For almost about 18 years of my life Bandra 50 was my world.Even today when i am im Bandra I feel so much at home, as I have spent my child hood years walking or cycling through each and every lane. Each road and lane has a memory for me.
Bandstand
Back then in the 80`s Bandstand was like a beautiful island with lovely mansions, a few sky scrapers, a lovely garden and our favourite the sea rock hotel. It was calm and peaceful. I think as a kid my grandpa made atleast one trip a week to Bandstand in his Red fiat car, right outside that little garden next to the Café, used to be pets on display for the kids to watch and pony rides on a red carriage. Those lovely evenings for me would only end after bitting into some hot butta( corn) which I truly loved or icecream candy.
The searock hotel was another favourite. With Dada having many of his company officers visiting him from abroad, we often visited this hotel,I loved going there in Christmas to see the lovely decorations.Unfortunately the Sea rock hotel does not exist any more, but I did get an opportunity to stay in this wonderful property before it was demolished
Bandra fort
I remember discovering the Bandra fort one morning on my summer holidays when I was probably 12 or 13 walking to Bandstand, I was dead tired that day having walked and when I walked up through the structure of the fort onto a little mountain and saw the worli sea face on the other side and a temple, I almost felt like I had accomplished a big mission, and from then on every time I had cousins and friends over I have taken them to showcase the Bandra fort. The amphitheatre came on much later, but I never happened to go there for a play
Hill road
Hill road was one of my favourite roads in Bandra, coz of the variety of shops it had. Moving out of Bandstand towards Hill road, the first pit stop would be the Hearch Bakery where we would get the 8 shaped dinner rolls, the veg pattice and other savouries. The now famous Hearch burger was not discovered then. The American express bakery across the road was popular in the house for brown bread. The A1 bakery was the place we only visited if we didn’t find bread in the other 2 bakeries
Moving further on the left you would find the Gazebo restaurant, which was another favourite with the family, it now has been converted to a upmarket supermarket called Nature`s basket. The Sacred Heard school has been my 10th standard exam centre. I remember eating the pani puri at Kailash parbat opposite sacred heart, it used to be a quite a deserted road devoid of the traffic and noise that exists today.
The cheap jack store for gifts, birthday cards and needle work items, mulchand store for its imported goods and the Balaji restaurant for a quick idli and pavbhaji snack. The Bambi laundry, Hitlon the only upmarket store of our times, the energee stall of Sarita doodh centre, wax house, the maze called Elco market with a zillion shops, and the road side pani puri outside elco were all part of some wonderful memories of Hill road.
The new talkies theater has now been converted into an upmarket department stall, while the old post office next to it still reminds me those days when I would buy greetings cards and stand in line to post them to my family abroad.
Bazzar Road and chapel road
The road parallel to the hill road was refered to as the Bazzar road and chapel road. I was very fascinated by this tiny road, which had something different to see on each corner and by lane. I always walked through that road looking at small Portuguese villas on either side with loud English music blaring through the windows, residential buildings, the chawls. I even remember spending a few summer afternoons in one of those chawls where our cook stayed. She would take me to her place in afternoon and I would spend the afternoon playing in the verandah of that chawl. In my memory it seemed like a very clean place. We also went there during Navratis, in a particular community area where my dad would sing the traditional garbas
Turner Road
This was a again a quiet road with some beautiful bunglows, shops, and few sky scrappers. I usually walked through this road on my way to school. The Taj & crossiants cake shop was one of our favourite shops for bread, cakes and pastries. That corner has now been replaced with an array of food joints like Lemon grass, Gloria jeans etc. The Taj has been replaced by Birdy`s. Moving further next toe Tavaa, there used to be a grocery store called Benze, which was the place we ordered our stuff from. The shop still exists.
Moving forward on that road, some of the small bunglows have been demolished to make way for large gold jewelery shops and sky scrappers. I still remember walking through this road looking at those wonderful bungalows. At the crossing of waterfield road after Moti Mahal there used to be a famous Chinese joint called stomach, a place we ordered a lot of take away, it still exists but in a smaller avtar. Next to stomach there used to be pastry shop called oven fresh. I remember celebrating the exams over treat over some lovely sandwiches at this place. Over the years it changed to another cake shop, a gelato parlour and now a designer store. Opposite stomach used to be a premier icecream store of my time Dollops, It stayed there for a couple of years till it was converted to Dosa Diner, and now a Ritu kumar shop.
