential rent is among the highest in the world. When it was being built it was being vehemently opposed by a person no less than Phirozeshah Mehta and no, it was not for environmental concern, but he thought that such a huge piece of land will depress prices in coveted South Bombay. But the prices spiralled after the reclamation as they do even today. The construction was bungalows on the art - deco pattern. Of course in the last decade it has been of the skyscraper kind.

Cuffe Parade from Nariman Point

It is a symbol for mumbaikars, the opulence which they see everyday but cannot live. It feels, as if you stretch your hand you can touch it but not quite!

Cuffe Parade

Cuffe Parade is one of the most upmaket and posh localities of Mumbai, interestingly often pronounced as "Cup Parade" by city cabbies. The written version is often even more plebian: "cough parade"! It is named after T.W Cuffe who was instrumental in reclamation in the area. Currently, the renamed version is: Captain Prakash Pethe Marg. Here are a couple of views:

Cuffe Parade by Day

Cuffe Parade by night

Trinkets on Colaba Causeway

A trinket shop

You just cant seem to miss the colour on Colaba Causeway!

Laloo's magic and small town India aspirations

I had heard a lot of hype about the "upgradation" of tickets to the higher class, but I really got to see the "magic" recently while I was going to Ahmednagar. I was travellng on a waitlisted ticket but still managed to eke out enough space to "exist" in a reserved coach. The TTE gave his meanest, dirtiest look but smiled to the couple sitting across and told them that their ticket has been "upgraded" to 3AC! Ofcourse it meant a cheerful smile all around because there were a couple of more "illegitimate" passengers there. Two people moving out obviously meant more space to sit! There was a group of students from Raipur. They had come to Pune to secure admissions to a BCA college however were told that the admissions had stopped long before their results came out. They were not bubbling with energy but were not depressed either. They were talking excitedly about the apparent vastness of Pune and its filthy but rich streets. They wondered aloud that nearly everyone gets a job in Pune irrespective of their qualifications, you only had to posses two skills: ability to handle computers and speak english. Unfortunately for them, these were the two skills they lacked. But they had a little plan to make up for this deficiency. Next year they would be back, with better english skills and a working knowlegde of computers and on time! Once there, studies can continue. Suddenly I also caught their infectious enthusiasm started feeling positive!

Mumbai GPO

What do you do when you have to send a document in a jiffy to an address which does not accept private couriers? Well you reach to the nearest "24 Hour Speed Post centre". And what else do you do? You snap pictures of the gigantic and marvellous GPO building in the setting sun. Here are they:

No this is not a mosque but the dome of GPO!

18 Lac doesnt seem to be much of an amount for this grand building!

Mumbai in rains!

Its no secret that Mumbai is receiving heavy rains and that is both good and bad. I got two photos, one for each aspect. The first is the day my entire travel plan for the weekend went haywire:






This counter ar CST local terminus showing the "punctuality" of the central line trains on the day!



This is a view of the Oval Maidan and the lake like puddle which has formed in the centre!