PReTty CIT(t)y

It was a not at all a cold, end-of-December morning.  The first step of the plan was to head to Bandstand.  It was 6 am and pitch dark.  We left the rick near Khoja florists, at the end of Hill Road and the beginning of the Bandstand promenade.  In semi-darkness we walked along the promenade concentrating more on the buildings towards the left than the vast sea on the right. There was still time for the sea to reveal itself.

I kept peppering our walk with trivia when we passed Shahrukh's Mannat, trivia about Mount Mary church and the festival, about St. Catherin's, more trivia as we crossed the Taj Land's End, adding trivia about the Bandra festival, the many performances and the Bandra citizen's efforts and initiatives. Stopping for a while at the amphitheater, we could not help but enjoy a few moments of silence taking in the beautiful stone steps flanked by green trees getting brighter more than deeper in the light of the rising sun.

We climbed up the steps to the old fort. Looked at the sea link. Climbed down the steps and down a few rocks to where one could hear the water lapping against the rocky shore. From here the sky looked a light grey giving way to a rozy pink. We looked at the sea link again.

The next step was to hop into a cab and cruise along the sea link to Worli.  The city is pretty in the mornings.  Waking up gloriously.  And I realized I had never seen it the way I saw it that day. I was out with no other purpose but to show my colleagues around and with no other agenda but to see its different shades. Crossing the sea link over to Worli and the sea face we finally got back on the city roads on our way to Matunga Circle. It was trivia time once more.  Poonam chambers, Dadar catering college, Siddhivinayak, Vanita Samaj, YMCA, Shivaji Park, Shiv Sena Bhavan, Shivaji Mandir, Plaza theatre, Dadar station and finally Matunga Circle.

Getting off at the circle we took a walk through the modest flower market near Matunga station.  Matunga makes me want to be draped in a saree, braid my hair, adorn it with loads of flowers, smell of sandalwood and walk towards a temple with flowers and pooja stuff.  Walking through some quiet lanes of Matunga, lined by Gulmohar trees, leaves falling down with each passing gust of wind, Bombay never seemed like that. It never before looked the way it did that morning. Reaffirmed love. Some loves do not change.


After a simple yet simply delicious breakfast of Neer Dosas and Pesserayetta downed with the incomparable filter coffee at the Madras Cafe I headed home.

I did see different hues of Bombay.......grey giving way to rozy pink that turned a bright azure.