Getting caught in a traffic jam everyday is the reality of life in Mumbai. Trying to cope with the passivity of the situation, I have evolved a simple tactic. One is to wear dark glasses and shut the eyes, and the second is to look at the same buildings daily and build up a connection among them.
Predominantly a Muslim area, there are at least five christian schools and four churches here, but it is the loudspeakers of the masjids that rule. Cigarette shops and liquor shops abound, with immunity, in spite of the proximity of at least five schools on this road. The footpath is in a very sorry state too, and is used as a road for two wheelers. It is almost safer to walk on the road. This area is a shopping haven for children's outfits, with shops like Nabila, Baingans, Kiwis, Chickoos, Planet Kids etc. All these shops encroach onto the footpath with their displays. I wonder why the E ward authorities are blind to the menace. Obviously a very hefty 'hafta' must be given by all. The footpath is also blocked by the HP petrol pump which is now renovating a 'police chowky' next to its premise, which is also illegally blocking the pedestrian footpath, but no one objects, and so it continues. But when the footpath nears the Byculla Jail, then magically the entire length along the jail has a very clear footpath? Across the road, the grand old American Express Bakery boasts 'we knead your needs' but they blatantly block the broad footpath with large SUVs. Who cares that school children too have to walk on the road? No one.
As my bus inches along Nagpada, it strikes me that it is an amalgamation of so many religious cultures. Essentially a Muslim area, the corner has the JJ Parsee dharamshala at Bellasis road, which 'helps people of all castes and creeds with food, shelter and medicine'. It is one hundred and fifty years old. Hotel Sagar, owned by multimillionaire muslims is the star of the road. Shops with names like Zamzam, Tahoora, Zahoora abound here. Sweet whiffs of bakery products being baked invade the olfactory senses. Then comes the St. Anthony's home and school for girls, run by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, which also has boarders who are taken care of for free. As the bus eases along, I always try to catch a glimpse of the lovely grotto dedicated to Mother Mary, just inside the main gate. Quite a few prostitutes stand along the footpath, as this is also a redlight area of Mumbai. This area is known as Nagpada or Bellasis Road or Boman Behram Marg, until the local MLA changes it to his own name as the chowk name board has already been named after him. the self proclaimed 'famous' citizen Mr. Waris Pathan. It would be credible if he would make sure that the footpaths are blocked for two wheelers and are safe for pedestrians.
The bus stop has the legend 'Alexander talkies and Maharashtra college'. What a contradiction! A theatre that became the bane of all locals, as it was reduced to screening B grade blue films, a drastic fall from its previous status. Started in 1931, by Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani, who was known as the 'father of talkie films' in Asia. He had produced and screened the first talkie called Alam Ara in 1931, besides countless silent films before that, the first indigenous colour film called Kisan Kanhaiya in 1937. So it is an important historical landmark, which has now been taken over by a muslim religious foundation called Deeniyaat. The Anjuman Islam school for girls is across the road, but the footpath in this area is used as parking space and school children walk on the road, braving the traffic. Further on is the intricate dome of the Mehndi Masjid, almost strangled by the newer buildings.
All along the path that the bus moves towards Mumbai central, the Imperial twin towers in the distance are like the North star, as though guiding the path of my bus. Clearly visible from the Nagpada area too, the towering sixty floors built by Hafeez Contractor and the Shapoorji Pallonji Group are a treat to view. A major bus stop is at the Orchid Centre mall, with the BEST depot across the road, a very shabby face on either side, except for the towering DB enclave of forty four floors in the background. I have visited the mall recently and it was a very painful experience, with the tiny cubbyhole mobile accessories' shops, and lots of packing material garbage along the entire corridor, plastic wrappings, nylon strings, thermocole packing, on all the inner floors, and a very strong stink of unclean toilets that all the sellers and buyers seem to be oblivious about. It is as though the public that enters there, expects the shoddy environment.
The bus usually stops at the traffic signal at the Mumbai central chowk, and on the left is the Samudra bar and restaurant, with a poster boasting about a 'live orchestra', and a very vigilant bouncer at its closed door. The next building is the Nathani Heights, which will be the tallest building in India, with seventy two floors, when it is complete. Along the footpath, vendors sell shoes, which has always intrigued me. How do they access the stylish leather shoes? Just before the bus goes over the railway lines below the bridge, I observe the 'night school and night junior college'. And then the nostrils are invaded by the fishy stink of the tiny stalls that are along the descending slope towards Vasantrao Naik Chowk, The chowk has a lovely triangular garden in the centre of the seven road junction here. The pretty sight is spoilt by the derelict Ganga Jamuna theatres in the background. What a waste of prime space. Bhatia Hospital is the next landmark, with haphazardly parked cars, making the broad road into a bottleneck.
I look forward to catch a glimpse of the sprawling Parsee owned bungalow just before Nana Chowk. The congested Nana chowk with six roads forming the cross roads, is as unsafe to walk as ever, with the huge skywalk leading just to this point, and therefore quite pointless to access. The Gamdevi police chowky, is the next eyesore, with police bikes, jeeps, vans, double parked, blocking the road, as though it is their birthright to do as they please, because they are the police. The police vans even block the opposite side access to the footpath, a sad reflection on the indiscipline of 'rule makers' becoming 'rule breakers'.
So then why have I chosen the title 'Stairway to the Stars'? Because in spite of all the melee, my daily route lets me observe the intermingling of the sane, the blatant and the dream makers, with so many religious groups, so closely intertwined, living in peace almost, with so many skyscrapers that have so many residents with their heads among the stars.
