Earlier jottings
Mumbai, April 2001
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We are fine here and attending to our respective jobs and guests at home. My mother in law is here, she does`nt give any problems work-wise. The servants are reasonably aware of our needs now and I do all the shopping while going and coming back, because I pass through most of the markets of Mumbai and that makes it convenient.These days it is through Parel, Dadar and Sion areas and their markets.these are the old areas of Bombay having wide roads and imposing buildings which were built by the Britishers and then renovated demolished and rebuilt from time to time almost within the same perimeters. The people residing in these localities are the original Marathi Gujarati people, you may call them middle class and upper middle class some of them are gradually acquiring affluence now.Sometimes the old majestic buildings are still standing albeit in their dilapidated state. One can only visualize their grandeur when the markets, flyovers, roundabouts around them were nonexistent.As compared to these the newly developed ones lack character.Worli,Versova, Andheri etc show a haphazard growth as if the town planners have gone on a long hiatus.

The rich and richer are surrounded by the poor and poorer.The markets for the richer class is surrounded by that of the poor people, the hawkers, road vendors, Bhelpuriwala, Panipuriwala, fruitseller, lace sellers, ready made clothes, Topis,bags and the list can go on.The temples, Masjids and Mazars have their own hawkers out side their legal precincts.Thehawkers throw their garbage on the roads around them and so do their customers.The shop owners too consider it their birthright to throw their garbage in the centre of the road.Floorspace is taken over by the hawkers and their wares and airspace is taken over by the innumerable banners for sales or electioneering, hoardings of serials,movies and ads.

Garbage in heaps at frequent intervals and the garbage dumps being picked by rag pickers add to the nuisance as the garbage gets dispersed oer a larger area once the ragpickers have done their sorting/ collection of paper, plastic, iron scraps etc.HDPE bags filled of plastic waste and other plastic cans and stuff piled up on the roof of small shops and hutments is a familiar site in the suburbs of Mumbai.
The drains are full of silt, plastic bags, leaves, empty coke and Bisleri bottles and other refuse,one wonders whether it was ever meant to carry water.Sometimes cleaning of drains is carried out and the silt left on the side of the drain to dry for months,those heaps telling their own sad story.

Some of the roads of Mumbai have very broad pavements on both sides to facilitate the movement of people residing in andaround those areas.Then come the modernisation guys the optical fibre is to be laid.Work done aftr months the place is shabbily covered again till the next guy comes to lay/fix the electrical/gas line and the place is dug up again. the poor residents have to suffer it all in silence.The manouvering around the clumsily covered pavements gets more and more difficult. No wonder Saris are fading away from the scene.Then heir are the over religious amongst us who the find the broad pavement a convenient place to rest their Gods.A box with a lock is conveniently placed next to the diety. Who shares the chadava/loot is any body`s guess. The dieties that have manage to stay there long enough get entitled to a full fledged temple with tiled walls around and regular arti being performed.

The art of settling and forming a jhuggi in Mumbai is unique. One day a group/family of people are spotted on a roadside with a few bundles,the smaller children running and playing around them. Then they start cooking, eating and sleeping there. After that a few bamboos are fixed and then a roof cover with some plastic sheets.Further fortification only takes place if they are not hauled up.

Mumbai is beautiful, the seafront, Nariman Point, Marine Drive, Queens necklace,Worli/ Bandra/Juhu seafronts. The grand old Mumbai University, VT station,Prince of Wales Museum etc and also the new modern glass covered highrises of Bandra Kurla Complex which suddenly transport you to another world forgetting for a moment how close you are to Sewri, Choonabhatti and Dharavi.The modern office buildings built mostly of granite and marble have an atmosphere and climate bearing no resemblance whatsoever with the outside world.One is at a loss as to where and which the real Mumbai is.