[Reader-list] Interview with a seafront outsider resident

[Zainab Bawa]

Dear All,
Here is a transcript of my first interview with a resident of Marine Drive 
seafront. I am keen to speak to more people living along the seafront, not 
just in Mumbai, but across the world. If any of you is interested in sharing 
your experiences of railway stations and seafront, would be a willing 
candidate for an interview, please be forthcoming!
Cheers,
Zainab



Interview with Vivek Rana

Vivek Rana, originally from Bangalore, came to Bombay in January 2004. He 
works in the field of Public Relations and is also one of the trustees of an 
NGO in Bangalore called ‘Dream A Dream’. Vivek’s office is situated at 
Nariman Point and he lives at Marine Drive. It has been nearly eleven months 
now that Vivek is in Mumbai. As a resident of the seafront and also as one 
working in Nariman Point, I conducted the following 
conversation-cum-interview with Vivek:

Vivek warns me that he does not know whether his answers are going to be 
‘right or wrong’ and that he is not one of the politically correct persons. 
Embarrassed with the procedure of audio recording, we start off:

“I live at Zaver Mahal, on ‘D’ Road. We were looking for a good PG 
(accommodation). This was the first place we saw. I was shocked because the 
place was very small. Then we looked around other places and saw that all of 
them were equally bad if not worse. In fact, it was like walking around 
somebody’s house for a minute till you found your room. This place was good 
because I had a separate entrance. I had my privacy and it was then that I 
decided to go in for this place.”

Zainab: If you had a choice, where else would you have liked to live in 
Mumbai?
Vivek: I don’t think anywhere else, considering that my work is in town, I 
wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
Zainab: Is that the culture in Bangalore as well i.e. most people live close 
to their places of work?
Vivek: Well, uh, umm … In Bangalore (he goes on slowly), well, so far I have 
lived close to my place of work. One, Bangalore is very concentric where 
people have lived in Central City and work is always in the Central City. I 
wouldn’t mind traveling to work if it was easier. I find it very difficult 
to travel by the local trains here, especially during peak hours – otherwise 
it is fine. I see my colleagues traveling from so far, people living at 
Bhayendar and other places far and they get tired (by the time they reach 
office). And there is no life after work because you reach home only at 9:30 
or 10 (PM) and then what do you do after that. I am not used to a life of 
just work. If I am moving, I need to be close to the place where I work.
Zainab: I am sure you must be paying a bomb for that place … What are the 
kinds of differences you see between living in Bangalore and living in 
Bombay?
Vivek: Weather is a big thing. But I am sure you are not talking about 
weather, I mean climatically …
Zainab: No, whatever, climate, anything …
Vivek: So, climate is a big thing. People are a bit more warmer there …
Zainab: In Bangalore?
Vivek: Yeah! I say this for two reasons. One, because after work there is a 
lot of bonding that happens among friends and among work colleagues.
Zainab: Yeah, I have seen that in some of your cafes there.
Vivek: Yeah, which is not possible in Bombay because basically everyone is 
in different corners of the city. Friends toh everyone is working in 
different places, work timings are pretty erratic here. In Bangalore, most 
people in worst case would finish work at 6:30 – 7 (PM), worst case. Most 
are done by 5:30-6 (PM) which is not possible in Bombay.

Zainab: So what is your typical day like?
Vivek: I am up at 5 (AM). Do my own stuff. Go for a jog. Then I get ready. 
Leave for office by 7:45-8 (AM). I am in office. Rarely do I travel. But 
yeah, sometimes I go to Andheri, Bandra, very rare. Usually finish work by 
5:30-6 (PM). Once I am back, then I go for a jog (at Marine Drive/Nariman 
Point). Then I am back. Then if I feel like I cook my own dinner. Else I go 
out and eat. Then maybe I watch a movie at home or read. Otherwise there is 
the NCPA which is fabulous. I go for a play or something. Then there are the 
(Art) Galleries which are around.
Zainab: What is your social network like in Bombay?
Vivek: Actually it is very interesting because I came to Bombay with nobody 
here. I didn’t have friends, I didn’t have relatives. Well that’s another 
way of looking at social life here, you know. It’s easy to make friends
Zainab: (clarifying) here, in Bombay?
Vivek: Yes. And that’s how I have made friends but network is different in 
the sense over the phone, we chat, whatever, because we hardly meet 
everyday. But yeah, that is how it is today.
Zainab: Yes. And do you have your jogging network (on the seafront), your 
circuit while you jog?
Vivek: No, not really. Yeah, now that’s different here. When you talk about 
the difference between Bangalore and Bombay, that’s the difference here that 
people don’t even smile here!
Zainab: Yeah?
Vivek: That’s something I found very strange here. Even when you smile (at 
them). Nobody bothers really which is what I meant by Bangalore being a 
warmer city. You go on the road, smile, people will talk. You go jogging 
practically for a week and people will see you and you can start a 
conversation. But in Bombay I don’t think people even care. Perhaps it is 
that little moment (on the seafront, while jogging) that they get to be with 
themselves, they WANT to be with themselves.
Zainab: Right …
Vivek: So that could be the case.

