BKC-Bandra West-Dadar walk (part 2)

Getting to Bandra station was simple enough as it was all via the skywalk.

Once at Bandra, I got to a T-junction on the skywalk, left to go west, right to go east. Getting to the west side meant going through the station area. In Bombay, stations have no turnstiles etc when entering... it's all open and tickets are per the honor system, like in Berlin. However when leaving stations, there are train conductors who randomly stop passengers and ask to see a ticket. If caught without a ticket, there's a fine, of course. There were many large signs on the westbound side stating that a valid ticket was needed to continue. Not wanting to risk any trouble, even though I wouldn't be using the trains, I walked east and down the stairs thinking I could cross over to the west side via some other path. Crazy thinking since Bandra west and east are separated by the very wide and busy Western Railway line. So I asked some folks who were standing in line for a bus about how I could get across to the west side and they said I'd have to buy a ticket to cross over.

I'd seen the ticketing area earlier so I went back there. There were automated ticket machines but I'd have needed a smartcard to use them. Not having a smartcard, I stood in line to buy a ticket. I was pleasantly surprised that there were three lines properly formed and that order was maintained throughout. A few folks, spying friends closer to the window, cut ahead and bought tickets together but nothing more than that. I noticed there were signs and separate windows for Ist and IInd class. I had no idea what line I was in nor how much a ticket would be but going with the flow I thought I'd just see what happened. As I got to the window, a guy decided to cut the line and placed Rs.50 towards the clerk for couple of tickets. I didn't know if the guy cutting the line was being a jerk because it was me or whether he'd have done the same to anyone else too. I had half a mind to say something but then I let it go. Surprisingly, the clerk noticed that the guy was cutting in and motioned him to go back in line. Again, don't know if this is the norm or what but I was thrilled to see that it had happened. Speaking my best Marathi, I requested a ticket and said that I wanted to go to the west side. Turned out that there was a platform fee... it was Rs.3

With ticket in hand, I walked over to Bandra west, where I got to see the station from the outside. It was a beautiful old building with terracotta roof tiles. I don't know when the station was built but most likely it's from when the British were in India. Looking at the structure, I could only imagine what Bandra was like back then. Now, Bandra station west (and east for that matter too) was a bustling place with an auto stand on one side, a big

B.E.S.T. bus depot

on the other side, police vans, vendors everywhere, cars dropping off/picking up people... simply a blast for all the senses.

Walking along the main road towards the B.E.S.T. bus depot, I saw another skywalk going further west. I guess there must've been a connection from the main BKC-Bandra station skywalk but I had missed it. Since the skywalk was in the direction I needed to go, I climbed back up the stairs. This skywalk was similar to the BKC-Bandra station one though with a different color palette. Walking along the skywalk is a welcome relief from the heat, and chaotic confusion that is the street, where neither vehicle, pedestrian, nor animal has a right of way on the road, thus making everything totally confounding.

Walking another kilometer or so, I got to a Y-junction, this time a north or south decision. I picked south towards Jama Masjid. I think this portion of the skywalk was over the busy and very long S.V.Road. I could see the mosque in the distance and Mahim causeway beyond, so I knew I was in the right direction. Climbing down the stairs at the end of the skyway, I ended up on the east side of the road and then had to get to the west side.

Crossing roads in Bombay is a combination of wits, agility, and a gutsy frame of mine. There are few and far between crosswalks. Even those that exist aren't always functioning as needed. So one has to cross in front of traffic, essentially jaywalk across. And one has to do so with the belief that no one will hit you. It is a leap of faith that I need to cultivate as I do not believe things so easily. Having crossed S.V.Road, I started my walk southwards. There are several down ramp roads at the Bandra-Mahim junction, again with no lights to help pedestrian traffic cross. I managed to cross without any hits and walked towards the water and Mahim chowpatty.

At the Bandra-Mahim junction, famous Vithal Venkatesh Kamat sculpture & quote "a child gives birth to a mother."

At the Mahim causeway, bay & chowpatty... I saw a man on a motorcycle stop at the Mahim bay bridge, get off, and throw a bag into the water. I didn't know what the bag contained but was rather appalled at the blatant littering. When I told this story to the bais (domestic help) at home, they offered an alternate explanation that he was throwing away puja items. Hindu custom says that the nirmallya (flowers etc used in a puja) needs to be immersed in flowing water - river or sea. Nirmallya alone would be fine I think. Unfortunately though, folks throw it in plastic bags, making the whole practice less than green.

From Mahim, one can see the new Bandra Worli Sealink in the hazy distance.

Walking south from the causeway, there are permanent looking homes right off the footpath, so close that the footpath is an extension of their homes and has become an outdoor living room of sorts. Walking through, I certainly felt like I was intruding. But everyone seemed very nice and smiled back at me as they went about their daily chores... filling water from the communal tanks, selling/buying vegetables, keeping their fresh fish catch cool under ice, repairing tablas in the brightly painted pink/orange building...

The next few photos are from my mini digression to Mahim chowpatty. I always thought there was only one chowpatty, i.e. Girgaon chowpatty, but now I know there are more, namely Dadar chowpatty, Mahim chowpatty, Juhu chowpatty... I guess all the beaches are known as chowpatty.

Fishing boats in the distance...

A cool place to take a morning nap...

These dogs were slumbering when I decided to take a photo of them, accidentally angering them. Soon after I clicked, they all ran towards me barking. It was rather scary but then they backed off. Let sleeping dogs lie...

Walking along the beach, I was surprised to see it was cleaner than I had imagined it'd be. Yes there was a big pile of trash close to the water, and yes there was a group of people washing clothes/dishes on the beach, but the rest of the sand was clean save for items such like this lost playing card.

Another guy sleeping off a rough night I'm guessing...

Interesting ways in which things are used and changed by the people who use them. Under the walkway become the perfect place to dry one's clothes.

This door opening outward couldn't have opened with the new pavers installed, so some pavers were made way for the door.

Everyone's religion, as practiced in Bombay (and India too for that matter) has always co-mingled with and existed alongside others' religions. Case in point, along my walk, I passed several mosques, churches, temples (hindu & jain) and even a HareRamHareKrishna place. As a child, although Hindu, I would attend Catholic mass with friends. In high school, we hardly bothered with religion and probably didn't even know who practiced what. Sadly, recently religion has been politicized, charged with notions foreign to all and been made into a contentious issue.

Here's a small Christian shrine I passed...

Near a bus stop along the way was a small nursery and a gathering place for basket-weavers. The weavers spoke Hindi and so I'm guessing they probably came to Bombay from villages in the north. This little girl was simply adorable. She followed me part of the way south. After I showed her the picture I had taken of her, she ran away laughing.

The basket-weaver men gambled under the shade of a billboard that advertised "you deserve a bigger bedroom." Here's the perpetual irony of sights in India... more space advertising juxtaposed with hand-to-mouth existence.

These two signs pave a path for Indian progress. First a slogan on a government-owned vehicle that reads in Marathi, mulgi shikli pragati zhali, meaning "if a girl is educated then progress is made"...

Secondly, this billboard advertising an infrastructure fund. It'd be great if Bombay had a sleek fast metro system.