Moving forward on that road closer to the right turn for St Martin`s road stood some lovely villas, some of them have been demolished, while some villas who have resisted the big bucks still stand there well maintained reminding you of the good old days. The Tutkuks restaurants opposite Mala Sinha`s house was a favourite at our house. I still remember those visits with my grand pa to parcel some takeaway.
St Martins Road
As you walk into this lane from turner road on the left is Mala Sinha`s house, not in the best of its health, moving forward is the St Martin`s Nursing home on the right. I can never forget this place, many visits to the child specialist here. Not much has changed at The Raheja college. But the buildings in this lane have either been demolished and rebuilt or raised. One such bunglow next to Sterling building I still remember. There used to be an old uncle in that bunglow on the first floor, as I went to school in the morning, he would be sitting at the window with his cup of tea and would wave and smile at me as I went to school. That bungalow doesn’t exist anymore.
Dr Ragunath Marg
On the left on the turning of Dr Ragunath marg stands the vyamshala, not much has changed here. The small garden where I did go to play, and also center of Navratri celebrations. For some reason it looked much smaller to me. The vyamshala as the name suggests was also a exercise centre for local body builders, our balcony in Anand vihar overlooked the exercise area, and I completely was thrilled calling them names and then hiding in the balcony. Happy Home, Savita building and now revamped Woodlands all seemed like a community. We almost new every one in every single building. The Navratri festival was also organized in a manner that each building has the garba each day. So that way all building`s could host the garba.
The sharmas staying in Woodland were known for their Holi celebrations. The wild holi parties of Woodland building were quite popular.
Anand Vihar
Opposite Woodland stands Anand Vihar, our house, As I look at it today, it looks like a haunted building, Most of the windows are shut, there are hardly any children playing in the compound. Leakage fixing marks all over the building it seems like its on a dead bed.
But few decades back, this building had bloomed with fresh paint, and ignited with lights to celebrate weddings, hosted New year parties on the lovely mosciac terrace, and burned the old man on the water tank to bring in the new year. Carol singers had spread the Xmas joy by singing in the xmas carols in the building foyer and later visited each home to collect donations for charity. The building gates had welcomed many girls and middle aged women who wished to sharpen their homely skills or simply learn something new at the famous stitching, sewing, and knitting classes run by Vimuben, the lady instrumental in bringing our family to Anand vihar
Plum cakes, xmas savouries Diwali mithai`s and chakri`s tucked in plates and covered with hand knitted plate covers had exchanged houses in the festive season. A zillion games of four corners, badminton, chor police and more had been played in this building ground by children like me who had played and itched them in their childhood memories for ever. This building had also given me an opportunity to try out my entrepreneur skills as kid, where I had put up my study desk and displayed handmade envelops and boxes for sale right under that coconut tree at the entrance of the gate.
As I stood outside that same building, it seemed like it needed a new life, it had done its job of painting wonderful memories to all those who lived here, it was probably time to get a new canvas.
Bandra Talao Area
The Bandra Talao is now a dirt dumping ground but few years back it has been developed to be a promising tourist attraction. They had got peddel boats and it was indeed a pleasure boating there the few times that I ever did. The National library and Gandhi seva mandir were other frequently visited places.
Nandi Gali
The Nandi gali the small lane opposite the Bandra talao which directly takes you to the Bandra station was a lane I was very fascinated by. It had and still has a lot of shady bars, a great lane for people watching. One of my desires was to take my friends and watch a movie in the infamous nandi theatre, however I was not very successful in it, as they agreed to come and diverted me to eating malpua at the Noor dairy opposite the theatre. I remember as teenager my dad has told me about the dance bar, and what happens there. I remember him telling me that Asha is a dance bar and he had also educated me that all restaurants which state bar and restaurant could be dance bars. Asha bar still exists in this lane. Almost towards the end of this lane is Mahavir sales agency, the wholesaler for chocolates and biscuits. As a kid I had made many visits to this shop
Bandra Station
As you walk out of Nandi Gali, you come right outside Bandra Station. Right opposite is the old ticket counter, which has been closed and converted like a art gallery with a few paintings of Bandra station. It was from here that I bought a ticket to make my first journey alone on the western railway
