Before and After: Churchgate Station

This is how Churchgate looked in the early 1900s.

This is what it looks like at present:

Churchgate station was my first love amongst the various railway stations of Bombay. I would wait for a weekend when I could go and see a movie at the Sterling cinema theatre, eat chicken cutlets swimming in gravy at the cafe beside New Excelsior, shop for books at the Strand bookstall, walk alongside wide roads with pedestrian crossings and every facility one did not see often in the narrow lanes of Bombay's suburbs.

It was a treat, going to the Prince of Wales museum. Spending the whole day there absorbed in the works of art, antique jewellery, costumes, weapons and collections of snuff boxes from around the world. What I loved most to look at were ancient civilisations: Mohenjo Daro and Harappa in the Indus valley. These came from a land near India. Ancient pottery, figurines, entire ancient cities dug up from the sands of present times.

Behold, the Flora Fountain!

A grand fountain in the heart of South Bombay. You cross it to go to the Strand bookstall, or the other way, to Kalaghoda (the art district). It's within walking distance from the Victoria Terminus (now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) and Churchgate railway stations. From the Wikipedia: Within a radius of 2 mi (3.2 km) of the fountain, visitors can also see the most impressive institutions and buildings namely, the Univertsity of Mumbai, the old Secretariat, and the famous Gateway of India, the Bombay High Court (built in 1879 in the Venetian Gothic style characteristic of all of Bombay's public buildings put up in the Nineteenth century), the Central Telegraph Office, the old Secretariat (built in 1874) and many other heritage buildings. [14]

Churchgate is great even for a walk. I've never enjoyed walking the streets of Mumbai anywhere else but here. And if you're thirsty for a drink or want a bite of something flavorful and substantial, drop into any of its cafes - old and new!

The Iranians' Gift to Bombay...

The Irani cafe. It symbolises old Bombay, the 'good old days'. When life was simple and could be found in a brun-maska chai combination (hard crusty bread liberally buttered and softened by dunking it in milky, sweet tea) or a plate of keema pav (minced mutton with soft bread). The chicken and mutton cutlets swimming in a thick gravy...I remember eating them with relish after a movie at Sterling Cinema, Churchgate. That was when I went to school. Today, whenever I visit Churchgate, I hardly ever pass an Irani cafe. When I looked them up in the Mumbai food guide, there was only one purely Irani cafe in the list: Koolar and Co. Restaurant and Stores.

I read the food reviews. While one review raved about the bun maska chai combination, another said they didnt have it so there was really no need for an Irani chai. Keema pav is still available. My father recommends Kyani and Co. I looked it up and found that their special dish is the cherry cream custard. Britannia at Ballard Estate was highly recommended for their berry pulao dish. The berry pulao recipe was brought from Teheran to India by the owners. Dry, sweet and sour berries are cooked with meat and kebabs with rice, topped with caramelized onions. My colleague told me to visit it before the cafe's old cook died and took this recipe to his grave.

How did these cafes come to Bombay? Business Line had a piece on Irani cafes mentioning its history "The people who started these joints are Zoroastrians who migrated to India from Iran at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Legend has it that in their early days in India, the Iranis (the second generation of migrants) worked in Parsi (the first generation of migrants) homes and later gathered in the evenings to reminisce about their homeland. At one such gathering, one of the men apparently served tea to the rest and charged a small amount for it. This sowed the idea for Irani cafes."

Each Irani cafe has its piece of Bombay history. Sadly, one finds only a handful of Irani restaurants hidden away in various corners of South Bombay. One must stand in a line during the peak lunch and dinner hours and be very, very patient before one can experience the gastronomic delights of a simple yet very satisfying Iranian meal. While one realizes the historic value of these cafes, it's sad to see them vanish to make way for pizza joints and continental cuisine restaurants. Preservation is tough when trends change and what was once popular is relished only by a minority. Koolar and Co. have hookas on the menu; signifying the acceptance of a trend that started when the Mocha cafe introduced hookas. Other cafes have included pizzas or Chinese food.

I hope that the remaining lot of Irani cafes dont shut shop. It's still not possible; food reviews do their bit to bring in the local interest. However, Naomi Lobo from Expressindia.com brings a sombre fact to light: 350 Irani cafes in the 50s have dwindled down to 25. Will they disappear? Or is local support along with governmental intervention required to preserve these legacies? We need to remember that the history of this great city lies in its food as much as in the old architecture. These cafes are our key to the 'good old days'. Once they disappear, a large part of Bombay's identity goes along with it.

Get your piece of bun maska and a piping hot chai. Life cannot get any simpler and more flavoursome than this.

A Toast to the City of Dreams!

Bombay Diva. The goddess that is Mumbadevi who gave her name to Mumbai, formally christened Bombay during the British Raj. She's Mumbai on her passport but Bombay to those born in the days before her name changed. Different names, many masks, a face that launched a thousand ships and still does. The port city made of seven islands joined together to create one. And this unity could once be seen in its people. Different religions, nationalities, cultures, traditions all melded to create a rainbow that dazzled and shone all over India attracting those who wanted to fulfill their dreams, make money, support families.

She's no stranger to you; her fame has reached far-flung shores perhaps in the form of news about her film industry, famous industrialists, cricketers, tourists, government, etc. She's still a mystery...an adventure waiting to begin.

I love living here. I'm lucky that I never had to move away too far. Everytime I hop on a train or a bus that takes me to Bombay, I feel her breath on my face, sand in my hair, the smell of the sea in my nostrils. And then, a vision! The wide roads and old world charm of Churchgate. The shops, cafes and rocky beach promenade of Bandra. The shopping stores, joggers park and Versova beach at Andheri. Dadar and Matunga: visiting grandparents during summer vacations, playing at Shivaji Park where two of the biggest cafe chains have set up shop almost side-by-side. The huge malls and tiny restaurants of Malad. Kemps Corner where Orhan Pamuk, Nobel award-winning writer, signed my book. Lower Parel - a land of mills now turned malls. It's amazing to see restaurants and shopping complexes with extremely high ceilings. Charni Road and Grant Road with Mumbai's oldest jewellers and retailers. Every space and corner of Bombay beautifully unique and with its own speciality. Bombay's the ocean where each suburb is a drop of water that makes the whole. When viewed from really high up, every town and suburb vanishes from view to create the island that's Bombay.

Here's to the Diva - the light - that's Bombay.