My trip to Mumbai never goes without a pilgrimage to 2 of the most revered places in the city :
- Haji Ali – Heera Panna, Seetaphal Cream, a sunset on-the-Rocks, an occasional ‘Mannat’…
- And a little south, Bombay Streets.
Now here is my equation with the Streets in Bombay – Mumbaikars, owing to the very fact that they r Mumbaikars, never really had/have/will’ve time to appreciate ‘pity’ things like streets n D-gangs n rains (a new addition!). Unfortunately, my parents happened to be hardcore Mumbaikars, deep deep down from the roots of their ancestry. So obviously, I was raised, hugely ignorant about the streets of Mumbai, until one fine weekend, Mr Shantaram, literally(I mean, by writing a book…) rediscovered them for me!!!
The deal with Bombay streets is that they r littered with soooo many fanciful places & monuments that some of the other interesting places have either lost their existence or have become commonplace. So the most enjoyable way to explore Bombay belly is to become Your Own Guide. Because if u make a mistake of asking for directions, the chances r that u will almost always get a “Seedha Jaaneka. Signal Cross Karneka. Aani (‘And’) Teda Valneka (‘Turn either Left or Right’ – u must look at the hand motion of the person).” So basically, u r on your own. And it’s quite a fun, if u ask me!
If u happen to find the famous Fashion Street (and u will, cause people always do.), u will marvel at the ridiculously low prices at which one can get all the fancy, fashionable items for which they burn your pockets in those Westsides, Pantaloons, Shoppers stops !!! A little low on quality though, the place is thronged by thousands daily to feel a little rich n look a little ‘hip’…
No such quality issues with the Books though, if u happen to be an avid reader & 
interested in buying a handful (I always buy a bucketful). Book Street is THE place for u, which is at a shouting distance. If u have no moral issues with Cheap, Duplicate, Pirated books and you r brilliant at the exquisite art of shameless bargaining (yes, shameless), then this is the place for u!!
One of the hazardous side effects of earning money, which I have a 1st hand account of, is that u lose your bargaining power… my advice – Haggle a bit! Vendor will never feel offended, he will always ask u to name an ‘Ek dum Final price’ even after u name One several times.
I’m CHEAP…
My friend always pulls me up for buying this pirated stuff. And I always ask her to take it easy. I tell her – “When I get Filthy rich, I’ll buy all the originals … n put them in a show case…” Obviously, it’s little difficult to convey the real emotions…
I started off buying these cause I was a little short on money. Now, when I have money (just a few spare bucks!), I just don’t want to miss the thrill in reading cheap, pirated books. Not to mention all the extra fun in the bargaining…
May be deep down inside, I don’t want to betray myself – as I owe almost 90% of my intellect to such ‘frowned upon’ stuff like cheap books, pirated CDs, illegal downloads… Cheapness is so ingrained in us that doing all the above mentioned things actually makes me feel nearer to my roots…
My Roots…
In Marathi language, there is a popular retro phrase called ‘Jeevachi Mumbai!!!’ meaning ‘indulging oneself in all the worldly pleasures’ …
And we Mumbaikars r quite adept at it! All it takes is : a JUMBO glass of Sugarcane juice(Rs 10), a JUMBO Vada Pav(Rs 7) n plentiful of salty breeze from Arabian Sea (popular alternatives r – ‘Marine Drive’ / ’Gateway’ / ’Bandstand’ / ’Chowpatty’ / ’Haji Ali’, the list is endless…). What else can one need???
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