The Bandra Girl

At 14, I went to a ‘vocational conference’ for teenagers who wanted to become priests or nuns. (Yes, save that for ridiculing me in the future.) But yes, there I was, being gently probed for my predilection to a habit. (No slanderous gestures in the back rows please.) At the dreaded lunch-break, I tried making conversation with some Malad girls, one of whom asked where I was from. Before I could answer, another one said, “Bandra”. They all nodded, “You look like that. You dress like that.” I was impressed with their insight; and surprised when they ignored me after.

Five years later, sitting in the St Xavier’s canteen, the big scary girl from Literature with the golfer’s forearms and rumours of a father in the underworld, cast her shadow over me. Lothar-like she sneered, “Sandra… from Bandra,” which was also the name of an annoying short film last year. Never mind.

The Bandra Girl makes Bandra what it is. We have a long tradition of being ‘judged’ for being Bandra Girls. But there you have it… we live the good life.

Fall asleep on the train, miss your stop and wiping the drool from the left of your mouth, you step out blinking into Andheri; it’s another world. Walk through Dadar and you are Ms Sore-Thumb-Stuck-Out. All over the city, man-masses mill around while women side-step them steeling themselves against odd comments, weird looks, noxious gesticulations. But not in Bandra. They don’t dare. The shorts are short on the girls from ages 15 – 55, the spaghetti straps don’t raise an eyebrow at the grocers’ and you can walk home with a cantaloupe in each hand and get no double-entendre worth your rage.

The Bandra Girl Club gets lovelier every year. My Spanish/French P., supermodel tall, striding home with her bhaji; sexy A., in her animal print top and ballet pumps waiting for a rick to go to Zenzi; gorgeous T., with her Bengali bosom and creamy shoulders on Hill Road; the lovely G. sisters, out at all hours at work, or play, and the hundreds of ladies (laaadieees) shopping, eating, doing the Saturday-morning-walk-of-shame, smudged mascara and glitter on the collar bones… all Bandra girls, if not by birth, then by definition.

As it turned out, I didn’t join a convent; but some weeks ago, I saw five young nuns, crosses glinting in the winter sun, giggling and running into Cheap Jack and I thought – someone needs to write a song about the Bandra Girl.

– Genesia Alves Tahilramani

Kids’ Day Out

After weeks of showing you items that would look great on you, we realised we were forgetting the kids. So this week, we bring you toys (we think) your kids would just love to have – the racecar TV set and piggy bank topped our list

Doll Cottage.

Where: Big Red Bus,

Cost: Rs.10,500

Racecar and Winnie the Pooh TVs

Where: Big Red Bus, Cost: Car-11,000, Winnie- 10,000

Pink piggy bank

Where: Big Red Bus, Cost: Rs.1,000

Multicolour cloth and wooden lamp

Where: Dhoop, Cost: Rs.1,250

Hanging cloth monkey

Where: Dhoop, Cost: Rs.195

Triple sailor clock set

Where: Big Red Bus, Cost: Rs.7,000

LOCATIONS: Big Red Bus– Dr. Ambedkar Road, Opp. Brownie Cottage, Contact: 26053367/ 26053397

Dhoop– 101 Sheetal Apts, Ambedkar road, Contact: 26498646

– Rommel Albuquerque

Cafe Goa

Café Goa, formerly known as Trafalgar Chowk, isn’t the first place you would think of going to on a night out. But trust us – one visit and you’ll change your mind (I’ve been there twice this week). The place is unpretentious, dog-friendly and you can actually have a conversation while you eat… which brings us to the food. Tried and tested, we recommend the crumb-fried calamari, the bombil fry and the fried mori. Subtly flavoured and fresh, the fish starters are definitely the strong point.

The main course is dominated by Goan fare, but they also serve some continental food. They’ve got an amazing spicy Goa Sausage, which they serve with kadak pav, as well as Xacuti and Cafreal (also recommended). Their continental fare is limited but the Alfredo pasta and herbed-chicken Picatta are good and value for money.

