Wednesday, February 24, 2016

A day to remember

- by Deepa Krishnan

It's not often that you get to spend the day with the governor of the Reserve Bank! So here's a quick look at my day, with Radhika Puri and Raghuram Rajan. What a totally fabulous couple. And such lovely, old-fashioned good manners. I really should learn from them. I met them at 8:45 am, and we talked non-stop until 2:00 p.m. Quite a feat, even for a super-talkative person like me! 
We started with a visit to Castella de Aguada, the old Portuguese fort, where I explained about all the kingdoms who fought for control of trade on the western coast. There are multiple forts around the bay (Mahim Fort, Bandra Fort, Worli Fort). Clear evidence of the strategic importance of this area.
We saw lovely views of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
Driving past Mount Mary, we stopped to see the prayer candles. They are so uniquely Bandra! If you want to have your wishes fulfilled, all you need to do is pray to the Mother of the mount and light a candle. There are wax figurines which you can offer to become a television star, or a movie star, and there was even one for becoming a Hollywood star :) The homes of some big Bollywood badshahs and ranis are nearby, and we saw them as we drove past Bandstand.
At St Andrews Church, we were joined by Father Caesar D'Mello, who showed us around and told us some interesting stories. The church is celebrating its 400th year. "When the Taj Mahal was built, we were already 50 years old", they say proudly.
After the church visit, we started our village walk. We went to Chimbai Village, Ranwar Village and Chapel Road; where we enjoyed the old wooden architecture, the numerous small crosses and the quirky wall art. We went to a designer studio, to see how a old heritage house can be repurposed.
 
We ended the Bandra tour with chaat at Elco Arcade, where we ordered their seasonal strawberry kulfi, as well as some old favourites of mine (I like the pani puri and the gulab jamun!). 

And then because we wanted to get more out of the day, we went to Dharavi, to see what makes the slum economy tick. What a great visit, even though it was completely unplanned. We went to Dharavi Art Room, to meet Himanushu and see the great work he is doing with children and women. We saw the papad-making (cooperative model) and how that worked. We walked into a "multiplex" to watch the migrant population enjoying a Nagarjuna movie. We saw the recylcing industry, garments industry, and all the units busily at work. We met Fahim, who I have been mentoring now for several years. Fahim told the story of how he set up and grew his slum tour company 'Be the Local'.  We walked through narrow alleyways, seeing how people lived. All in all, it was quite a day!

12 comments:

Aadil Desai said...

Lucky you and luckier Raghuram Rajan to be shown around by you. Congratulations!!!

Srividya said...

Interesting Deepa....Love the way you make commercial Mumbai appear like a historic site with nuances of architectural beauty and of course the subtle Mumbai ethos.

Garden Biome said...

Great narration! Felt like I was a part of it. Interesting to read all these unknown things about Bombay!

Unknown said...

How lucky you are to spend so much if time with this great man and his family. Simply adore Dr. Rajan for the way he's been doing his job as Governor of the RBI.

Unknown said...

How lucky you are to spend so much if time with this great man and his family. Simply adore Dr. Rajan for the way he's been doing his job as Governor of the RBI.

Unknown said...

Fascinating to read about walking the RBI Governor. My only question was that didn't people recognise him during the walk or elsewhere and wasn't he mobbed?

Michael Andre said...

You're also lucky because you don't have to read about Donald Trump.

Haddock said...

The view of the Chapel Road, there is a similar place at Matherpakadi Lane (Mazgaon)

austere said...

Lucky Dr Rajan to be shown about by you. Dharavi is a beehive of activity oncem one really starts looking. So many dreams!

Unknown said...

I would like to meet Raghu sir

Mr Paperback said...

Wow... Lucky you !! Its is a honor to spend a day with such a knowledgeable person..

Unknown said...

How cool is that. Like many cities of India, Bombay has lot of history, which most visitors would miss easily. I couldn't stop myself from thinking why would you give reasons for Indians who accuse liberals of ignoring pre-colonial India. Agreed, you may not are liberal, but Dr. Rajan is one. I am not sure if either you call you as a Hindu, but to think no temple is worth visiting in Bombay will not site well with many Indians.