To begin with let me tell you a bit about myself. I have grown up in the bursting at its seams full of zest city — Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay). For those that don’t know much about us — Mumbai was a collection of seven islands originally. Now that is impossible to tell. For those of us who know realise that, there is a causeway that connects the island city to the western suburbs at Mahim. The first suburb as you cross the causeway is Bandra, also lovingly called the queen of the suburbs. In modern day Mumbai, Bandra is the hub of all that is hip and trendy. It has the leafy bylanes, the quaint cafes, the old fishing village, and two fantastic sea front promenades — Bandstand & Carter Road.As you can imagine, since the lock-down the area is totally dead, just like the rest of the city, and the rest of the country, and perhaps most parts of the rest of the world.
Let me walk you through what a typical morning would be like on the Bandra Bandstand promenade. It is a beehive of activity in the mornings…
I am always fascinating to see all the diverse people in the mornings at Bandstand. All shapes and sizes — Couples sitting on the rocks, on the bikes & scooters, on the benches. Cozing up, laughing, talking animatedly or just sitting quietly absorbing each others presence. There are of course the regulars in their walking gear and in their normal groups — talking and walking, from time to time waving to acquaintances. Yet daily you see so many new faces. Many lost in their chosen music. Headsets as modern day cocoons — from walkmans to iPods and every possible smart phone. Technology defines our world. Kids who have given school a miss. Personal wedding shoots. People all formally clad for work having a gentle stroll. Hand in hand. Ladies congregating for a tête-à-tête. Some doing their kapalbhati (a yoga breathing exercise) diligently and some just sitting on the benches and absorbing the vastness of the Arabian Sea. What is nice is that most people are happy and smiling in the mornings, though there is this one lady who always has a frown. I am always foxed by that.
There is this one gangly couple who I have been seeing for a long time. They always walked together at high speed. Happy and looking very much in love, but lately they were seen walking separately. Now at times together and at times separately. They don’t seem so happy anymore. I always wonder what happened?? Are they still together? Is it simply that they have new routines? Has one of them had an affair? So many questions cross my mind.
Then there is the queue of people waiting for Salmanbhai’s benevolence. Salman Khan, for the uninitiated, is the king of Bollywood and lives right on Bandstand. There is also this group practicing their martial art skills — loud cracks as they kick the rexine covered padding.
The bhajiwali (street vegetable vendor) is a heart-warming sight. Rotund lady, always smiling. Selling some very attractive and fresh vegetables. She explains that she lives far away, travels more than an hour to get here early in the morning, and grows all that she sells on her own farm. No sea front in India would be complete without the coconut vendor. Wears a cotton dhoti (kinda like an Indian Kilt, but not warm, and no pleats) South Indian style, has this dangerous looking knife which he deftly uses to open up the coconuts so that we can drink the nourishing water inside.
I often wonder what this place must have been like in the past. Memsahibs with pretty laced white umbrellas. Red roofed Portuguese style villas along the seafront. The beautiful Bandra bay with boats bobbing. Horse carriages. Live bands playing at the actual bandstand at the end of the walkway. I can almost create this romanchak (romantic) vision of an era long gone.
“But the beauty is in the walking — we are betrayed by destinations.” ― Gwyn Thomas
The question that keeps coming to me in these days of quarantine — Will the world ever be the same again? Will my beloved Bandstand promenade ever get its energy back? Will we have to accept social distancing as a way of life? Will humanity forget this time? Only time will answer these questions. We assume that human beings have short memories and that once the threat has been pushed aside we shall be back on the saddle in the same way. We shall just as quickly jump back into the rat race. Wait and watch. Wait and watch is all that we can do, to see what the new world order will be.
Written By Mohit Gupta
Week 14, April ’20
