Sunset At Castella De Aguada

A holiday in the middle of the week and what better way to spend the evening than to visit Castella De Aguada.... 

Ahhh well, I am not talking about some exotic far off location, I am talking about the Bandra Fort, which was originally called Castella De Aguada.

After the Portuguese defeated Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1534, they went about securing their territorial posessions along the western coast and many forts and fortresses were built. The Bandra Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1640 as a watchtower overlooking Mahim Bay, the Arabian Sea and the southern island of Mahim. During the Portuguese rule, it was armed with seven cannons and other smaller guns as defence.

The name, Castella De Aguada, indicates its origin as a place where fresh water was available in the form of a fountain (Aguada) for Portuguese ships cruising the coasts in the initial period of Portuguese presence.

After the Portuguese ceded the seven islands of Bombay that lay to the immediate south of Bandra to the British, the British faced a new threat from the Marathas - the British were afraid that the Marathas would capture the fort and use it as a launchpad for attack on the British possessions - the areas we know as South Mumbai today. To prevent such attacks, they partly destroyed the fort.

We entered the fort moments before sunset....

The fort was teeming with people enjoying the long weekend...

This is what Mumbai is.... the Bandra Worli Sea Link right beside the fort... the old thrives with the new, or rather the new grows around the old...

Interesting silhouettes...

Finally, sunset time....

The cloud behind us was glowing in the warmth of the setting sun with occasional streaks of lightening....

Finally the sun set over the horizon and that's when I got a bit poetic...

The cloud behind us changed its shape and lightening intensified...

Overall, an interesting evening spent at Castella De Aguada....

Bombaypolis Moments.... Part 10

A view of Worli from Bandra Reclamation!!!

Sunset at Carter Road!

A lovely view, at Carter Road!

The stray chills out at Carter Road!

My doctor's calender says it so rightly!

"Oops, I just pee'd!!!"

Lokhandwala Pizza Hut doesn't even a proper complaint book. Yum! seems to have awful standards in India!

Terminal 1C at CSIA is breezily smooth! Imagine how a little common sense made all flights take off on time!

A rain-kissed view of Juhu beach...

This is the best view of the Monsoons - bright, vibrant colours, with dark clouds adorning the horizon!

Bombaypolis Moments.... Part 3

Bombaypolis Moments is back, with the third in the series of mobile grabs.
Commuting in Bombay has always been and continues to be a pain, especially when you have to pass over large potholes on roads considered the best in the city. I have heard of people developing bad backs, women having abortions because of bumpy rides. Is the BMC listening?

Traffic jams have always been a part of life in the city. But the rains make it worse. Expects traffic snarls all through the day. Trust me, it could take you as much as 2 hours to cover a stretch of 2 kms. I have been through it.

Two traffic menaces one has to be careful about - the BEST buses, which are the bug red bullies on the road - they don't even think twice before braking hard just a few inches behind you.

And who can ignore the autorickshaws. They come out of nowhere, like swarms of bees (black and yellow), with noisy drones and get right into your path. What the hell is lane driving?

The Bandra Worli sealink is ready and to be opened shortly. But will it do any good when you are sure to expect jams at both the Bandra and Worli ends?

If you are brave enough, have strong bones and need a massage, travel by train. Its the fastest. But the uninitiated can get minced to the bone, like sardines in a can!!!!

Bandra station is never this empty, except after 11 PM. Wish train rides during the day would be as convenient as at this hour.

For those who choose to walk, another menace lurks on the streets - stray dogs. Sometimes they really get aggressive with hapless pedestrians, without any provocation. Animal lovers may not like, but the menace needs to be stopped.

And who says jams are only on the ground? Ever tried landing into Bombay airport at any hour? You are sure to find "jams" in the sky too with endless hovering..... That's what they call going around in circles!

Bombaypolis Moments.... Part 2

Bombaypolis Moments back now with the second series 0f mobile grabs......

MMRDA wants you to drive safely along the Western Express Highway, but who thinks of repairing the potholes that are as wide as cars, that can be fatal?
A sample flat from a reputed builder looks so attractive. Even if one manages to buy one of such over-priced properties, one is always left with a thought - "Will I get what I am promised?"





A dozing security guard in a residential building. Does that inspire any confidence?

We may be largest English speaking nation in the world, but surely, we need a crash course in English!!!!

A homely, sleepy and green lane in Bandra, off Linking Road. Reminds me of good ol' South Delhi

Bombay is amazing in the rain, especially, if you get to drive from Haji Ali to Worli....

And not to forget, a late night drive along the Queen's Necklace....

This brightly lit advertisement looked amazing against the backdrop of the night skyline, along Lokhandwala's New Link Road.

Exile the SP to North Korea

What a shocker this is - the Samajwadi Party (SP) has announced in it poll manifesto that it wants to ban computers, English, mechanised farming and stock trading among other things. This has been covered prominently on news channels like NDTV as well as in the print media.

How ridiculous, horrifying and pathetic!

Does the SP do what it preaches? There are a lot of inherent contradictions in what these people are saying.

A few pointers:

1. 
   
   The SP has a jazzy website, in English, yes that's right - they are using computers and the net, that too in English.


2. 
   
   Mulayam's supporter, Big B, a net freak who passionately blogs every day, would perhaps have to revert to his father's passion - Hindi poetry. Arrey baba, no English, vinglish!


3. 
   
   Aishwarya, another SP supporter, would have to stop all movies in English, stop her jaunts to Cannes and above all no western clothes - that's a logical consequence of SP's policies, right?


4. 
   
   Anil Ambani, another Mulayam supporter, runs a clutch of companies that invest in the markets. If the SP comes to power, would all these companies go bankrupt?


5. 
   
   The son of a prominent SP candidate from Mumbai would have to shut down his upmarket eatery in Bandra, because it serves Italian khaana peena, corrupting Indian minds. And his wife, a Bollywood starlet, would have to stop wearing western dresses, and no make-up, shake-up!


6. 
   
   Last but the least, the ever grinning Amar Singh, would have to stop all his Page 3 party hopping - that's simply not Indian culture.

If the SP is serious about what it says, shouldn't their prominent supporters do all that I have suggested above?

It is indeed stupid, if I may so, for a national party to say all this. Computers and the net are now being used by farmers to find out new techniques of cultivation. Mobiles come in handy for them to get the best price in the markets. Even rickshaw wallahs and household maids use cellphones to optimise their operations! Every small town has computer and English institutes to coach youngsters, helping them get jobs in BPOs, etc.

And now the SP wants to take us back to the middle ages. Or is it mere vote-bank politics, where politicians are mere demagogues inciting people to get to power? Perhaps they have a vested interest in keeping people backward so that continue to hold positions of prominence in society.

Sometimes I feel that India might do well with a benign dictatorship like the way Turkey had in the early part of the 20th century, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk imposed a modernisation on the country - equality of women, separation of religion from the state, adoption of English script for the Turkish language, etc. That is something which is debatable.

For now, let's exile the SP leadership to North Korea, where they will feel at home with Kim Il Jong.