Category: Mumbai

The Sion Fort

Posted on by sudhagee

The Sion Fort is one of the eight existing forts in Mumbai.

My brothers tell me that I visited the Fort as a 4-year old in 1975. Our family had just shifted to Mumbai from Bhopal that year and the first few months were spent in settling down and of course, exploring a new city. I have absolutely no recollection of that visit, though I remember other visits made at that time to the Gateway of India, the zoo, the shoe house at Malabar Hill,  etc.

Over the years, hearing my brothers talk about the visit to the Sion Fort has always made me want to visit it. But somehow, every planned trip to the Sion Fort has never worked out for one reason or the other. One can even say that it was jinxed. There was one instance when I had gotten off the bus at Sion and had just started walking towards the Fort when I got a call from office asking me to report immediately for a work-related emergency! That was about 4 years back and my last attempt to visit the Sion Fort.

Till earlier this month, that is. When I casually mentioned about wanting to visit the Sion Fort to Rushikesh Kulkarni, a fellow blogger and the guy who runs Breakfree Journeys, he said, “Let’s go.” Before I knew it, a date and a time had been fixed for the visit. And just like that it worked out. So on a weekday, about an hour before sunset, Rushikesh, my friend Neena and I met at the entrance of one of the lanes leading to the Fort from the Eastern Express Highway at Sion.

Sion Fort, Forts of Mumbai, Sion
The Sion Fort

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The Mumbai Monorail ride

Posted on by sudhagee

On 1 February 2014, the Mumbai Monorail, the city’s newest (and third form of) public transport was inaugurated. Or rather the first leg (Chembur to Wadala), of the first phase of the Mumbai Monorail was inaugurated. A much-anticipated addition to Mumbai’s public transport system, the Monorail saw 20,000 people queuing up for a ride on the first day itself. The days following the inauguration saw newspaper reports with pictures of long queues of people patiently waiting for their turn to take a ride as well as experiences of people who had managed to go on one. Though I had wanted to take a ride during the initial period, I decided to wait till the novelty wore off and the crowds lessened.

And then on 11 March 2014, I read a newspaper report that claimed that the Mumbai Monorail ridership had fallen to 92,771 per week. This meant that only regular commuters were using the Monorail now, except perhaps on weekends when people still came out to “check out” the Monorail. So, two days later and at 7.30 in the morning, I was standing outside the Chembur Monorail station and looking up in anticipation of the ride to follow. Join me as I take the ride to Wadala and back on the Monorail and check out its efficiency and efficacy.

Mumbai Monorail, Public Transport, Mumbai
The Chembur Monorail Station

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The Mahim Fort

Posted on by sudhagee

“And this is the view from the bedroom,” says Rama, throwing open the window and gesturing at me to look out. “It’s not the same as the view of the sea from the living room, but it’s lovely in the evenings, when the sun is setting and the whole place takes on a soft orange glow.”

Rama is a friend (and also a fellow travel blogger) who has just shifted to Mumbai from Delhi, and she is giving me a tour of her apartment on the 15th floor of a building in Bandra, and also the accompanying views from the various windows.

“Hmm…,” I reply, as I look at the view. The sun is a long way from setting and the light is quite harsh on the buildings, slums, the Mahim bay, and… then, something else. Something I had not expected to see. Was it what I thought it was?

“My camera ! I need my camera. Where’s my bag?” I rushed to the living room to retrieve my bag.

“Why? What happened?”, asked Rama in a slightly alarmed voice. “What is it?”

“Wait. I’ll show you,” I said as I switched on my camera and zoomed in to show her this.

Mahim Fort, Mahim Bay, Mumbai, 7 forts of Mumbai

“Rama,” I announced rather grandly, “meet Mahim Fort, one of the 8 existing forts of Mumbai.”

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Harbour, docks & lighthouses: Re-discovering Mumbai

Posted on by sudhagee

It is only 9.30 am, but the sun is quite intense and if not for the sea breeze would have been quite unbearable. I am on the upper deck of a launch berthed at the Gateway of India in Mumbai trying to peer through a haze that has dulled the shimmer and sparkle of  sunlight on water. In front of me, and as far as the haze-driven visibility allows, are ferries, fishing boats, luxury yachts, launches, security vessels… The sea looks like one big parking lot. 🙂

Mumbai Port and Harbour Tour, KGAF, Mumbai Harbour
The parking lot in the sea.