Zainab: So, when you look at Marine Drive, at Nariman Point, what is your 
idea of Bombay? What is the image of Bombay?
Vivek: (a brief pause) Dirty!
Zainab: Dirty. Do you say that in terms of pollution, or what? What do you 
mean by dirty?
Vivek: Okay, let’s take the Oberoi (now Hilton Towers). Look around the 
Oberoi and it is all filthy. And that is the irony of this city, I think. 
You have the wealthy people around here, who don’t care about their city. 
You have the Marine Drive and all those people living in the apartments who 
are really, really rich. But you see their workers, right in front of your 
eyes, going and dumping all the garbage into the sea which is right in front 
of their houses. You see the sea completely dirty as you go along, but 
nobody seems to bother.
Zainab: But ‘dirty’ for you wouldn’t mean the hawkers around there?
Vivek: Not really. But they contribute because they dirty the roads. Look a 
typical example, The Oberoi. You go to the back of The Oberoi and you see 
the hawkers there and they are throwing, washing their vessels there, 
everything. The road obviously becomes dirty. There is water, dirty water 
there, running, all along the roads and trash dumped in the drains …
Zainab: Yeah, and then it all gets clogged there. What is this sea face, I 
mean what kind of a space is it? Is it a space for entertainment, a space 
where you get to be yourself? What is it to your mind?
Vivek: To me, the sea brings back sanity to you. To be able to take a walk 
there in the morning, to get to jog there in the evening, somehow it helps 
you get off all that trash that accumulates in you throughout the day. It is 
like a purifier, in a way! Not in the true sense, but that only relief that 
you have here.
Zainab: And would you find any place which is its equivalent or better than 
this?
Vivek: Hmmm. See I love going to Ballard Estate in the night.
Zainab: In the lanes inside?
Vivek: Yes. I think it is very Gothic, very London-like, especially the 
Asiatic Library. You sit on the steps and all, it’s very nice. It’s a  
beautiful space in the night with not too many people there. You feel 
relaxed. Somehow it seems more cleaner then. Otherwise, this area I don’t 
know too much.
Zainab: And how much of Bombay are you familiar with, comfortable with, 
confident about?
Vivek: Err, until Bandra I am cool. Andheri, I know very little.
Zainab: Okay. But you would normally go around the Western suburbs.
Vivek: Yeah. I have been to Sion, as far as it gets on the Central Side.

Zainab: Do you think that there are too many people here in Bombay?
Vivek: Yes.
Zainab: But isn’t that becoming a case with Bangalore as well?
Vivek: Sure.
Zainab: Then in this case, who is a Bombayitte and who is not? Or for that 
matter, who is a Bangalorean and who is not?
Vivek: I think that line is just too thin. Bangalore, I have always thought, 
does not have a culture any longer. Which is why a lot of people like being 
there because it allows you to be yourself. It is very open, absorbing. You 
could just be who you are. It was known as a ‘laid-back’ city and it still 
is a ‘laid-back’ city. But otherwise, it does not have a culture of its own. 
It allows you, you know. That is why you see this floating population there 
which falls in line with the city.
Zainab: Floating population means …
Vivek: Uh … the IT Industry, you see a lot of people from the North coming 
here.
Zainab: And would you say Bombay has a culture of its own?
Vivek: Uh … yeah, it does.
Zainab: What culture?
Vivek: It’s money-minded, wanna be successful, wanna be seen in the crowd.
Zainab: Yes …
Vivek: Also, this culture, which I don’t relate to and I don’t like, is a 
very tense, uh …
Zainab: Hyper …
Vivek: Yeah, hyper, chaotic, but order with chaos, but very chaotic kind of 
culture.
Zainab: But you are saying there is order?
Vivek: Yes, to a certain extent, there is order in the chaos. I mean look at 
the trains, they run fabulously, on time, I think!
Zainab: (laughing) And what do you think is the difference between living 
here and working here (at Nariman Point)?
Vivek: Not much.
Zainab: You mean there is not much difference between living here and 
working here?
Vivek: Not really, considering that I stay close by.
Zainab: So it seems that a lot of your life is between home and work, in 
this area itself. Do you feel cut-off or do you feel what of the rest of the 
city or you’re just perfectly happy with the way it is?
Vivek: I feel perfectly happy because most of what interests me is in this 
part of the town. All that I want is happening here. At the most I would go 
up to Peddar Road, to Crossword’s (Book Store) or to some of the good 
restaurants there. My life and all that I want is here. I am pretty much 
happy here. Except that friends are far away. So either I travel or they 
come here.

