The Old Carter’s

Carter road residents will remember the recent re-christened of the road to Naushad Ali Road after the famous singer who had a house there.

Many residents and patrons to that area vowed never to use it’s new name (hey, there’s a whole ‘I will not refer to Carter Road as Naushad Ali Road’ group on Facebook- It’s even got a 1000 plus members and keeps growing!)

Now I’ve stayed in Bandra for all the seventeen years of my life, and nothing’s changed more than Carter –oops, Naushad Ali- Road has!

I must’ve been about 10 when the end of Carter Road used to be deserted and was nothing but a barren land even at 6 in the evening. My friends and I used to trudge to the Bandra YMCA in our sweaty basketball jerseys and shorts and would catch a ‘sev puri’ from a nearby vendor. Back then that would be the only food stall you would find in the area.

It’s different now… Carter Road is teaming with life along the entire stretch. If I remember right Café Coffee Day and Baskin Robins were the first few eateries to pop up at the corner and grab space.

Gelato Italiano, Crepe Station, Sheesha and a few others quickly followed. Newer additions are Coffee World, Open Affair, World of Wraps and Kareems. The latest joints to come up are Subway, Al’s Tattoos and Italicks.

A fun observation to make is to notice how everyone now dresses up (fancy like) when they meet up at Carters. I mean hello, do those girls really need to wear stilettos and tank tops and miniskirts and big sunglasses to get into Crepe or CCD!

As for me and my friend?! We’re still happy being the misfits with the sweaty clothes and big basketball shoes at Carter Road!

– A young Bandra resident

Kunjvihar

As we may have said on these pages before, potatoes, besan batter, deep fried; what’s not to love. So when the flyer proclaiming ‘Thane’s best vada pau (since 1958) now in Bandra’ arrived, we could barely control my excitement and dispatched the troops to sample Kunjvihar, here’s what they came back with:

Janhvi Patel The Kunj Vihar Vada pav is the size and shape of the bread which is long and rectangular. Surprisingly, the vada is big enough to fit into it. The taste is perfectand the packaging is neat. Overall, the vada pav scores high on quantity and quality.

Melanie Mathias Ah! double carbs… my perfect 5 o’clock hunger pangs cure! Too bulky though.

Aakar Patel “DIY Kunj Vihar: The vada here is quite good, with neem and whole coriander  to give it the illusion of being healthy. And the pao is enormous — though too big for my liking. But the thing comes without lasun-mirchi or green chutni added, and that is a crime. There was a garlic powder and what looked like paani-puri imli chutni in plastic sachets. But why accessorize VP? YOU sell me the vada-pao, YOU put the damn chutni in, man. It also came without a fried chilli on the side, and while that may not be a crime, it’s certainly a non-cognisable offense. Clearly the work of an amateur VP maker, or, worse, that of someone who does not eat his own fare. Avoid; eat only if VP craving is Level 5.

Fish Fest

If you’re planning on heading to Soul Fry this weekend skip the bombil fry. Starting this week, Soul Fry will launch a week long Salmon and Basa festival. Owner Meldan D’Cunha says that this festival is definitely worth trying out since this sort of cuisine isn’t usually available here. He says, “Atlantic pink salmon comes from the unpolluted waters of Norway and it’s more of a tradition than a fish. Vietnamese Basa is a very subtle fish that takes on other flavours really well, but still holds its own.” The fish festival preparations will include traditional Norwegian and Vietnamese styles but the chefs at Soul Fry will also be putting their own spin on things. Recommended: Norwegian salmon salad, lemon grilled salmon fillet, the basa malay curry and the Basa in peanut and coconut. Where: Silver Croft, Pali Mala Road, When: Starting 18th February

– Glynda Alves

Out of the Blue

Romantic, reminiscent and breathtaking are the words used to describe the photography exhibition at Out Of The Blue. Most of the photographs capture the city of Mumbai in the height of her beauty and the exhibition will truly make you fall in love with Mumbai all over again. The exhibition is curated by Aradhana of Dhoop and allows you to see works which won master photographers like Lala Deen Dayal (1844-1905) the Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria herself. On display are also images by Abid Mian L Syed, who made his foray into international photography in the 1930’s. In addition there is also a collection of fine and rare engravings and lithographs of Bombay from the 16th to the 19th century. These include a view from Malabar Hill by William Simpson. Where: Out Of the Blue, When: Till Feb 21st

– Glynda Alves

Wedding Album

Wedding album written by Girish Karnad and directed by Lillete Dubey is poignant tale of love and longing in a typical Indian family. Girish Karnad’s play take a look at a traditional Indian wedding in a modern world where technology and globalization have taken over. The play is surrounded by a middle class family whose married daughter stays abroad, a brother who is a software designer, a younger daughter full of hope and who can forget the ever vigilant mother and the loyal cook. Each snapshot in the play shows its members frozen in a projection of respectability, but each figure has a double image, with a dark side lurking behind them. This one will make you laugh and can be both revealing and moving.

Where: St. Andrews Auditorium, When: 22Feb, 7:30 pm

– Rommel Albuquerque

Get Together

Whether it’s a school reunion, community fund raiser or just a simple dinner with friends, a get-together is always fun. This Sunday the Ex-Andrean association is having its annual get-together.

