Over a Cup of Chai

Mumbai can turn dreams into reality

It was a hot summer afternoon and as I sipped some steaming hot chai dunked in glucose biscuit with my friend, I looked at the little boy- the helper at the tea stall as I always did, when I visited the tea stall. My eyes wandered to get a glimpse of the little boy as he hurried from one end to other distributing chai, collecting the chai cups, washing them.

Every time I saw that little kid, my heart cried to the fact that this little boy had to work so hard in the burning son. To which my friend remarked “You don’t have to be sorry for them, rather never be sorry, this is Mumbai, anyone who comes to the city and has the determination and dedication to make it big, will make it big. Today you see this kid distributing chai; ten years down the line he may own a restaurant. Mumbai is a land full of opportunities, you just have to find yours, look at me when I was in college to pay my debts I too have washed dishes, but today it’s different. Indians are survivors; we can go through shit but still come out of it so well”

I paused for a minute to think about what he has just said, one part of me did not want to agree to the fact, how could I not feel sorry for a little kid wandering in the sun, serving people, but as I looked at him again, I realized how right he was. Years ago he too had worked hard, working with a caterer, traveling to remotest parts of the country in the heat and sun repairing sugarfactory machines, working for employees who didn’t pay, running from landlords, and finally he had fought all odds and arrived in life with a great job, a good stock market game and a house he owned. It all seemed like a movie, but it wasn’t, it was so real, a real life hero stood in front of him.

His remark made me look at the little boy with a different perspective, who knows some day this little boy may became a proud owner of a Udupi restaurant or own a catering unit and make his parents proud. I guess some people are born with a fortune and some with the qualities to make their fortune.

But there were thousands of such children across the city, the country and even the world, to how many would fortune shine? How many would destiny change.

Leopold Cafe

Leopold is a bar- café tucked in the heart of the Colaba causeway, and had became a place of great interest to me after reading Shantaram which made me look at Mumbai with a totally different angle. I was very keen on visiting the café and observing the activities that I had easily ignored on my previous trips

Flashback
I still remember the first time I visited Leopold café. I was in college, and had heard a lot about this place from our seniors in Rotaract. Infact, going to Leopold was more like an event I was looking forward too. The visit that time was interesting, although I don’t think I had really observed the people around, the kick was just about visiting the place and telling the world you had been there. Couple of years later when my office was in town we often visited Leopold but always headed to the bar upstairs.

May 2006

As I walked to Leopold through Colaba Causeway I looked at the animated hoarding with bold lettering and pictures shouting out Leopold since 1837. This was new signage which has replaced the old simple Leopold sign recently.
When we walked in a firang guy, who was probably aGerman seated at the table near the open door, greeted us, welcoming us inside.After sometime we realized he was trying to make conversation with the other men seated on the table behind us.Suddenly he was standing between our table and the table behind and announced that he sang very well and would do a special performance for us. I was extremely excited and hoped to see some action, but unfortunately the guy simply sat on the table with those men and disappeared after a few minutes.

I saw this young guy probably in his 20s with a plastic bag, standing outside, looking inside than talking on his cell phone, minutes later he caught a table next to us and after sometime ventured outside exchanged bags with a middle-aged man and returned back enjoying his beer, leaving my mind to wander what the deal could have been. Amidst the chaos there was a group of American and Korean tourists who were competing with each other on doing a beer bottoms up. When I went for a visit to the washroom, I saw this firang women chatting with a Indian guy near the washbasin. The guy probably in his mid 30`s looked like some kind of agent, again this could just be a figment of my imagination. He chatted with the women enquiring about her health, and telling her she looked much better, maybe the new drug the doctor suggested her must have helped her.

Leopold has a total different culture even within its two sections. The non- ac section is full of tourists, very few Indians. The interiors gives it the 80`s look. The big old clock, the paintings of rockstars, musicians probably of 70`s or 80`s, the sign of the parsi logo( don’t know whats it supposed to be called) on the windows above and casual irani chairs and tables. Hemi pointed out the good thing about having the menu sandwiched on the glass table, thus not bothering to wait for the waiter to bring the menu to order. Also downstairs you have to pay first to get your alcohol. I wonder how this place would have been in 18 71 don’t think my grandfather ever visited it.

Upstairs is more like a lounge bar, there is music, you will find very few foreigners upstairs.

All in all, I think I like Leopold, an interesting place to hangout, maybe I should go their often.

Check this out too
http://www.outlookindia.com/photoessays.asp?serial=1&foldername=20060510&filename=shantaram&storyid=1&mode=1

Oddities Meme

Satya tagged me onto this…
The Meme rules:
Once you are tagged you MUST write a blog entry about your 10 weird habits/things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next six people to be tagged and list their names.

I am an adventurer, I love exploring and traveling the world
I am a complete foodie and love to visit all kinds of food places right from a small eatery crammed amidst a chawl to a shady bar to a fancy Italian or Thai restaurant to a swanky restaurant in an five star
I love to soak and experience the culture and traditions of the places I visit. For e.g when I go on a backpack trip, I travel in the local modes of transport,( cycles ricks, local buses etc), speak to locals, try a visit a local family, try their cuisine, visit their religious places, learn about their traditions etc
I love to try out different things, especially when it means breaking the norms for e.g. Taking the last train home, traveling at odd hours in rickshaws, visiting an eatery where women are not allowed.Visiting a dance bar is one of the things that i have been wanting to do for ages
I love to walk and trek. The longest I have probably walked is from Kandivali to Siddhivinayak, a cool 6 hours. I also like to run, but the longest I have run is about 7 km at the marathon.
I love to walk through the streets of any city, town or village observing the intricacies of the place the people. There is always something new to discover with every walk even if its repeated
I love reading, mostly Indian fiction. Shantaram and Maximum city are my favorite books.
I hate crowded trains, maybe coz I haven’t learnt to get in to them and Dadar station
I get very irritated with people who make false promises.
I love watching the sea, sunset and sunrise

Six people who should do this:
(if you haven't already done it)

Mr brownstone, bombayroads, veena, fuzzyworld,shaheer
manfrommiddleeast

If you may wonder WTF is meme

Its an idea, project, statement or even a question that is posted by one blog and responded to by other blogs. Although the term encompasses much of the natural flow of communication in the Blogosphere
www.fzelders.nl/weblog/