Customer delight

"We are not talking to each other, but we don't mind posing for you" This could be one of the captions that I could think of after clicking this sunset picture at Colaba.

They were actually posing for me, because after clicking when I started walking, they too started walking with me. Sunset is a good opportunity to click good pictures, like these kids having a lively chat while the sun goes down.

While clicking I saw this lighthouse, which came into existence in  1770.  This is situated at the prong of Colaba.

When the Portuguese occupied the island of Bombay in the 16th century they built a watchtower on the Old woman's island (Colaba)

Later it was. modified into a lighthouse by the British in 1770. It was further improved in 1800 by a powerful wick lamp.This was the first major lighthouse in British India followed by one in Madras in the same year.

After many changes in the lamp, in 2008 it got its present 70 Watt metal Halide lamp.
Not much has changed in the Marinedrive area of Mumbai. Like this font from the 50s still stands as a sign board in the area.

Some of the buildings with rounded corners which I have seen in the early 60s, still stands.

The heritage structure next to Churchgate station stands in all its glory with the tricolour and the ever present yellow taxis of Mumbai justapositioned in the front. Incidentally I found that the taxis are cheaper than the Uber.

Years have gone by but the buying and selling power of this simple flower lady remains the same (not far from the Sensex office)

The bus service by BEST keeps improving as the years go by. Like they have seperate lines for gents and ladies (ladies from the front)

In the bus I was highly impressed by the conductor's interaction with the passengers, always jovial and happy, cracking a joke here and there. One lady did not know where to alight, but had the address on her phone. The conductor took the phone from her and had a look at the address. Then he opened google map on her phone and fed in the location on the map. From the route he got the stop which was closest to her destination and issued a ticket accordingly. All this with a smile. I would call this as customer delight.

Kala Ghoda Festival 2024

Had been to the Kala Ghoda Festival and took some general pictures of Mumbai, like this night shot of the Mumbai University

Sauntered into the Westside store (opposite Kala Ghoda) and saw these young boys from Live 101 keeping the customers entertained. They were playing my favourite song by Bob Marley.

Marley's classic song No Woman No Cry was inspired by his experience living in the trench town area of Kingston, Jamaica. The song reflects the hardships and struggles faced by the residents of the ghetto with its lyrics portraying empathy and hope for better times. The song was recorded in 1974 and the live recording was released as a single in 1975.

The song is meant as an encouragement that life is worth living for - a beacon of hope shining in the darkness. The title and the main refrain "No Woman no cry" means, Woman, don't cry.
Another non festival picture was this pretty woman trying to sell some trinkets at the Regal crossing.

Mumbai was looking all colourful with the new double decker electric bus

Took me back about six decades when I travelled by tram on the same road and the fare was 10 Ps from Byculla to Regal.

We patronized an old Parsee joint Jimmy Boy in the area for dinner. The "sunny side up on kheema" not only looked great but was really yummy.
Their concept is to serve Lagan nu Bhonu (Parsee wedding food) at their restaurant. Jamva Chaloji.

It was heartwarming to see this study centre in the heart of the city where students coming from underprivileged backgrounds can come and study and fans and lights and charging points are provided for them. These two pictures below explain it all. (behind that board you can see youngsters sitting and studying)

Now for some festival shots. This catapult reminded me of the ones we made by cutting the Y from a guava tree and tying rubber strips from discarded cycle tubes. Now it is a part of the Channapatna toys in one of the stalls.

I was impressed by the pencil sketch done by Ashish Mahajan at the Cooperage Bandstand Garden. Had a chat with him and he said that he usually takes about 6 to 8 hrs to finish a pencil sketch of a portrait. (you can see him in action in the video) The charges too were cost effective.

We saw this pottery workshop where one gets a feel of the potter's wheel.

There was an exhibit by the Indian Navy opposite Lion Gate with the title Lest we forget. It was crafted from the recovered memorabilia of INS Vikrant as an offering of everlasting tribute. This too took me down memory lane when I was posted on duty on the Vikrant from the NCC during the Navy week, way back in early 70s.

There was a stall by The Good Doll where each product is handcrafted by women from underserved communities using natural and upcycled materials that are ethically sourced from within the region.

Kala Ghoda is an yearly event and it is a good platform for people to showcase their product/talent. This was started on a small scale 25 years ago.
Hope to click more pictures next year.

Coconut scraper

I had two coconuts to grate so I selected a bigger plate for the job. While grating my thoughts kept drifting and I was wondering "is it the same plate?"

Once I was through, I emptied the plate, flipped it and had a closer look at the bottom. Yes, the marking was there. It was 30 year ago that I got this from my employer. They had distributed it to all the employees on the completion of the millionth vehicle. The old emblem also could be seen (The present Tata Motors was known as Telco in those days - Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company) It was very difficult to photograph it as everything was almost worn out after 30 years so I had to dust it with some talcum powder, and then enhance it a bit in Photoshop so that one could read the inscription.

The coconut scraper too was pretty old and has seen better days (about 40 years old) There was a formation of a dent where the metal blade rested on the wood, so I keep a coin there to avoid further damage.

The scraper in this open position reminded me of Mrs Kelkar, our old neighbour in Bombay from the early 60s. I remember her advice to her daughter वापरात नसताना ते बंद ठेवा (when not in use keep it closed) A simple safety advice which goes a long way.

A part of this grated coconut went into our puttu (steamed rice cake) and I made a 20 sec video on it (the puttu)

The song in the video is by Dr Akhila Alexander.

Couldn't help with the train of thoughts while grating.

Kala Ghoda Festival Part 3

A few of the other things that I clicked at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.  Wall paintings I found at one of the by lanes near by.

The present Kala Ghoda against the noon sun, erected just three months ago. The plaque gives the name of the Architect as Alfaz Miller and the sculptor as Shreehari Bhosale. 

Those old Chai kettle is making a colourful comeback  

Some enthusiastic school kids were having a gala time in the drawing competition.  

And others were trying their hand at decorating a pie. 

The creation of some kid, her interpretation of Rapunzel 

Some kids had a feel of the potter’s clay. The pots they created were looking funny, but at least they got a good idea of how the potter’s wheel works. 

At a stall I saw this cookery book being sold, signed by the author Pooja Dhingra. 

At cross maidan there were some fancy food trucks dishing out some Indian food.  

While walking away from Kala Ghoda I noticed this building on the right which I feel is a part of Lion Gate. If you ignore the building in the background then the structure on the left and the one on the right can make a good street scene for a period film, maybe one of Bombay during the early forties.