Predominantly a Muslim area, there are at least five christian schools and four churches here, but it is the loudspeakers of the masjids that rule. Cigarette shops and liquor shops abound, with immunity, in spite of the proximity of at least five schools on this road. The footpath is in a very sorry state too, and is used as a road for two wheelers. It is almost safer to walk on the road. This area is a shopping haven for children's outfits, with shops like Nabila, Baingans, Kiwis, Chickoos, Planet Kids etc. All these shops encroach onto the footpath with their displays. I wonder why the E ward authorities are blind to the menace. Obviously a very hefty 'hafta' must be given by all. The footpath is also blocked by the HP petrol pump which is now renovating a 'police chowky' next to its premise, which is also illegally blocking the pedestrian footpath, but no one objects, and so it continues. But when the footpath nears the Byculla Jail, then magically the entire length along the jail has a very clear footpath? Across the road, the grand old American Express Bakery boasts 'we knead your needs' but they blatantly block the broad footpath with large SUVs. Who cares that school children too have to walk on the road? No one.
As my bus inches along Nagpada, it strikes me that it is an amalgamation of so many religious cultures. Essentially a Muslim area, the corner has the JJ Parsee dharamshala at Bellasis road, which 'helps people of all castes and creeds with food, shelter and medicine'. It is one hundred and fifty years old. Hotel Sagar, owned by multimillionaire muslims is the star of the road. Shops with names like Zamzam, Tahoora, Zahoora abound here. Sweet whiffs of bakery products being baked invade the olfactory senses. Then comes the St. Anthony's home and school for girls, run by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, which also has boarders who are taken care of for free. As the bus eases along, I always try to catch a glimpse of the lovely grotto dedicated to Mother Mary, just inside the main gate. Quite a few prostitutes stand along the footpath, as this is also a redlight area of Mumbai. This area is known as Nagpada or Bellasis Road or Boman Behram Marg, until the local MLA changes it to his own name as the chowk name board has already been named after him. the self proclaimed 'famous' citizen Mr. Waris Pathan. It would be credible if he would make sure that the footpaths are blocked for two wheelers and are safe for pedestrians.
The bus stop has the legend 'Alexander talkies and Maharashtra college'. What a contradiction! A theatre that became the bane of all locals, as it was reduced to screening B grade blue films, a drastic fall from its previous status. Started in 1931, by Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani, who was known as the 'father of talkie films' in Asia. He had produced and screened the first talkie called Alam Ara in 1931, besides countless silent films before that, the first indigenous colour film called Kisan Kanhaiya in 1937. So it is an important historical landmark, which has now been taken over by a muslim religious foundation called Deeniyaat. The Anjuman Islam school for girls is across the road, but the footpath in this area is used as parking space and school children walk on the road, braving the traffic. Further on is the intricate dome of the Mehndi Masjid, almost strangled by the newer buildings.
All along the path that the bus moves towards Mumbai central, the Imperial twin towers in the distance are like the North star, as though guiding the path of my bus. Clearly visible from the Nagpada area too, the towering sixty floors built by Hafeez Contractor and the Shapoorji Pallonji Group are a treat to view. A major bus stop is at the Orchid Centre mall, with the BEST depot across the road, a very shabby face on either side, except for the towering DB enclave of forty four floors in the background. I have visited the mall recently and it was a very painful experience, with the tiny cubbyhole mobile accessories' shops, and lots of packing material garbage along the entire corridor, plastic wrappings, nylon strings, thermocole packing, on all the inner floors, and a very strong stink of unclean toilets that all the sellers and buyers seem to be oblivious about. It is as though the public that enters there, expects the shoddy environment.
The bus usually stops at the traffic signal at the Mumbai central chowk, and on the left is the Samudra bar and restaurant, with a poster boasting about a 'live orchestra', and a very vigilant bouncer at its closed door. The next building is the Nathani Heights, which will be the tallest building in India, with seventy two floors, when it is complete. Along the footpath, vendors sell shoes, which has always intrigued me. How do they access the stylish leather shoes? Just before the bus goes over the railway lines below the bridge, I observe the 'night school and night junior college'. And then the nostrils are invaded by the fishy stink of the tiny stalls that are along the descending slope towards Vasantrao Naik Chowk, The chowk has a lovely triangular garden in the centre of the seven road junction here. The pretty sight is spoilt by the derelict Ganga Jamuna theatres in the background. What a waste of prime space. Bhatia Hospital is the next landmark, with haphazardly parked cars, making the broad road into a bottleneck.
I look forward to catch a glimpse of the sprawling Parsee owned bungalow just before Nana Chowk. The congested Nana chowk with six roads forming the cross roads, is as unsafe to walk as ever, with the huge skywalk leading just to this point, and therefore quite pointless to access. The Gamdevi police chowky, is the next eyesore, with police bikes, jeeps, vans, double parked, blocking the road, as though it is their birthright to do as they please, because they are the police. The police vans even block the opposite side access to the footpath, a sad reflection on the indiscipline of 'rule makers' becoming 'rule breakers'.
So then why have I chosen the title 'Stairway to the Stars'? Because in spite of all the melee, my daily route lets me observe the intermingling of the sane, the blatant and the dream makers, with so many religious groups, so closely intertwined, living in peace almost, with so many skyscrapers that have so many residents with their heads among the stars.
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