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....

Sinful Nirvana!!!!!

Today afternoon, Neeti and I had to drive down to Churchgate for an appointment with our home mortgage provider.

The meeting was at 3PM. Keeping a sufficient margin, for delays in traffic, we left home at 1PM.

With the kind of randomness the traffic in the city has, unexpectedly we reached Churchgate at 1.45PM.

We needed to kill time, we needed to quench our thirst in the sweltering heat of 37 degrees and we were famished.

Eureka! Just as Archimedes discovered buoyancy in his tub, we figured out that we were headed to Stadium, despite having a choice of other decent eateries around.

Stadium is an Irani café by the side of Churchgate station.

I first visited Stadium way back in 2000. And that was just the beginning. I kept coming back for more and more of their delights.

This was the place that I used to come to enjoy the bun maskas, keema paos, bhurji paos, dhansaks, keema ghotalas, caramel custards, during those good old days when office was at Churchgate! I once forgot my handphone there after a late Sunday afternoon snack. We had reached Annie Besant Road in Worli when I realised what an ass I was to forget my lifeline there. We turned around and drove back to retrieve the gadget, which had been safely kept by the cashier! Thank God for such souls!

The place is quite old, but is airy, with a ceiling that is at least 7-8 metres high, with a large entrance and fairly big windows - that's the closest you can get to dining I.

The tables were small but neatly laid out diagonally with charming green check table cloths covered with a glass sheet.

But change comes, slowly but surely. The green check table cloths were sadly gone! They were all replaced with brown table cloths.

As was customary, we went straight to the point. The order was for pao-bhurjis. Pao is what Mumbaikars call buns - the word is derived from the way the first colonisers of this amazing called the bread way back in 1500s.

The Stadium bhurji, a spicy scrambled egg preparation, with chopped onions, chillies, tomatoes and spices was greasy to the last morsel.

The paos that Stadium serves are soft, flaky and smell fresh, as though they've just been taken out of the clay oven!

We went for it - impatiently tore open the paos into morsels larger than bite-sizes and scooped out the spicy steaming bhurji, going into our salivating mouths! What a sinful nirvana!

To get all the grease settled in our tummies, I went in for a black tea, while Neeti took a lemon soda! Wow, what a meal.

After we were done with our appointment, we headed home. Both of us fell asleep the moment we left HT Parekh Marg. I was just woken up by the driver, as the Bandra Worli Sealink toll plaza was approaching!

The sinful nirvana had done its magic!

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!