Cute little church at Colaba Causeway. Right next to the police station, which itself is housed in a deliciously oooollllddd house, and looks thoroughyl adorable. I forget the name of the church, though, shucks.
Always used to get confused between the Gateway of India here and Delhi's India Gate. That is, till I actually lived in Delhi for some time in 2004, and that settled matters. Fell in love with India Gate, after having spent some memorable moments there, but Gateway here in Bombay has caught me off guard with awe at times too. It's the whole BIG thing, as silly as it sounds. The idea of royalty and all that jazz. Yes yes, everyone knows that the Gateway was built by the British Indian government to commemmorate the visit of the Prince of Wales (George his name was then, I think, current Queen Elizabeth's dad), and thereafter, all the action shifted to Delhi which displaced Calcutta to become the new capitol of India
Welcome to Bombay's most famous hotel. The glitzy Taj Mahal, no relative to Agra's famous tourist spot, sees thousands of well-heeled travellers every week, when it's not playing host to some of the biggest corporate shindigs in India's financial capital.
Have always been completely hooked on to these gaudy silver chariots that go up and down the Gateway road and Nariman Point, offering pleasure rides. Appeals to the ditsy drama persona inside me, and I make no bones about it all. :)
Took this pic, a couple of Saturdays ago, when I went shopping with Stephen to Colaba. We poked in to all the shops there, didn't buy much, and then walked over to the Taj Hotel to take a leak. And, o yes, we played tourists and took snaps of the sea and the gateway. :)
Eros cinema at Churchgate is supposed to be the pin-up of art deco in Bombay. Was screening Guru the other day, when Rajat and I hit the Kaala Ghoda Arts Festival, so I stopped by to click a coupla snaps since I knew I wasn't going to see the movie that day. Eros is just one of many such old-style movie halls dotting South Bombay. The other famous one being Regal at Colaba, but I haven't snapped that up yet. And then Metro, which is now a refurbished PVR and all.
...easier on the wallet too!
Churchgate Station - the terminus for the Western Railway. Actually, the main station building is this ugly modern montrosity, and what I've posted are snaps of the HQ of WR. :) No gate or church here anymore, though. Just Marine Drive a short walk away....
... and also, the yummiest Frankie rollls you can get anywhere in Bombay. Also, the sweetest cold coffee. : Hmmm... how come all my landmarks have something to do with food? Sheesh.
Towering Inferno? I always thought, that would make a great porno title! :) For now, though, it seems to be a great caption for the pic on top - Bombay University's Rajabai Tower, juxtaposed against the Bombay Stock Exchange, shot from across the Oval Maidan.
The Oval is this great expanse of cricketing history that is full by day in white uniforms, and makes for an exhilarating walk across in the evenings, post dark. Of course, with all the hullaballo over the Beer Man Murders in January, I was bypassing my evening walks for some time. :)
Took these snaps of VT/ CST (Victoria Terminus/ Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) ages back, one Saturday, coming back home from work. Actually, the way I see it, this entire photoblog is a way of ensuring that the digicam doesn't gather dust in the cupboard, unused and neglected. So there was Grand Old VT - Bombay's very own World Heritage site still in daily service - just waiting to be snapped up.
VT is the main terminus of the Central Railway line, the less posh cousin of Western Railway. I normally prefer the CR, by the way, since its much less crowded than the WR in the mornings, while going to work. Of course, most of the time, I'm rather late for work so I hail a cabbie - but since the cab usually passes by VT, I still get to ogle the building. :)
To Versailles, anyone?
It's like the words in that Madonna song - faster than a speeding ray of light... Welcome to the fast world of Bombay. Where traffic doesn't quite move as fast as work timetables do. And where the mind works faster than clockwork. :) Rat race? Yes, but still somehow, transcends that.
It's all about shutter speed, I guess.
Fort is the place to be if you're a banker in Bombay. :) And yes, if you're into Public Relations like I am. This used to be the old Bombay Castle or Fort St. George, built by the British in the 17th century, but of course, the old walls are all torn down now. Today, Fort is the financial hub of the city, and though upstarts like Nariman Point and the Bandra Kurla Complex have stolen away some leading financial firms, a Fort address is still a must-have for any bank or fund worth its name. :)
The Citi Never Sleeps: Those are the pillars of the Citibank Fort office on D.N. Road, on top.
Lawrence and Mayo - another Fort institution. Love the old-world style of all the buildings here. Reminds me a lot of Calcutta, I guess - City of Palaces, and all that! :) When you come to Fort, it's a brilliant amalgamation of the city: old style, rag tag vendors, the art circuit and loads more.
Love the old ruins down there - I have no idea where they're from, which old building collapsed or got demolished, but that's all there is to them - still standing, even though they're surrounded by frantic hawkers these days. :)
And then there's the Goddess - never far behind from where there's money to be made and deals to be brokered. Perched precariously on top of one of those old buildings near Horniman Circle, you can easily say a silent prayer that the stock market won't crash.
Judging by today's 450 point crash on the Sensex though, don't bet on it! :)
No Parking: Hawkers behind the Flora Fountain at Fort don't really give a damn about where your car is parked. :) That's their hawking space, and if you do happen to park your car there, don't be surprised to find mugs/ chappals/ underwear for sale right next to your tyre!
The J.B. Petit Building sits bang on Khadi Bhawan Chowk on Fort, which leads into my office lane. The building is this great big old hulk, now occupied by HSBC, built by the J.B. Petit Fund. Aaa, those rich ole Parsis and their trust funds! :) Behind the office building, is the J.N. Petit School For Girls. The archways are amazing to get lost in.
... And that is the Khadi Bhawan itself, down there. Took a close pic of some of the designwork on the huge pillars, and that's put up there. The KB is basically where you can get all those over-priced pieces of Indian culture you would love to sell off in a flea market somewhere in the US. And then, they'd be bought by a Las Vegas bordello! :)
There's this quaint li'l bakery in the alleyways behind Horniman Circle called the Yazdani Bakery. Not exactly sure what it's supposed to be - Irani or whatever, but the tea here is heavenly sweet, and tastes amazing with the buttered buns they serve you. :) Came here with the Mad Bawi once, and we hogged on mushroom qiche and then chocolate muffins. Also picked up a whole 1 lb chocolate brownie cake, and that lasted all of three days in my fridge. The menu is appetising, as you can tell...