The desserts include the usual suspects – mousse and of course, the irresistible Brownie sizzler. The lemon ice-cream, which the owner makes himself, is light, creamy and packed with flavour… bliss! The place is well done up and manages to pull off the whole Goa vibe, especially the open air bits. It’s well arranged so people still have their privacy when it gets packed.

Meal for two: Rs.1200

Price of a pint: Rs. 100

They’ve also set up space for aspiring photographers and artists to hold week-long exhibitions. Call if interested.

Where: Agnelo House, off St. John Baptist Road, Near Mount Mary Steps (Look for the lights in the tree)

Contact: 9920910110

– Glynda Alves

Ink Up!

If you want to memorialise the date you travelled to an unknown city or ink an ode to your parents or girl/boyfriend, you can do it right here, at Shoryuken on 16th Road in Bandra.

If you haven’t seen it, don’t be surprised, it is less than a week old. This is artist Kevin Andrade’s second tattoo shop in the city. “We started off in Oshiwara first and since Bandra is a bigger place and has the rich people, we thought of opening a shop here as well,” he says. He adds that since the trend caught up in Bandra, opening a studio here only made sense.

The shop is almost a blink-and-miss place. “It is closer to all the colleges. Once people hear of us, they will start pouring in,” Andrade assures.

Can you come in asking him to design something complicated – like in Red Dragon or Prison Break? Sure, you can. And he prefers it if you know what you want. “It’s better when people come in with their own ideas; it simplifies our job. Grays and blacks look better on dark, Indian complexion. We also take up fixings and cover-ups,” he informs.

Once you are there, you needn’t bother about anything. They will give you a list of instructions, half of which you might find difficult retaining. Don’t fret. Just remember to pick up a visiting card on your way out and you will know just how to keep your tattoo looking good if you follow the instructions written on the back of the card!

Where: 16th road, Opp Hokey Pokey

Contact: Kevin on 9833345651

– Shilpa Rao

Hot Stepper

Here comes the hot stepper. No, you don’t have to be a lyrical gangster to shop here. The store (like the song) is jazzy, snazzy and dated. But don’t let that stop you from checking it out. What’s inside is Bangkok maal (not always a bad thing). And the store-owner gives fashion advice (not always a good thing). They’ve got tops, dresses and tunics which, at Rs.550, are reasonably priced. But what really makes this place stand out is the in-house range – simple designs in all sizes (larger sizes – made to order). We liked the polka-dotted spaghettis (Rs.500), and the bright summer dresses (Rs.700). The belts and shoes, in several colour combinations, are funky and – like many things here – garish. Give it a miss if you’re in a hurry. But if you’ve time to browse, you just might find something – no promises – you like. Where: Shop No.7, Chinchwadi, Waterfield Rd

– Glynda Alves

How Art Thou?

In the mood for something artsy? This week, Pradarshak art gallery gives you the opportunity to lose yourself in the paintings of Surendra Kudapanein. A Pune-based artist whose tryst with fine art began as a child, he has always been keenly interested in expressing himself through the canvas. He (we’ve heard) picks a single hue and works around its tonal variations in a layered format while using transparency to enhance the canvas with a depth of dimension. The works on display convey the serenity that the artists wants his viewer to feel and get engulfed in. Go ahead, lose yourself in the serenity of art.

