Gimme Five!

Farhan Akhtar

Where do you live and what do you do?

I’m an actor/ director and I live on Bandstand.

Where do you hang out in Bandra?

At home but when I was younger and used to “hang out” it was on Pali Hill and of course, on Bandstand.

What’s your favourite restaurant/bar in Bandra?

I enjoy going to the Olive and Royal China.

Who’s the hottest person in Bandra?

My wife Adhuna.

What is one thing that would make life in Bandra better?

Bandra used to be the queen of the suburbs but she is not ageing gracefully. There should be some sort of regulation in terms of construction, upkeep etc.

Just Bandra

DECEMBER 17, 2007

A man and a woman

are one

Bandra is less.

FEB 20, 2008

I know noble accents

and also what they mean.

But I know, too,

that Bandra is butchered

by what I know.

APRIL 18, 2008

Wind at the Bandstand promenade filled me

with brittle fate.

beyond it the water moved adding nothing

and everything.

JUNE 2, 2008

When the houses at Pereirawadi came down

it marked the edge

of the last circle.

JUNE 22, 2008

I do not know what to

believe the imperative of

survival or the inevitability

of gentrification the

demolition or just after.

– Kanthi Krishnamurthy

JULY 14, 2008

Traffic snarl at Hill Road

the only moving thing

is the muddy water in the pothole.

JULY 18, 2008

Afternoon all evening

It no longer rained

The street child at Bandra station waited

In the mud.

AUG 15, 2008

The cobbler at Ambedkar road, flag in hand

basked in the sunshine

The sunshine went up for sale.

Indulge At Butter

Butter cookies, butter milk, peanut butter… you can’t go wrong with butter. Butter is also the newest store in Bandra and equally tempting.

Owner Nitika Dheer says of the name, “Everyone loves butter, it’s just a fun name that people will remember.” The best part of the store is that the garments aren’t from Bangkok and it shows.

The store has in-house designers as well as labels from Istanbul etc. So, the range is quite diverse. The designs are fun, but relatively demure (in a good way). Butter also has a good collection of shoes, mostly heeled patent leather pumps (for Rs.1100 onwards) in classic patterns. Their delicate dresses are very feminine in light fabrics, which is ideal for the weather here.

Plus sized girls should definitely check out the casual linen and cotton skirts. And if they don’t have your size they can tailor make the same design for you.  Nitika says, “I made sure that these clothes would suit regular sized women. And that they weren’t the run of the mill kind of stuff.”

In more casual wear their Star Wars and Bob Dylan tees (Rs.650 onwards) score high. Butter has a fun collection of jewllery, velvet beads, jungle pendants and much more. So, come and indulge a little at Butter.

Where: 20/A Rembrandt, Nargis Dutt Road, Pali Hill

– Glynda Alves

Mohini’s Modaks

Mohini Bobde, a resident of Carter Road shares her recipe for modaks with us. She says, “I make this every year for Ganesh. It’s reasonably simple and tasty.”

INGREDIENTS: ½  a grated coconut, 200gms water, 200gms Basmati rice flour, 2tsp poppy seeds, 2tsp sesame seeds, ½ cardamom, ½ nutmeg, jaggery and ghee.

Method: Boil the water, add a little salt and the rice flour. Stir with a wooden spoon till thick. Once thickened put the gas off and cover the dish. Place your hands in cold water and kneed the hot dough until it is soft. Make rice flour cups.

For the filling: Fry the coconut in some ghee. Add jaggery to taste. Add the poppy, sesame, cardamom and nutmeg. Put the filling into the cups and seal. Steam for another 10-15 minutes.

Mac-Lyns

East Indians are known for their great food. The smell of spicy khuddi curry, hot potato chops and pickle will make any Bandra local weak at the knees. And while they are equally known for not sharing their recipes you can sample some traditional East Indian food at Mac Lyns. This take-away place is run by a family from Ranwar village and they sell most East Indian delicacies including potato chops (prawn, beef and chicken) for Rs.12, khuddi curry (Rs.40) for a small container, a variety of pickle (we recommend the prawn) and Ox tongue. They also have a good selection of snacks like chicken burgers, rolls and cutlets which are reasonably priced and likely to make the near by Stanislaus school boys very happy at lunch time.

