Ripples N Reflections

 

 

Touching Base with my current city was an enjoyable experience indeed…I presently live in the “city of Dreams” – Mumbai in India. A buzzing hub of humanity, this city has a soul and taking  a guided city tour is a good way of getting in touch with its soul, in a way “fine dining” never will. 

So helped by the internet, I booked for a Mumbai Darshan along with my 76 year old mother and 18 yr old daughter.

Our Darshan commenced with an hour long sea ride on a boat along the famed Mumbai coastline, as an audio guide took us through an accurate account of the city which was initially a bunch of Islands now connected by various sea links and waterways. The mandatory selfies with the sea as a backdrop and the audio in the background was surprisingly really enjoyable though the disembarking n embarking through the highly offensive smelling Bhaau ka Dhakka was not. The stench of rotting fish may put you off fish for a day at least! 

The next stop was at the iconic  Gateway of India and the equally iconic Taj Palace opposite. The pigeons and the open space rarely seen in Mumbai was a treat indeed. And another photo opportunity! 

We drove past various landmarks like The VT station, the Clock Tower, The Wankhede Stadium etc en route to the famous Taraporewala Aquarium on the Marine Drive, which houses a good variety of different species of water life. A simple but hot and tasty lunch was welcome at a nearby Canteen. 

The next stop was at the old Boot house and Hanging gardens at Malabar Hill. My mother relived her visits to these places 50 years ago when she had resided at Mumbai. 

Our next visit was to the famed Siddhivinayak temple. We had to miss the National Gallery of Art and the Mahalakshmi Temple being  Diwali and a Sunday, to boot. The temple darshan was a happy occurrence for my mother. I liked the ordered way the temple authorities and the police managed the crowd.

 
The bus now crossed the Worli sea link into North Mumbai. The guide regaled us with truth laced with gossip as we drove past celebrity bungalows belonging to Bollywood stars and the God of Cricket , Sachin Tendulkar.

We then reached our last bastion, Juhu beach. A teeming mass of happy humanity greeted us….along with the setting sun. From the cotton candy man to the Mehendi ladies and from Bhelpuri to Kala Khatta gola, it represented everything an average Mumbaikar identified a fun evening with.

Tired but happy, we made our way back home to touch base with another tradition of lighting earthen lamps (Diyas) to welcome Goddess Lakshmi on the Festival of Lights, Diwali.

A good way of touching base indeed. With my mother reliving her youthful days and my daughter enjoying random clicks of the spirit of Mumbai on her Nikon DSLR, it was a rewarding experience for me as well. 

In Response to Daily Prompt: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/base/