18th February - Culture with A

The people in the room next door get up (noisily) at 4.50 a.m after which somebody moves in and starts dragging furniture around on the marble floor.  We assume that this must be housekeeping working earlies. Breakfast is much quieter than the other days that we have been here and we are even offered toast. We get back to our room and prepare ourselves for a day out seeing some of Mumbai's lesser visited cultural highlights guided by our friend A. IndiaMike members will know A for his fiendish photoquiz questions. You must now sign a binding agreement not to use any information seen here to answer upcoming quizzes. Anyway we didn't see A use his camera once.

We make the short walk from the hotel to CST and board a Fast heading for Ambernath, wherever that is. We are only going to Byculla, the first stop, so the trip is less than 10 minutes in an almost empty train. This Saturday is a normal working day for Mumbaikers so the inbound trains are starting to get busy. At Byculla A spots us before we spot him and we exchange greetings before heading out of the station on the east side towards the Dr Bhau Daji Museum, once called the Victoria and Albert. There are improvement works under way so we are not allowed to go in through the front gate and have to walk a few hundred metres to gain access through the entrance to the zoo which is next door. As A observes anybody who wanted to visit the zoo for nothing just has to say that they are going to the museum. The museum itself is in a rather handsome building surrounded by artefacts such as cannon, various statues of Victorian worthies and a statue from Elephanta Island that was dropped and broken while being looted for display in London. The original curator of this museum oversaw its repair and display next to the main entrance. There is also the origins Ksla Ghoda statue,  relocated from downtown,  and a pair of interesting topiary elephants. 

We pay our admission and leave the bag. The interior of the building is very impressive,  with a beautifully decorated vaulted ceiling. Exhibits are well presented in display cabinets, with clear labeling in Marathi, Hindi and English. Some Indian museums that we have seen have not been good at letting you know what you are looking at so this is one of the better ones. The collection itself is wide ranging, even eclectic,  but shows some superb Indian craftsmanship across a wide range of materials. Best of all the museum is quiet and relatively cool. We progress to the gallery upstairs where there are displays of models in the traditional dress of the many different communities that make up the Indian nation, as well as scenes from traditional life. There is a special exhibition room at the end of the gallery which features an exhibition called 'Suitcase Museum' which we have seen advertised. Somehow we have got the wrong end of the stick as we were expecting to see the physical contents of two suitcases but in fact it is an exhibition of photographs on the walls around two suitcases sitting in the middle of the floor. Art! But what do we know?

By the time we have finished the upstairs level the museum has filled with school parties and the decibel level increased accordingly. We retire to the courtyard, take some lemon tea and catch up on things since we last met in 2015. Refreshed, we cover the parts of the ground floor that we missed earlier. R is very taken with the miniature paintings from Rajasthan which gives A and D the opportunity to talk about cricket. When we have completed the circuit we pick up the bag and exit via the gate that we were not allowed through earlier.  A leads us back towards the station but then beyond the turning for it to the Gloria Church, a very imposing building that is now part of a school. Opposite is the Gloria Stores & Restaurant which A suggests as a lunch venue. We are waved through to the Family hall at the rear, nicely furnished and with most welcome a/c.

After a false start due to menu non-availability we order noodle soup with shrimp followed by chicken livers, mutton rogan josh and kichda. Some of the spelling may be dodgy here but the food certainly was not. We had excellent, crisp tandoori rotis to accompany the main dishes and could not fault a thing. The restaurant was spotlessly clean, as was the loo, and the service was spot on. We would never have tried or even found this place under our own steam but A made a great call from every aspect except our waistlines.

After lunch we take a cab out to Bandra, the first time that we have experienced a ride of any distance on one of the highways running between South Mumbai and the suburbs. The traffic is not very heavy and we make good progress out to Bandra, where we visit the Mount Mary Basilica. This involves a climb up a long set of steps with no shade. We are not really religious and not at all Catholic so we are rather surprised to see the step in front of the altar covered in what appear to be dismembered limbs from cheap plastic dolls. When we descend the other side of the hill we see the vendors who sell these rather gruesome offerings. The church does not require people to remove their shoes but most of the local people seem to prefer to go barefoot inside. 

A finds a steep path leading down to the sea which passes the homes of a couple of big Bollywood stars. When we get to the main road people are posing outside the front gates to have their pictures taken. The heat is starting to take its toll and we have to pause for chai and a seat in the shade for a few minutes. The final objective today is Bandra Fort, with its view of the spectacular Bandra-Worli Sea Link bridge and the haze shrouded city beyond. Shade is at a premium and we soon decide that it is time to turn for home. We have to pack and have an early start tomorrow. A flags an auto and we squeeze in. At one point the traffic seizes up for several minutes but eventually we are dropped outside Bandra Station which still has its old style station building which looks as if it might date back to Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway times. We don't have long to wait for a CST train. A travels with us for a few stops until he can get a connection for his train home. We have had a really interesting day and a tremendous lunch thanks to his guidance. 

The train to CST is quiet and we enjoy the rest and the breeze that the moving train creates. Back at the hotel we both take the chance to lie down in some cool air. A disturbed night and 37 degrees have made it quite a gruelling day. We make ourselves get up to shower and pack but neither of us fancies a meal tonight. D is sent on the walk of shame to the off licence where, despite the seething throng at the counter,  he is welcomed like the prodigal son. " Hello sir! You like our beer? Very good." To be honest D would like anybody's beer tonight as long as it was cold. The smart namkeen shop is not open tonight but a neighbourhood store has some packet snacks and rather tasty looking ladoos. That will do nicely.