Bombay Darshan?

So what would you do if you had to introduce Bombay to someone who stubbornly resisted it and thought it to be simply a land of enormous crowds that jostled with you in your private space, a crazy city that seems to work round-the-clock without stopping for a breath, a metro which just seems to spill over everywhere and swallow up everything (and everyone) that comes in it’s path?

*Phew that was a long sentence, said in one long breath*

This is what I did. I treated the person to a gamut of typical Bombay experiences, ranging from Churchgate to Mira Road! :-)

We started off by grabbing b’fast at an Udipi joint then hopped onto a train to Churchgate. Next up – a taxi drive to Fort and then Colaba. Walked around a lot, ogling at those old, though sadly neglected buildings in Fort and later around Causeway (wish I’d stopped to pick up some good bargains – there were some awesome ear rings this time)…Mondegar so rocks! Right from the Caricatured walls, to the “No Smoking” sign that doesn’t prevent anyone from smoking, to the jukebox and the food ofcourse! ;-) NGMA had this interesting exhibition of works by Pakistani artists – some of which were really interesting, not to mention radical! Remind me to talk about this later…That walk down Oval Maidan – I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it – turning around and gazing up at Rajabai Tower just gives me such immense pleasure. Coffee at Gaylord’s before catching an A/C bus to the suburbs…

Midway across town, we hopped off at Bandra – the queen of the suburbs as some people would call it. Down crowded Hill Road to Jogger’s Park and then a long leisurely walk down Carter Road…spent some time there just idling time away till my friends decided to deign us with their presence. Went Café hopping from the CCD at Carter’s to the CCD at JATC – settled in at the latter for a longish period of time, by the fountain so it was nice, cool and breezy. Din-din at Lemon Grass – the food and ambience makes your forgive them for their rather sloppy and tardy service. I don’t think they’ve EVER served me the drink BEFORE the hors-d’oeuvres are over! Ah well, I still love that place and would gladly go there again, with yet another friend who’s not experienced it before. Dessert and wines at Mocha (and I was talking about quick service before, right?) – most nice. Though I think I prefer the Juhu Mocha – nothing beats sitting under the moon, digging into a Kahlua Mousse Cake/Vertical Limit, knowing you can skip over to the beach later for a Kala khatta Gola! :-)

Hopped ricks to the station, as the first one got into an accident in his hurry to get us to the station before I transformed from the Cinderella to Plain Jane ;-) I figured Bombay aint just about the South, or about the queenly suburbs, but also about those far-flung suburbs that are technically outside city limits, so off we went to Mira Road. The Virar local was actually crowded, even at midnight! The only bit in the day that I wished I hadn’t subjected my friend to – but considering the roof over our head for the night was to be in Mira Road, I had no choice…anyways it was quite interesting, what with the guy insisting on forming a protective circle around us to “protect” us from the men drunk on tharra. ;-) Surprisingly, the station market was very much alive when we got there at like nearly 1 am! Wrapped up the day with a session at my friend’s place, after we had spent some time with her adorable brother and even more adorable three dogs.

Friend actually admitted to having enjoyed himself - and thanked me for introdcuing him to Bombay! Score! :-)

Only regret about this trip was that I never made it back “home” – staying as I was away from my usual “adda” I couldn’t squeeze in a trip to my hunting ground. Though I had a wonderful day, followed up by catching up with one of my bosom buddies who’s just shifted back to B’bay from Delhi, I couldn’t help but feel that something was left incomplete. Next time…pakka!