On board the launch, my co-passengers indulge in some gentle jostling for prime spots to photograph, discuss whether the haze would play spoil sport for photography, and generally chat about what is it that we are likely to see in the next couple of hours. As we wait for the launch to leave the jetty, anticipation for the upcoming trip grows. An anticipation for the first of its kind tour of Mumbai’s Port and Harbour organised by the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2014, in association with the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT).

Mumbai Port and Harbour Tour, KGAF, Gateway of India, Taj Intercontinental, Taj Palace Hotel

Our tour guide is Dilip Vishwanathan from the MbPT and his narrative takes us through the pre-maritime history of Mumbai, its natural harbour, the seven original islands of Mumbai, the coming of the Portuguese, then the English and the East India Company, construction of the docks, and present day Mumbai Port and Harbour. Mumbai’s natural harbour and port was known to seafarers and traders from as early as eighth century BC or even before. Though it wouldn’t have looked like the view in the photo above to them !

Though I am familiar with some part of the history, it is always nice to hear it from someone else’s perspective. As the tour guide outlines the route for the trip, I am excited to find that we will be passing through areas that are out-of-bounds to the public.

Join me aboard the launch for this tour. I must confess that it is going to be a long one that will take you Mumbai’s maritime history and my own memories.

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An open letter to KGAF heritage walk organisers

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Dear Kala Ghoda Arts Festival’s Heritage Walks organisers,

Greetings from a participant in your 2014 Heritage Walks 🙂

I almost ignored the Heritage Walks section of the 2014 edition of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF). Not because I suspected the quality of the programmes (they are always good!), but because my previous experience with your Heritage Walks was not very nice.

It was in 2010 (or maybe 2011), when I participated in two walks — (i) Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and (ii) Ballard Estate. The CST walk called for registrations via email for 30 available seats; and I was lucky to get one of them. When I arrived at the meeting point outside CST on the day of the walk and at the appointed time, I found a large crowd gathered there. Most of them had not registered and were determined to be on the walk one way or the other. And they succeeded as your people were just not able to turn them away. This meant that we ended up as a pretty large group and I barely got to hear what the guide spoke.

The Ballard Estate walk turned out to be even more chaotic. This walk had no pre- registrations and interested participants just had to turn up at the World War I memorial in Ballard Estate at the appointed day and time. About 150–200 people turned up that day for the walk. I left 5 minutes into the walk when I found that I could neither see the tour guide nor hear a word of what she spoke.

Thereafter, I restricted my KGAF participation only to the events on Rampart Row every year. Till I came across these words on your website with regard to the 2014 Heritage Walks.

Participants are welcome on FIRST COME – FIRST SERVE [sic] basis… (Maximum people – 50 on first come first serve [sic] basis)…
Note: Only 1 token would be handed over to one person. No email registrations would be accepted.

The “First come – First serve” [sic] and the “Maximum people – 50” clinched it for me. After choosing which ones to go for, applying for time off from work, and reaching well in time to stand up in the queue for the registration tokens, I managed to participate in 5 Heritage Walks and Tours at the KGAF 2014.

Every heritage walk revealed yet another interesting aspect about this beautiful city of ours. Unfortunately, every heritage walk also revealed how much things had not changed with regard to organising and conducting them. The words on your website just remained mere words and didn’t translate into action.

Let me elaborate with details from each walk:

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The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2014

Posted on by sudhagee

The 2014 edition of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) ended today or rather would have by the time I publish this blog post.

A 9-day festival of all things art, the KGAF 2014 offered various programmes in the area of children, cinema, dance, food, heritage walks, literature, music, street, theatre, visual art, workshops, and urban design and architecture. This was the 16th edition of the KGAF and like previous years, every event and programme on offer was free.

Like every year, I made a beeline for the visual / installation art. And unlike previous years, I also made an effort to register and participate in some of the heritage walks as well as a workshop on offer. This meant that I was able to discover something more about this beautiful city of mine and fall in love with Mumbai all over again. 🙂

KGAF 14, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2014, Mumbai
This ghoda or horse incorporates many of the symbols that Mumbai is associated with

Let me take you through the highlights of what I saw and experienced at the KGAF 2014. First up are the visual art /installations and stalls, followed by some captures from the Heritage Walks / Tours I went on.

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