Mumbai Madness

Tried some exotic food and some non-exotic one too, this time in Mumbai. The occasions were varied. Exotic Flavours, a restaurant in Mulund, with some friends, offered a variety of sizzlers. The service was on a slow boil as it was a Sunday evening, but we managed to eat. Sizzlers with exotic veggies is their speciality, and it was pretty good. Another evening, with some KIAMS alumni, we met at Urban Tadka in R City Mall, Ghatkopar. Nice food, tandoori aloo, makke ki roti and Sarson da saag, but the live band baaja (dhol actually) was unnecessary, as there is enough noise in the maximum city anyways.

The local trains were less packed than usual, as it was a weekend, and also because there were some DC to AC conversions going on on Western Railway.

We were at some admission interviews for the coming year at IMT, and I also ran into friends at the centre, St. Xavier's. But the highlight for me was a trip to Khadi Bhandar in the Kala Ghoda area, where there are some really good khadi (hand-woven)shirts, sarees and various other dress materials. These guys can sell much more- the stuff is exquisite! They need a marketing consultant.

Walked around aimlessly to see a few stalls at the Kala Ghoda Festival of Arts in the area around Rhythm House one evening, and also saw a superb Odissi performance in which a niece was one of the performers. The troupe is called Smitalay, is headed by one Jhelum Paranjpe, who is a disciple of Kelucharan Mahapatra. Under the evening sky at Cross Maidan near Churchgate, the impact was even more magical. I had last watched Odissi a long time ago when in Bhubaneswar, so it was refreshing.