nightlifemumbai

If you visit a flower market in Mumbai, you will usually not see the coral jasmine. It flowers at night, and when day breaks, all the flowers fall, leaving a beautiful carpet of flowers on the ground. It is a fragile flower, that fades quickly, and doesn't do well when transported to markets. In my mother's apartment there is a coral jasmine plant; and every morning, the night watchman gathers up the flowers and gives them to my mother. Some of them go into the kitchen temple, but the others are used like this, as a beautiful carpet for her plants. Coral jasmine, offered to the Tulsi, and to other plants  This jasmine is offered to gods, even after it has fallen to the ground. In Tamil, it is called kanaka malli , where kanaka means coral, and malli is jasmine. In Hindi, the coral jasmine is called harsingar , or the adornment of God. It is the state flower of West Bengal. In Bengali it is called sheuli . This flower is also identified as  parijat , a legendary flo...

- by Deepa Krishnan A few days ago, I had lunch in a small village home in the Palghar district of Maharashtra. The people who live in this village are tribal agriculturalists, practising subsistence farming. One of the families cooked lunch for us. We ate sitting on mats on the floor. I was super-hungry and wolfed down my meal in minutes. Our hostess brought endless servings of everything, until I was fit to burst. Here's a photo of what I ate: Everything on my plate was grown locally. There was rice, which is grown during the monsoon season on the nearby hill slopes in small terraces. There was bhendi (okra / ladies finger), chowli (black-eyed beans), tuar (pigeon-pea) dal, two types of home-made papad and a home-made mango pickle. All of it came from nearby farms and fields.  But the thing that delighted me most was the dark brown roti, called nachni bhakri.   Nachni (finger millet) is one of the healthiest things you can eat. Loads of calcium and iron. Lots of fibre. Slow ...

- By Deepa Krishnan I had a fabulous time at the Girgaum Chowpatty Visarjan this year. Actually it took me completely by surprise, because they have enforced a STRICT ban on drums and noise. I went there expecting to be deafened by the noise. In fact, I even bought ear-plugs! But in spite of the thousands and thousands of people, there was no crazy noise. There were no big drums and no clang-clang-clang to burst the eardrums. The processions were colourful and full of tamasha, there were people singing with small cymbals and chanting "Ganpati Bappa Morya! Pudhchya Varshi Laukar Ya!". But we did not go deaf with the noise! At a couple of places there were horrible loudspeakers, where sponsors were distributing free drinks and food, and they thought that gave them the right to shout over the speakers. But overall, it was not an assault on the ears. The police have a very major presence and are very helpful to direct people and maintain crowd control.  This is our group, at C...

- by Deepa Krishnan A few years ago, I clicked this picture of Koli fisherwomen at the Null Bazaar fish market. It was still the monsoon season, but the ban on fishing was over and fresh local catch was coming to the market. Koli women at their stalls in Null Bazaar Traditionally the Kolis have a self-imposed ban on fishing in the monsoons; they stop when the rains make the waters too dangerous and rough, and they commence fishing again on Narli Purnima after offering prayers and a coconut (this year Narli Purnima falls on Aug 10).  But there is also an official government ban in place, primarily for fish stocks to recover. June to September is the spawning season for many species. Also the ban helps fish to grow bigger, thus realising higher value when the fish eventually come to market.  Larger catch sizes after the monsoons Now for the complications: In India, marine resources are a State subject, so each state on the West Coast has a different policy in place. There are di...

- By Deepa Krishnan Ever since the monsoon season started, I have been wanting to see the Western Ghats in all their green glory. Finally we found the time, a perfect day, half sunny, half cloudy, and we set out for the Buddhist Caves at Bedse.  The mountains ahead of us Most people living in Bombay don't know that the spread of Buddhism on the West Coast of India began in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region; in what we today call Nallasopara (the next train station on the Western line immediately after Vasai). The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (273 to 276 BC) sent an emissary called Dharmarakshita to Sopara (it was at that time major trading port). Ashoka's Edict at Sopara is now in the Prince of Wales Museum, but you can see a photo and translation of the edict here.  The Buddhist monks found the perpendicular cliffs of the Sahyadris eminently suitable for their monsoon prayer retreats. What may have started as a small rock-excavation experiment of the monks turned into a very majo...

- By Deepa Krishnan I was in the Marathwada region a couple of weeks ago, on a trip to the Ajanta Caves. As you probably know, this area of Maharashtra has been suffering from drought for the last 2 years. So I was really delighted to see that it had been raining! Everywhere we could see farmers ploughing the moist soil with bullocks.  Beautiful pair of oxen, rich moist soil The soil was a kind of clayey black (although it looks brownish when freshly tilled). It is very fertile black soil, said to be perfect for cotton. Most of the farms we saw were small and seemed to be self-cultivated. I was curious about it, so I looked up the Aurangabad Gazette, and found that more than 75% of the farmers cultivate their own land, with the help of family, or by hiring someone to work alongside them. The farmer we saw was working with one helper. Sowing seeds. When I asked what they were sowing, I found that it was maize. The farmer's little daughter was playing in the field, running around, an...

- By Deepa Krishnan It's pouring outside, and the plants in my balcony are loving it. The little fern, long dormant, has burst into new fronds, as if to make up for lost time. The money-plant has put out long tendrils and I'm having to twirl it around the holder to keep it from rioting. And my karpooravalli  (a kind of Indian oregano) has overgrown its pot; its dark green leaves have grown gleefully giant-sized. This kind of rainy weather makes me want to curl up with an old Asimov book and masala chai. But it also makes me long for something  chat-pata  in the afternoons, to go with the tea.  Yesterday I got it into my head that what I *really* wanted was chakli. Prickly, snacky, crunchy, chakli. The good thing about being an adult and in charge of your own kitchen (complete with maids) is that every little wish can be translated very quickly into reality. So here we are today, sitting pretty on a fresh batch of chakli. And I've already had 2 cups of tea, just to go...

- By Deepa Krishnan The old Portuguese fort in Bandra is one of Mumbai's favourite hangouts in the rain.   There's a fantastic breeze, with great views of the Arabian sea and the Worli Sea-link. Families, college kids, lovers, everyone comes here to hang out in the evenings. Naturally, the bhelwalla does brisk business. Seen from the top of the fort, the tad palms and the sea remind you of Mumbai's original landscape, as it existed before Bandra developed and grew into what it is today. In the 1640s, the Portuguese built a fort here, called Castella de Aguada - the Castle of Water. The fort is still there, and it has unbroken views of the Sea Link which is behind it. Further down the road, you can see folks hanging out near Shah Rukh Khan's Mannat. There's a little garden here, nice for spending time with friends, plus the added bonus of a possible star sighting. The cafe nearby has windows with sea views. Along the Bandstand promenade, there are lots of people walk...

- By Deepa Krishnan On a rainy day, the wholesale flower market in Dadar is a great place for photography enthusiasts.  It is an indoor market, so you can walk around without worrying about getting your camera wet. Of course, you have to slosh through a messy floor, but the colours are so fantastic that it is well worth it. The business is wholesale, and flowers are sold in bulk to wedding decorators and event managers. A lot of business is transacted over the phone (repeat customers, established relationships). But many people come to haggle and buy, especially when they need a lot of flowers. Also, small local flower-sellers in the city  come here in person to buy their daily stocks. They buy not only flowers, but also the leaves that are used as wrapping, and thread as well, to tie it all together. From the wholesale market, these flowers then make their way to local street stalls, to be fashioned into garlands or "veni" for the hair. I clicked this photo of one flower-sel...