Letter

These letters are in response to last weeks MyBandra.

Dear InBandra,

What men Aakar! Bleddy good point! Actually, Balajis has had a jain pav bhaji since long long time, but you know what? No bleddy restaurant gives good good pork and sannas. for dat, you have to go to someone’s ‘ouse only. But gujju, sindhi and all the udder buggers are also good for Bandra men. Just like you. de problem men is dese cops have banned all de loud music and late night dances and weddings at the gym and all. Dat’s why lots of catlicks from Bandra (like me) have gone to far far places. Only come back from Christmas. And den too, because the gym dance is such a damp squib we go to juhu hotel where Fountainhead organises an all night dance.

Arun Prabhu

Dear InBandra,

It is not in good taste to bring in religion, ridicule and look down on other other communities. If this is some sort of editorial ,or the views of the InBandra team, then it could lead to serious trouble, and divide the Bandraites.

Arup Sarbadhikary

Dear Arup,

This is neither an editorial nor an official view of InBandra, we tend not to have officious views on things. The piece is meant in jest and should be taken that way. No serious trouble please, all Bandraites may continue to live in unity, undivided by the aforementioned 400 words.

Regards,

InBandra

Letter

Dear InBandra,

For the past three years I’ve lived on or near this road. We call the street, and the neighborhood, Union Park, after the park located on the down slope. (If it were a movie it would be “Synechdoche, Mumbai.”) In three years I have never seen anyone in that park besides the occasional dozing gardener. Ever.

It’s also clearly identified as Golf LInks on one of the houses. An old landlady—it goes without saying she’s completely batty—told me there used to be nine holes there, in the days when all else was farms and Padamsees. Anybody remember those? The links, I mean.

The most common name for the street, the name in the address of your, Tara’s, formerly haunted building (Gagangiri Premises Co-op Hsg. Soc. Ltd.) is just plain Off Carter Road. Such was the name used in Time Out’s October 21, 2005 reviews of three restaurants in this “throbbing zip code,” none of which remain extant. Plus ça change…

Incidentally (ironically?), I believe this is the first non-Bandra street in “Bandra,” such that anything on the street (e.g., Out of the Blue) belongs to Khar while anything south of it (e.g., the jam-inducing panwallah adjacent to Out of the Blue) is officially Bandra. But nobody would ever think to start a web publication named My Khar, now, would they?

Matt Daniels

Cover

Are you listening Aamir?

An InBandra reader spotted this young (and quite Bollywood-ish) fellow hanging out at Union Park with a sign that read, “Message to Aamir Khan: Sir! I have a most painful love story of the India’s history. Aamir Sir! Please give me only one chance to say my story. Signed, Jafar Meraj.” Sadly, Aamir Khan doesn’t live at Union Park anymore so there wasn’t much chance of him seeing the poster. However, we did tell him the correct address.

Best of luck Jafar!

Letters

Dear all,

Your elected BMC / MCGM Corporator has to suggest projects for local area improvement in your area by 31st January so that funds for these are sanctioned in this financial year. (Each corporator has Rs.1.4 crore at his / her disposal for such projects).

If you would like to suggest projects for your local area (such as a library, streamlining hawkers area, medical service centre, beautifying areas under flyovers, jogging track, benches, dustbins, street lighting, proper signage, children’s play equipment, night school, community centre, etc.), contact your local Corporator.

Contact details of 227 Municipal Councillors are at http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/portal/anonymous/qlcouncillors

If you want to know where money has already been spent, sanctioned, or proposed, you can use the RTI.

For more information on how you can use the RTI, Please Contact Nigel on 9221006212 / nigel.quraishy@gmail.com

Please also email us (kaizad@riseupindia.in ) successful ideas (with pictures and a note) of how such projects have transformed communities and brought people together.

– Kaizad Bhamgara – Rise Up Mumbai! Rise Up India (www.riseupindia.in)

Dear InBandra,

I endorse the views expressed by Naresh Fernades. We are an undisciplined lot by and large. I have been worked up for some time now by these posters all over Bandra showing every shade of politician claiming wonders they have achieved for the ordinary mortals, or worse still wishing each other ‘Happy Birthday” or on the pretext of offering festive greetings, forcing on to a hapless and fuming public a display of faces of officebeareres of a political party. Can nothing be done to stop this bombardment? Please Bandrites let us get together and pull these down, and find out the possibilities of filing a PIL against these hoardings. In no other country in the world do political hoardings of this type deface the environment.

– Krishna Sarbadhikary

Dear InBandra,

Night work is allowed in most countries, provided it is the silent type. For example, tying steel reinforcements as preparation for the next day’s concreting schedule. As a matter of fact I have suggested this to the Muncipal Councillor Asif Zakaria. However, in case of noisy work in the night I fully agree that the Police should be called up and the work halted.

– Arup Sarbadhikary

Letter

Dear Inbandra Team

Hallo! You guys are doing a marvelous job – I enjoy reading your website. Thanks!

While I am at it, may I mention that ‘The stout aunty’  who directs traffic outside American Express Bakery (mentioned in last week’s MyBandra) deserves to be not only respected but also applauded for the heroic exercise that is her daily routine! She is known to every true-blue Bandraite, features on the H/West ward Civic committees and works as a traffic warden in collaboration with the Bandra division Traffic police! How many of us would sacrifice our time and stand there stoutly directing foul-mouthed drivers while braving the inclement weather? As far as I know she is doing it as a free service. Ask the school children in the vicinity and they’ll tell you her name is Anita D’Costa!

With kind regards,

Vera Alvares

Letter

Dear inbandra team

The Bandra League starts this Sunday at Supari Talao (Dr. Norman Francis) grounds. This league was started to improve the standard of Bandra football and encourage youngsters to play the sport. However, this year three players from out of Bandra will be allowed to participate. This is mainly because Mr. Marc Robinson has been appointed the chairman of the organising committee (B.W.F.A).

There’s no doubt that he brings publicity to the sport in Bandra but he has also brought along railway players (who do not live in Bandra) to participate in tournaments meant only for Bandra players. The B.W.F.A. does not protest against these players since he is the manager of the team and the chairman of the committee. In the good old days we would have open tournaments in Bandra so that the best that Bandra had to offer was tested against the best of the rest and we could find out who the best was in Bandra itself.

There are going to be two other leagues (Bandra Packers League and K. Rahejas Universal Cup) organised this year after the Bandra league. Both these leagues will include players from outside Bandra as well so there is no need for the Bandra League to follow the same format. To sum up, there are going to be 16 teams with 3 non-Bandra players each (if all goes badly), which would mean 48 bandra players wont get a chance to compete. Please give more attention to the future of football in Bandra.

A concerned inbandra reader