The surname indicates that the chamber possibly belongs to Bohras.
I am not sure about what draws me back to South Mumbai or SOBO as it’s colloquially called. No, I am not talking of the SOBO of the ‘those SOBO girls,’ school of reels.
I am talking about what was apparently referred to as ‘Bombay’ by old timers as learnt when I moved into a PG in Bandra from Kolkata in ‘97.
I asked my PG aunty about where one could find theatres which show English movies.
’Bombay,’ she said
‘What? What is this then?’
‘The suburbs.’
I learnt that ‘town’ was a more contemporary term for the same.
Mumbai’s Fort is the equivalent of Kolkata’s Dalhousie
South Bombay, let’s call it that for now, reminded me of the Calcutta that I had left behind. The office para of Dalhousie/ Esplanade/ Dharmatola, the ‘happening areas’ of Park Street and Middleton Street, the commercial areas of Central Area and College Street where I studied.
I found parallels here in Fort, Nariman Point, Colaba, Cuffe Parade and Mohammad Ali Road (before the JJ Flyover).
Bombay grew over the years and metamorphosed into Mumbai (its new name).
Bombay’s south was no longer, metaphorically speaking, ‘central’ to Mumbai. CBDs moved into the suburbs. As did food and entertainment hubs, malls. There was hardly any reason left for folks to go to South Mumbai; but K and I still love to visit it when we can. It was too big a part of our lives to forget. At times we do mini staycations in hotels in south Mumbai so that we can spend some time reliving our glory days in the nearby areas.
The new Coastal Road has made SOBO more accessible from Bandra. Going there does not seem as daunting, with the travel time being cut by half.
With Rozina at the Upper Crust office
I went to town on Friday to meet Rozina of the Upper Crust Magazine. We had to discuss plans for the next edition of the Home Chef Studio, an event that I jointly host with Upper Crust.
I was lost after I got down from the car. I had to call Rozina for directions. The Metro construction work has made it a difficult to navigate the maze of lanes that leads to their office.
The cheerful young baristas behind the excellent coffee at Nandan Coffee
I spotted a new coffee shop as I walked towards Flora Fountain. It belonged to Nandan Coffee. We are fond of their coffee. K & I have it at the White Crow Book shop when we go to the Jio World Drive mall. Nandan has a shop in shop counter there. I was excited to see the brand new Nandan outlet and picked up an espresso from there before I went for my meeting.
The ever dependable channa sing
I decided to maximise my visit to town and check out an old time eatery, that I had not been to yet, after my meeting got over. I was rather hungry and bought a small pack channa-sing (peanuts and black gram shaked and moxed together with rock salt and lime juice) from a street side vendor. I had it before embarking on my quest for a slice of culinary history. The portion cost me Rs 20. I am sure it would not have cost more than Rs 2 when I first came here in 1996. Tongue tingling and hunger busting, just what you need to power you on the streets.
The protein shake of Mumbai
Our driver and I set off on our journey, with Google Maps as our guide. We went past Fashion Street. I’d made a beeline to shop there when I first came to Mumbai from Kolkata as a MBA summer trainee in 1996. The brands that I spotted when I looked out included GAP and H&M, not just Levi’s and Lee which were exciting enough in ‘96.
Fashion Street 2024. No longer the craze that it was in the 90s when the Indian economy had just been liberalised
Fakes need to keep up with times, even though shopping at Fashion Street is no longer as fashionable.
Life before Amazon
We went past roads dotted with sleepy shops, peddling stuff that no one wants today. The world had moved on, but it was as if ‘Bombay’ couldn’t care less.
A Parsi fire temple near Metro cinema
We drove past two awe inspiring Parsi fire temples near Metro Cinema.
I didn’t know what they were, when I first saw them from a bus in 1996. Nor did I know who Parsis were. Let alone the fact that I would marry one five years later!
The buildings have so many tales to tell, but do we have the time to listen?
We turned in from the main road and drove down smaller lanes which were as if they were frozen in time.
The cheerful blue sky peeped through weather beaten buildings which have a million stories to tell. It’s a pity that our life is too fast for us to take the time to listen to them. One day the buildings will be gone and before we realise it, Bombay will become history.
Living on a prayer, faith and hope
The trip ended with a bit of a misadventure. I returned home with an upset tummy.
But I can never be upset with my Bombay.
I will be back. Soon.
I remember having chana & sing at 25p & 50p during my school days! Two parts of the mini brass measuring cups for chana and one for sing! Packed in a sheet of paper torn from a book or magazine rolled up in a conical shape and sealed in by hand to keep the contents warm after they’re heated with a bowl of hot coals lit up inside it and placed over the chana and sing alternatively. I started going to the Flora Fountain area once I joined college (in 1981) as it was located there and have always been going there ever since!!! My favourite part of town!
Wow. Should have been around the same price in Kolkata as well. Vada pav was for 1.50 when I moved in. I guess channa sing was less than 2 then.