Where: Waroda Road, Dunhill Apartments, Contact: 9820618817/ 9833645155

– Glynda Alves

Xibit

Exhibitions can be a real bore if you go with your mom or someone who actually goes there to buy something. I suggest you go by yourself or with a good friend (like I did) and your guaranteed to buy something unique or atleast see something youve never seen before. Not only are there handicafts among the million of clothing material stalls here but you can also munch on some healthy delicious snacks that are also on sale. What I liked was that each stall had something unique to offer you right from sari’s from Kerala and Hyderabad to leather bags from Kolkata and you can also pick up some Rajasthani pickle. But my favourite was the Chickari baby kurtas from Lucknow. Another good addition is that major credit cards are accepted here.

Where: Reclamation grounds, When: 11am-8:30pm

– Rommel Albuquerque

Zone In

The Andrean Zonals which has passed their five decade mark, has set a certain style and pizzazz that draws in the crowds every year. The Zonals as it’s popularly called is a competition between the four zones of St. Andrews Parish, the North West, North East, South West and South East. Spread over 3 weeks the competition started last weekend with the Classical instrumental and vocal and Choirs participating. This weekend you can see the team’s battle it out as they perform in the non-classical vocal and instrumental along with duets and quartets. So far the South West zone is in the lead with 208.67 marks. The Zonals produce some of the best musical and dramatic professionals in the city, so you know where to go for an entertaining Sunday. Where: St. Andrews Auditorium, When: 31st August 9:30am onwards, Contact: 26513224 / 26410926

– Rommel Albuquerque

Oktober Fest Continues

The ten-day long beer festival at Mumbai Times Café, cleverly titled B.L.O.B (Basic Love of Beer), continues this week and has the famous DJ Tarun (popularly known as DJ Boombaba) playing techno and trance along with the the uber-talented VJ group ‘AndThen’ will be supplying the visuals for all Sundown Session events which will be games like beer pong, ring toss, 2 litre glass race and other fun games. Later on in the evening you have B.L.O.T (Basic Love of Things) the acclaimed audio-visual performers from Delhi and Jon Qui playing some progressive and percussionist music.

Where: The Mumbai Times Café, off Linking Road, When: August 29th, 4pm to 1:30am, Entry: Tickets are on sale to listen to the bands and join in the games, 300 cover charge (a pint of fosters costs Rs 50), Contact: 66711587/9422769843

– Rommel Albuquerque

Tango Time

Get ready to dance the night away with Tim Collins and his lovely dance partner Malou Meyenhofer. The dancing duo will be starting Lindy Hop and Argentine Tango Classes at Zenzi this September. These nights will include a free workshop beginning at 8pm so you can get a taste of what these dances are all about. The Argentine Tango is great for all ages and will teach you how to move gracefully and fluidly with strength and presence. The Lindy Hop is the newest dance in town and has already taken the suburb by storm with it’s elegance, style, charm, great energy, fun moves and rhythms and a raw power not seen in any other social dance.

When: September 1st, Argentine Tango opening night, 8pm onwards, Where: Zenzi

To Register for a class: Go online to lindyhopindia.com/register.html, Or Call: 9819605729

– Glynda Alves

Shady Business

To sign this petition, contact Sarina Lopez on 9833797898

A flowering tree on Hill road which is almost 18 years old and which was planted when Mumbai was being beautified under the Clean Mumbai, green Mumbai campaign, was brutally chopped off in June leaving it only ¼th the original size.  Sarina Lopez who witnessed this act gives us an account of what happened, “One day at about 8.30am I woke up to a large hacking sound. I went out to my window and saw 4-5 men in khadi chopping down the tree outside. Shocked as how they could do this I ran down to stop them but was told that they have received orders from the BMC and there was nothing I could do to stop them.”

“After asking around I found out that as a citizen I can lodged a complaint with the police and they have been very helpful and questioned the officer concerned. The police have also questioned the Garden department and are awaiting a reply. Along with that I have also started circulating a petition and have over a hundred signatures protesting this act and have submitted it to the BMC. All I ask of them is to replant a tree to make up for the one they cut but they are just dragging on giving some excuse or the other.”

Local corporator Asif Zakaria mentioned that, “They have cut the tree a bit too much and I’ve informed the BMC as well. Citizens should be aware of what’s happening in their locality, they can stop the cutting of a tree if they feel that it’s unnecessary or done too much.”

The trees on Hill Road also serve a greater purpose of providing necessary shade as children from four schools pass by every day. So, the next time you see a tree being “trimmed” don’t hesitate to take a stand.

– Rommel Albuquerque