Joggers' Park at Bandra

Most of the evening I am lazy, I normally sit with a cup of tea in my balcony, watching the sunset, nibbling away on some snack, listening to radio and dreaming of something that I wouldn’t discuss with anyone, not even with my best friend.


But on those days, when I happen to look in the mirror and see my protruding tummy groan at me, I shy away from my image and walk downstairs and circle around my building several times. Many a times I meet my friends who will then get adventurous and suggest a walk by the seashore or at the beach. The Juhu beach, or the promenades of Carter Road and Bandstand are all just auto-ride away and it always turns out a better option and I always return home refreshed and in good humor.

Of all the places, I like Joggers park at Bandra the best. We spend about twenty minutes walking on the sandy path, then go to the birdy area to meditate on birds, and finally settle on the seats facing the sea and watch the sunset. On our way home, we have a warm soup sold from a mobile shop and return in time to watch the late night TV shows.

People from Bihar are quite hard=working .....

If you want to truly make money in Mumbai, there are hundreds of ways to make it, all you need to do is the hard work and sincerity, Me thinks that Bihari are very enterprising and you see them doing all kinds of odd jobs making our life easier. Auto rickshaw drivers, taxi drivers, street hawkers, carpenters, painters, etc, etc, most of them are Biharis. Had they stayed back in Bihar and worked so hard in their own city, how rich and successful city would Bihar be? But Mumbaite are lucky that we get opportunity to avail of their service. Take for example like these group of Biharis stationed outside post office. The other day, I shopped for my niece some t-shirts, skirts, earrings and some accessories and headed towards the post office. It was drizzling and as soon as I stepped out of the auto, this Bihari smile at me and asked me if he could assist me. He took the packet from my hand and examined the contents and then led me inside the post office to show the contents to the post master. We were then back on the footpath, outside the post office, he dusted a small wooden stool and asked me to remain seated while he would pack it for me. Thus I sat, on a low stool, watching the traffic and the people on the streets and then watching him pack my parcel. Cramped up on his lower seat, with a small bag on his lap, and the broken plastic sheet over his head, up against the wall, barely protecting him from rain, he removed beige colored cloth, measured it around the packet and cut the cloth with razor blade (he didn’t even invest in scissors) and stitched the cloth around the packet. He gave me two forms to fill and guiding me the right way to write the address, stressing the point that both, ‘To’ and ‘From’ addresses should be written on one side of the packet and he stuck the form on the other side. He accompanied me back into the post office, bought stamps and helped me post it…. Quite easily done for a small fee of Rs50 only….

If the supermarket is on 4th floor and there is a cross fire with the management, who suffers?

I like shopping-under-one-roof and therefore prefer to go to malls and super stores for shopping. In Bandra we have only one supermarket called Magnet, which is on linking road. There are many mini supermarkets spread all over Bandra, but this particular one has everything under one roof and is bigger one, spread over third and fourth floor, and it is my weekly spot for shopping for grocery and sundry articles. Making a mental note of what I proposed to buy, I waited in line to take a lift to third floor. But the management of the Crystal Mall had banned the market over some grumpy issues and had prohibited the use of lift and escalator leading to the store. The lift and the escalators were available only up till 2nd floor. That would mean using the stairs, the only way to enter the market and then buying only the minimum since lift is not available for carrying the heavy trolleys. This kind of punishment is quite severe. I wanted to retrace my steps and go on to another market but that would be too much hassle. The superstore was losing sales. Their loss will reflect on the employees and on consumers. Magnet is a popular superstore and on weekends, the cash box is continuously ringing. But hitting below the belt is the common punishment in India. We see people going on strike regularly. Doctors, bus employees, banks, everybody takes their turn to hijack the city. It is normally done during the peak season when the consumers are likely to suffer. Instead of punishing the consumers and employees, it is better that the indifference can be settled in a different way in which only the disputed party suffer. One way around this is to provide better or cheaper service - at the management's expense, to the consumers. Like for example in the year 1968, Lisbon bus and train workers gave free rides to all passengers to protest a denial of wage increases. Conductors and drivers arrived for work as usual, but the conductors did not pick up their money satchels. Needless to say, public support was solidly behind these take-no-fare strikers. However, there were many like me, who had climbed up to 4th floor and shopped, but shopped carefully to buy only as much as it was possible to carry it downstairs without a lift. In India, consumers always come last. Bosses rule the land and consumers, the losers; bear the heavy cross on their shoulders, silently

The Mumbai Times Café (Review)