Leo Dharmai who’s on the organizing committee says, “It’ll be a fun evening with some games, snacks, refreshments along with dinner and a dance. So if you’ve passed out of St. Andrews School and are a member of the Ex-Andrean association then come and meet up with long lost friends”.  So ex-Andrean’s go unite and have some fun. Where: St. Andrews school Quadrangle,

When: 21st feb 7:30pm, Cost: members Rs125, non members Rs175,

Pick up passes at Vienna, Andora’s, Surpus

– Rommel Albuquerque

PJ-aying

A popular sports club in Bandra known as ‘Pali Jokers’ or more popularly as ‘PJ club’, recently got a new annexed building and are expanding their activities. A source close to the committee says, “We’ve waited for this new building for a long time now. We didn’t have enough resources before but over the years now we’ve been able to save up enough. It’s taken this club 32 yrs to expand our activities and this new building makes a big difference.”

Though now it’s been renamed ‘SAISA’(St Anthony’s Institute and Sports Academy) it still has the same sporting culture that it had when it started out. Kenny Drego says, “This is a place where people can enjoy a particular sport the way its meant to be enjoyed. We’ve also started a fitness center, a dance and a drama class and an indoor badminton court. We’re also planning on building a swimming pool and a family restaurant but that all in the pipeline and isn’t yet finalized.”

The membership fee for the club is very minimal and even if your not a member you can still play all you have to do pay a nominal fee.

The club has the following activities along with a few more;

Activity

Carrom, Table tennis, Pool

Fees: Seniors 600, Juniors 400, Sub junior 300

Badminton, Yoga, chess

Fees: Seniors 1000, Juniors 600, Sub junior 400

Hockey, Cricket, Basketball

Fees: Seniors 600, Juniors 400, Sub junior 300

Where: Pali Village, Contact: 26005973

– Rommel Albuquerque

Breaking into Bollywood

Third Kulture Films presents “Breaking Into Bollywood” – an edgy documentary web series uncovering the artists who work in the various departments of Bollywood. Ruchika Muchhala and Adam Dow, both independent filmmakers living in the city will bring to you the series which has 7 episodes of about 10 minutes each, documenting stories of struggle, success and survival breaking into the industry.

Ruchika says, “The film series explores the fastest movie-churning industry in the world by exploring the motivation and passion of artists living in the city of dreams, Mumbai. Right now it’s a web series but we will be making it into a more in depth feature documentary later on.”

The premiere screening will be this weekend at Zenzi and Ruchika says, “It’s a creative endeavor and I think people will really like it. We chose Bollywood as or topic because if you are an artist in the city, it’s the only line to get into to survive.”

Episodes include:

-B-Town Groove-  featuring Harshall & Vithal, and Remo D’Souza

-Heartbeat of Bombay- featuring Naveen / Shivamani / Shankar,Ehsaan,Loy / Vishal & -Shekhar / Raman Mahadevan / Shweta Pandit

-Foreign Face- featuring Tom Alter & Harry Key

-Mirroring Icons- featuring Ojas Rajani, and Sapna Bhavnani

Psst: Rumour has it that there will be free appetizers and drinks, since Zenzi is sponsoring the event.

When: February 21, 2008 at 5pm onwards

Where: Waterfield Road , Bandra West

– Glynda Alves

Human First

After the tragedy that struck Mumbai on 26/11 a lot of people were furious at the government and at how helpless the public were. What followed were people looking out for the good of the men and women injured and doing whatever was possible to make the situation better. Through all the good work that was being done a group emerged and called themselves ‘Human 1st’.

This group has divided itself into 4 sections that cover education, face of corruption, unity and environmental issue. Their first charity drive was providing necessities to the victims of 26/11 and ensuring that the victims were compensated.

Now they are working on providing education for underprivileged  and unaided children and to help them go to and stay in school. They also plan on holding events that will create awareness among the public on topics like terror prevention, right to information, etc. Along with all this they are also working together with a number of NGO’s to unite and bring a collective positive force  and work hand in hand to try and make this a better place.

Baljit Kohli one of the members of the group says, “We call our selves human 1st because we are willing to look at all equally no racism , not being sexist and respect everyone’s human rights to live and enjoy this beautiful precious present life.”

To join their group and help make a difference you can join their Facebook group ‘Human 1st’ or email aryanishp@yahoo.com with Human 1st in the subject line for now as their website http://www.behuman1st.com should be up in a months time.

– Rommel Albuquerque

Pause For Thought

If you happen to walk down the inner lanes of Pali village, you’ll come across Bungalow 53- the house that has a thought of the day written on it. Adlord Concessio who lives there told us the secret behind it, “I had a troubled life and one day I met with an accident on my scooter and almost died. After that my life became worse and I started loosing everything that mattered to me. That’s when I took to prayer and since that day forth my life has changed drastically. Every morning I wake up at 3am and God tells me his message. After I’m done praying I write his message on the wall hoping that someone will read it and it’ll make a difference. I’ve been doing this for 2 years now and everyday he gives me a new message.” So, next time you’re walking through the village, take some time out to read the message. It might brighten up your day.

– Rommel Albuquerque