Where: Pradarshak, 100 Kalpana Bldg., 12th Road, When: Till 28th Feb,

Contact: 26462681; 9820460587

– Rommel Albuquerque

Mag-nates

Bandra is filled with people with niche tastes. Still, it’s only Indian editions of fashion magazines such as Vogue and Stardust that are easily available. InBandra does the needful and hunts down some of the best magazine stalls in the suburb:

PRINCE BOOK CENTER AND CIRCULATING LIBRARY: Guitar enthusiasts will be spoilt for choice at this little shop on Pali Road. Their magazine collection includes new issues of The Guitarist and Guitar Techniques, complete with instructional CD’s and priced at Rs.150 onwards (new copies go up to Rs.250). It also has instructional magazines on Photoshop and other software. Their book collection isn’t very well kept, but browse through long enough and you’ll find some good ones.
Where: New Milan Bldg, near Honk Kong Bank, Pali Road

ENSIGN BOOK STORE: This store on Linking Road stocks over a hundred titles. He’s got tech magazines, such as MyMac Magazine for Rs.306 (all you need to know about Apple, not Bandra) and What? Digi Cam (Rs.678), car magazines (Classic Cars – Rs.1020) and women’s magazines (everything from fashion to knitting to health).
Where: Next to Adidas Showroom, Linking Road

MY BOOKS: In the same building as Yoko’s and Biona’s, this store is where you’ll find all the fashion magazines, including the International Salon (Rs.200). They’ve also got a few interior decorating and architecture magazines.
Where: New Rizvi Building, next to Pause, Hill Road

– Glynda Alves

Foodies Take Note

Bandra foodies, can we have your attention, please? This Sunday, the St. Theresa’s division of the Bombay Catholic Sabha is organising ‘Food Fest 2009’, a four-hour celebration of food, with a side helping of fun and games. Ignatius Sutari, who is part of the organising committee, says, “People from Bandra will be organising this festival. There will be sorpotel, vindaloo, fugya, goan, mangalorean and east Indian masalas and hopefully, tandoori chicken and biryani. There will also be music CDs on sale. But the main events of the evening are the contests. There will be a fancy dress and a ‘made for each other’ contest.” While it isn’t confirmed, there may also be a lucky draw and other contests for visitors. Where: St. Theresa’s school quadrangle, When: March 1st 6pm to 10pm, Entry: Free

– Rommel Albuquerque

Fr. Joseph Awarded Padma Shri

Father Joseph H. Pereira was recently awarded the fourth-highest civilian award by the government. The Bandra resident, who founded the Kripa Foundation in 1981 to help rehabilitate drug addicts and alcoholics, was awarded the Padma Shri for his untiring dedication to the field of social work. Fr. Pereira says, “I am extremely happy about it. This award isn’t only for me, though. It’s for all the drug addicts and alcoholics who have been helped through the Kripa centers.” He now oversees the running of 48 facilities in India and six collaborative centres abroad. Kripa also offers a broad spectrum of services to the community, facilitating law enforcement agencies, educational institutions and other academic institutions that are involved in Human Services. Fr. Pereira also conducts yoga classes at the Mount Carmel Church Hall.

– RM

Piau Chow

Have you ever noticed the fountain just outside the southern boundary wall of St. Andrew’s Church, where B.J. Road ends and Hill Road begins? The marble plaque above the water spout says that it was presented to the Municipality of Bandra by Jafferbhai Ludha Chatu Esq., in 1894. Well, here’s some more history for you.

What is now a fountain, used to be an water trough, locally called ‘Piau’, which was used as a watering hole for animals and to water Hill Road, to minimise dust. But by the late nineties, the trough was just a small, dilapidated stone structure. As a part of the Celebrate Bandra festival in November, 2003, the structure was restored.

Some pieces of the original stone paving were found in a heap of debris nearby, and set in a semicircular pattern around the stone trough as in the original paving. A provision was also made for the commissioning of the water through a spout by a small pump at the back.

A re-circulating system through the hole in the wall between the front trough and the rear tank facilitates this system. The restoration was carried out by the author, an old resident of Bandstand, with valuable guidance from Conservation Architects Abha Narain Lambah and David Cardoz, both also residents of Bandra.

Arup Sarbadhikary is a structural engineer and a former member of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee. He is one of the founder members and Trustee of the Bandra Bandstand Residents Trust.

– Arup Sarbadhikary