Ever wondered how these youngsters pass their time when they are not in the college? Well, you will find them hanging around in one of the countless cafes that are scattered all over the city of Mumbai. Bandra is the suburb with more than 200 places to hang around. There are restaurants everywhere. If you are hungry, you only have to walk for two minutes and you are sure to find a restaurant. From this week onwards, there is one more place to hang around. The Mumbai Times Café (It is not the name of any newspaper, now they have started naming cafes after newspapers too. How innovative they can get!). On the 5th floor of Crystal Shoppers Paradise Mall, Linking road, we saw the opening of yet one more place to hang around. What I was amused and liked it, was a private terrace beach-like-look (sans sea) with muddy floor, fishing net and two boats. They plan to put Mumbai chaat stalls around that area. People can just hang around there, standing, eating and dining. The overall ambience and the concept of coffee are good. The menu resembles a new-paper, (what else? as the name suggests) In one corner, at far end, there is a newspaper-rack that resembles the broken dhabas and basket of dhabbawallahs of Mumbai.(Did they steal one from some railway station?). There is a mix of authentic ‘Mumbaiya’, Indian and global dishes throw in. (The prices are steep and cover the cost of bread, service and ambience). They have Wi-Fi broadband facilities, (you can take your lap-top and surf the net for free), LCD screen airing all major news channels (you can watch five news channels, all at the same time) and also separate lounge and outdoor areas. (Forget about chatting with your friends, the music murders all the other sounds). Just eat, dance and drink till you drop dead. If you are going late evenings, (8pm to 10pm) then there is ‘Live Band’ on Mondays and Wednesdays, ‘Karaoke night’ on Sundays and ‘Ladies Night’ on Fridays when there is one complimentary drink for every lady entering the café (they want to encourage ladies to become drunkards so that they can stop complaining about their man) There is ‘happy hours’ till September 30th and we took advantage of this offer. I ordered spicy fish and chips and my friend ordered Pav bhaji, but we paid for only one dish. We bought the assorted range of breads and cakes too (since the offer was to pay for one and get one free). The drawback is that there is no separate lift for this restaurant, it is shared with supermarket, which is on 3rd and 4th floor, and if you don’t wish to wait for lift then you have to use staircase, which is dirty and full of paan stains. (But, then this is the common sight, you get to see dirt and ‘Paan-stained Arts’ at all the stairways in Mumbai.) Well, nothing is perfect….. It is not supposed to be.

5 Spice restuarant in Bandra...

Today is my brother-in-laws birthday. Morning I call him on his mobile to birthday wish him and promise him a birthday gift if he promises me to treat me in a restaurant. He says he does not believe in celebrating birthdays because he is too old. But I know he will treat me in a good restuarant. So, in the evening, as I wish him happily, I smile, expecting a treat in a fancy restuarant. My sister is not surprised. We go for dinner to 5 Spice, a cozy-two-storey Chinese restaurant. It is at Pali Hill in Bandra. He has already booked a table for five and when we arrive at the restaurant, the valet drives away our car to a secured parking. As we enter, my sister orders a cake, with the name engraved on the cake, to be delivered to our table at the end of the meals. The hostess smilingly leads us up the wooden stairs, to a table for six on the first floor. I sit facing the red, warm wall that is behind my known faces. The table is laid with white china ware and white napkins that are so soft to touch. The waiter comes immediately to our table to take our order. They don’t like to keep people waiting for too long. All the tables are occupied. the sooner the people leave, the better is their business. On week-ends, you see many people waiting patiently outside the restuarant, on the road. The popularity of this restaurant is good and it is known for its good food, with big servings at a reasonable price. While everybody orders fresh lime soda, my brother-in-law orders whiskey (he wants to celebrate his birthday) I order sweet and sour soup.(I have stopped having fizzy drink)My brother-in-law is in playful mood and he keep dailing different people and fooling around, teasing my sister. We order pan-fried shrimps, spicy chicken and spring rolls for starters. Ummy the shrimps taste so good and juicy. The quantity is quite a lot and we are already feeling full. The sauces add to the richness of the taste. Before the next course arrives, we pass our time joking and singing 'Ay ganpat, whiskey lao, soda ko glass me jaldi lao, we are the bhais, mum-bai bhais....the girl on the next table is laughing hysterically and we laugh with her too. The next course arrives and it includes fish (my nephew’s choice), burnt rice (the speciality) and fried vegetarian noodles. I am already feeling too full, but the food is too tasty and I cannot stop myself form over-stuffing myself. I have extra noodles in my fridge (we packed the left-overs) and I plan to eat it tomorrow. We rinse our throats with Chinese tea but are too full to eat the birthday cake. Anyways, my brother-in-law is an old man, cake is for kids. I am happy to visit this 5 Spice restaurant, if you happen to be in Bandra, do dine in, you will love it.