A trip to Bombay
On the way back to Gurgaon after 5 days at home in Bombay and as usual, I have this empty feeling in me whenever I have to leave Bombay.
After quite a long time, this trip was without any agenda, without any tasks to be accomplished, and hence gave me the opportunity to relive some of the special things about Bombay that I overlooked when I lived here for the best part of 30 years.
A major part of Bombay's culture is the whole ecosystem that a railway station and its neighbourhood spawns. The markets near any railway station are tremendous in terms of the variety of nearly everything available, ranging from the simple and delicious food at the Udipi restaurants that are so quintessentially Bombay, to the numerous vada pav, samosa pav and bhajiya pav stalls, to the vegetable & fruit markets, to the numerous shops that sell very affordable saris, dress materials and children's clothes, to the toy stores, the aarey booths, the fruit juice stalls......and I could go on and on. Nearly anything you need is available around the railway stations.
People often rave about the variety of food in Delhi. Having now lived in the NCR for two and a half years, I can safely say that Bombay has an equal variety to offer too. Here are some things that you'd be hard pressed to find in Delhi (and I mean the taste and the affordability taken together):
- Vada Pav
- Pav Bhaji
- Dahi Batata Puri
- Sev Puri
- Dabeli
- Grilled Chutney Sandwiches
- Sugarcane Juice
- Bhel Puri
- Monginis Patties
- Aarey Energee
- Pan Poli
- Dhokla, Khandvi and Patra
- Shrikhand
- Samosa and Ragda at Guru Kripa
Before returning from Bombay this time, I managed to spend some time in the markets at Matunga and Vile Parle. I had a hearty lunch at an Udipi Restaurant near Vile Parle station. The typical smell in an Udipi restaurant is common no matter which one you enter anywhere in the city. Somehow, that smell is so comforting, so reassuring and so 'Bombay'. I really wish I could capture that smell somewhere.
A 'half glass' of sugarcane juice spiced with ginger and a dash of lemon took me back to college days and reminded me how the sugarcane of Maharashtra is possibly the sweetest in the country. Unfortunately, my appetite now is much lesser than what it used to be about 5 years back, which is why I couldn't have two half glasses, which was the bare minimum during college days. The cheap thrill those days was being able to drink two half glasses, paying almost the same as a full glass, but actually getting more like one and a half glasses.
With my kid due in the next couple of weeks, one of my biggest concerns was that I wanted my child to experience some of that magic that Bombay's culture is. The poor vegetable vendor with a big heart, the typical middle class travelling by local trains, ever willing to help a co-passenger, the typical banter that goes on in a kirana / pan stall between regular customers, the bhajan mandalis in the local trains, the little urchin serving tea with a smile on his face, the guju housewife browbeating a vegetable seller into accepting a couple of rupees lesser, the 'tambi' at an udipi restaurant taking orders from multiple tables without having to write anything down, the simultaneous cricket matches that go on in any open space available....all these are quintessentially Bombay. In this fast changing world where shopping is now done in malls, flyovers are obscuring the most prominent landmarks, chawls are giving way to super premium apartments, it was refreshing to see that Bombay's culture hasn't changed much. Cars stop to allow a pregnant woman to cross the road, drivers reverse their cars to allow cars pass them in narrow alleys, there is always some friendly banter when you meet your
neighbourhood kirana store or dhobi or milk delivery man. Glad that these things are still alive and well. Some things are too good to change!!! To quote one of my favourite songs - Ae Dil hai mushkil
jeena yahaan, zara hatke zara bachke yeh hai Bombay meri jaan.
After quite a long time, this trip was without any agenda, without any tasks to be accomplished, and hence gave me the opportunity to relive some of the special things about Bombay that I overlooked when I lived here for the best part of 30 years.
A major part of Bombay's culture is the whole ecosystem that a railway station and its neighbourhood spawns. The markets near any railway station are tremendous in terms of the variety of nearly everything available, ranging from the simple and delicious food at the Udipi restaurants that are so quintessentially Bombay, to the numerous vada pav, samosa pav and bhajiya pav stalls, to the vegetable & fruit markets, to the numerous shops that sell very affordable saris, dress materials and children's clothes, to the toy stores, the aarey booths, the fruit juice stalls......and I could go on and on. Nearly anything you need is available around the railway stations.
People often rave about the variety of food in Delhi. Having now lived in the NCR for two and a half years, I can safely say that Bombay has an equal variety to offer too. Here are some things that you'd be hard pressed to find in Delhi (and I mean the taste and the affordability taken together):
- Vada Pav
- Pav Bhaji
- Dahi Batata Puri
- Sev Puri
- Dabeli
- Grilled Chutney Sandwiches
- Sugarcane Juice
- Bhel Puri
- Monginis Patties
- Aarey Energee
- Pan Poli
- Dhokla, Khandvi and Patra
- Shrikhand
- Samosa and Ragda at Guru Kripa
Before returning from Bombay this time, I managed to spend some time in the markets at Matunga and Vile Parle. I had a hearty lunch at an Udipi Restaurant near Vile Parle station. The typical smell in an Udipi restaurant is common no matter which one you enter anywhere in the city. Somehow, that smell is so comforting, so reassuring and so 'Bombay'. I really wish I could capture that smell somewhere.
A 'half glass' of sugarcane juice spiced with ginger and a dash of lemon took me back to college days and reminded me how the sugarcane of Maharashtra is possibly the sweetest in the country. Unfortunately, my appetite now is much lesser than what it used to be about 5 years back, which is why I couldn't have two half glasses, which was the bare minimum during college days. The cheap thrill those days was being able to drink two half glasses, paying almost the same as a full glass, but actually getting more like one and a half glasses.
With my kid due in the next couple of weeks, one of my biggest concerns was that I wanted my child to experience some of that magic that Bombay's culture is. The poor vegetable vendor with a big heart, the typical middle class travelling by local trains, ever willing to help a co-passenger, the typical banter that goes on in a kirana / pan stall between regular customers, the bhajan mandalis in the local trains, the little urchin serving tea with a smile on his face, the guju housewife browbeating a vegetable seller into accepting a couple of rupees lesser, the 'tambi' at an udipi restaurant taking orders from multiple tables without having to write anything down, the simultaneous cricket matches that go on in any open space available....all these are quintessentially Bombay. In this fast changing world where shopping is now done in malls, flyovers are obscuring the most prominent landmarks, chawls are giving way to super premium apartments, it was refreshing to see that Bombay's culture hasn't changed much. Cars stop to allow a pregnant woman to cross the road, drivers reverse their cars to allow cars pass them in narrow alleys, there is always some friendly banter when you meet your
neighbourhood kirana store or dhobi or milk delivery man. Glad that these things are still alive and well. Some things are too good to change!!! To quote one of my favourite songs - Ae Dil hai mushkil
jeena yahaan, zara hatke zara bachke yeh hai Bombay meri jaan.
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