Mumbai – Page 12 – My Favourite Things

A walk in the sky – 1: Bandra Skywalk

Posted on February 2, 2011August 14, 2014 by sudhagee

Over the last 2 years or so, elevated pedestrian walkways connecting suburban railway stations to nearby commercial areas have been sprouting all over Mumbai. Known as skywalks, the first one was inaugurated at the Kalanagar junction of the Western Express Highway in 2008. Today, many more are functional all over Mumbai. Somehow, I never got a chance to take a walk in one of these till last Saturday. I was on my way from Vashi to Borivali via Bandra.

It was 9.30 in the morning when my bus from Vashi deposited me near the Hill Road exit of the Bandra Skywalk. I had to walk up to Bandra Station to take a train to Borivali. From where I stood on the road, the skywalk was lit up by the mellow January morning sun making it irresistibly welcoming. Not to mention the fact I would encounter no traffic at all on the skywalk!

Walking on a skywalk is actually quite surreal. It is quite unlike travelling on a flyover or an elevated road in a fast-moving vehicle, while the world around you appears to be stationary. The skywalk’s experience is quite the opposite with you being stationary with the world rushing by. I could get a bird’s-eye view of the Bandra Talao as well as a peek into the BEST Bus depot—places that one would not get to see with such a perspective. I felt like I was suspended somewhere up in the sky, not altogether an unpleasant feeling. Thankfully, the skywalk did not pass near residences or I would have felt like a voyeur, the way I do whenever I travel on the JJ flyover or the Sion flyover in Mumbai!

So, what are you waiting for? Come, take a walk with me in the sky at Bandra 🙂

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Mumbai Lens: St. Andrew’s Church, Bandra

Posted on January 3, 2011August 18, 2014 by sudhagee

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Just wondering… Why are men offered prasad in temples first?

Posted on December 13, 2010December 3, 2011 by sudhagee

I am an occassional, rather than a regular, temple-goer. And when I do go to one, it is to the Sharadamba Temple in Chembur, Mumbai. I like this particular temple because it is quiet, peaceful, and most importantly, very clean—it is a pleasure to walk on the cool granite floors. Another reason I go to this temple is because it is never crowded, except on festival days like Navratri and Mahashivratri, and even then it is never unbearably so.

The Sharadamba Temple is one large hall with the entrance at one end and the Sharadamba deity at the other end. A simple wooden barrier separates the devotees from the sanctum sanctorum. Like in most temples, the men flock on one side of the hall and the women on the other side, though there is no physical barrier to separate the two sexes. The children, of course, keep running between the two sides.

Over the years that I have been going to this temple, I have noticed something very curious at this temple. After the aarti is over, the priest always offers it to the assembled men first, in particular the office bearers/trustees of the temple. Only then does the aarti thali come around to the women’s side. This is the case with the teertham (holy water), the prasad, as well as the flowers.

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Who’s no. 2 ?

Posted on December 3, 2010December 4, 2011 by sudhagee

What does a newspaper do if it can’t fight for the No. 1 position?

It fights for the No.2 position as illustrated by articles in today’s newspapers of both the DNA and Hindustan Times. Using data from the 2010 Indian Readership Survey (IRS), both broadsheets have claimed that they are the No.2 broadsheet in Mumbai.

The IRS results are awaited every year by advertisers and newspapers alike. The ranking of newspapers is important for both groups as it determines advertising rates and is also an indication of the reach of the particular newspaper.

In a front page article titled, “In Mumbai, DNA retains No.2 spot” claims, the DNA says that it is

30% ahead of its nearest competition in the broadsheet category, Hindustan Times, with a TR [total readership?] of 11.65 lakhs as opposed to the latter’s 8.95 lakhs, according to the Indian Readership Survey’s third quarter results.

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Mumbai Lens: Sunset and chana chor garam at Nariman Point

Posted on November 20, 2010March 31, 2014 by sudhagee

I was early for a concert at the NCPA at Nariman Point, Mumbai, and couldn’t go in as my friends who had my ticket had not yet arrived. Besides, I was feeling all sweaty and sticky from the train and taxi journey to Nariman Point from work and didn’t really want to go into the theatre till I had “cooled” down.

I was wondering what to do when, almost on cue, a gentle sea breeze sprung up tugging at my attention towards the sea front. I decided to walk across and was rewarded with the beautiful colours of sunset as well as a view of Cuffe Parade area at night. I regretted not carrying my camera and had to be content taking this picture with my Nokia 5220 XpressMusic.

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A competition, two surprises and a Sunday

Posted on November 11, 2010December 4, 2011 by sudhagee

Last Sunday, instead of waking up late and pottering about the house the whole day doing that and this, I did something different. I co-judged the city-level Classmate Ideas for India 2010 competition held in Mumbai.

An initiative of the ITC as part of its centenary celebrations, the Classmate Ideas for India 2010 competition has youth in the 14–21 years category present their ideas for the “betterment of India”. These ideas are in the fields of Science and Technology; Environment Protection; Education for All; Encouraging Social and Religious Tolerance; Infrastructure for a Better Tomorrow; and Emerging India.

The first round of the competition saw the competition receiving over 60,000 ideas from all over India. These ideas were then evaluated on the basis of originality, feasibility, practicality, and impact factor and then whittled down to 500 ideas equally divided over 10 cities and their surrounding regions. For example, the Mumbai Idea Presentation had entries from Maharashtra and Goa. Each city’s Idea Presentation would pick out a winner for the National Finals to be held later this year in December. The entire event is being managed by KrayOn, an event management company for kids and youth events. They were the ones who contacted me to judge the Mumbai event.