Zainab: Hmmm. Ummm (thinking up of the next question)
Vivek: (at this point) Are we on track?
Zainab: (laughing) Yes, pretty much! Okay, coming back to the previous 
point, you were around when the hawkers (on the seafront) were there and now 
they are not. Earlier they were on the seafront, now they are on the back of 
Hilton Towers. I don’t know whether you are aware that earlier hawkers used 
to stand on the seafront.
Vivek: No, I am not aware of this. I know that there were the small bhutta 
(corn) shops around and they are still there now
Zainab: Yeah, at the back of Hilton Towers.
Vivek: Right and they are around. But I did not know that there were other 
hawkers around.
Zainab: In the sense that there were all eateries and all, some ferrous 
wheel chaps, that’s all.
Vivek: Now nothing of that sort.
Zainab: Yeah, now nothing of that. So when you came there was nothing at all 
on the seafront?
Vivek: Nothing at all meaning nothing of this sort. There were some of the 
‘merry-go-rounds’ but in terms of eateries, I used find only the bhuttas and 
stuff like that, on the seafront.
Zainab: (affirming) On the seafront. And gradually they also got thrown off 
from there too.
Vivek: Yes, gradually. Now I don’t even see them. I only see people walking 
(the hawkers) and requesting (the people) and they (the hawkers) bring it 
somewhere else.
Zainab: Right, right.
Vivek: I knew initially that there were some of these small bhutta shops, 
who are still available.
Zainab: Yeah, they’re still there. So what do you think about their removal 
in the first place? Do you think it was a good move to take them off because 
this is a space for people to walk? What is your view on this? You don’t 
have to be politically correct!
Vivek: I think there is a need to maintain certain rules about certain 
spaces, to maintain decorum and to keep maintain cleanliness. So on the one 
hand I’d say that this move is justified. So I would prefer that you don’t 
have hawkers or anything like that (on the seafront) because one, they don’t 
really have the civic sense to clean the place and two, consumers, the 
people, also eat and throw the stuff all around. So when that itself is a 
big problem … I also think it is important that space is maintained for 
people to walk because you have places for food like Chowpatty, if you 
really want to spend and eat food on the beach. You have dedicated spaces 
(for these purposes) so I think you should maintain that.
Zainab: Okay, so if you think about it, whose space is Nariman Point? Are 
you saying this is a public space, or a space only for the residents, or 
you’re saying this is a space for the entire city to come here and chill 
out? What kind of a space is this? Is it a public space at all?
Vivek: I think it is a public space.

Zainab: South Mumbai never had a Multiplex Theater of its own and now we 
have INOX. Just by speculation, do you think INOX is going to make any 
difference to the landscape of Nariman Point? I know it is situated behind, 
but what do you think would happen to Nariman Point with INOX coming? Do you 
think the meaning of entertainment would change or what kind of experience 
will change because sometimes I think that Nariman Point is after all an 
experience and INOX is also an experience, though we are talking about two 
different kinds of experiences? So what do you think of INOX coming there, 
the coming up of a Multiplex theater? With images of the globe created, the 
idea of a global city …
Vivek: Hmmm. I would think in two ways. One is that the coming up of CR2 
itself, the mall, is going to be a sore thumb in the initial few months 
because Nariman Point is never known to be a place where people shop! I 
don’t know what kind of a crowd you will be attracting if you are targeting 
the business community.
Zainab: What do you mean when you say ‘kind of crowd’?
Vivek: I mean if you look at people in my building, I know that none of them 
are going to be people who will go shopping at a Swarovski or something, to 
be honest. If you open a Swarovski, you open a Ruby Tuesday, it is not going 
to make sense. The people who are going to be working there will be the ones 
who may buy. So if you are looking at fillers in the afternoons, or during 
lunch-breaks when people are going to buy, I don’t think it’s a great 
structure. But if you are targeting the residents, those who live in South 
Mumbai, you might turn lucky. But the multiplex will help.
Zainab: … in terms of drawing the number, the crowds …
Vivek: Yeah, the young crowds. I would also think it’s a nice place for 
people to hang out after work where you might want to catch a movie or two 
just because it’s right next to you. For people, in terms of bonding and 
stuff, it might help.
Zainab: And how would you say that bonding at Nariman Point is different 
from bonding inside a CR2?
Vivek: No, ummm, well … there is little to do in terms of bonding at Nariman 
Point.
Zainab: Because it is such a vast open space?
Vivek: Yeah, what do you do? And you’re so accustomed that there is nothing 
there so you want to run home. But given that there is a novel space now, 
there are cinema halls, there are so many movies showing, you can choose to 
go anytime you like there, I would think there is a space. And initially, it 
is about the novelty. People would say ‘let’s go and do something there 
after work’. It could work. At least the way I think, for my colleagues, 
it’s a big thing where they’d say okay let’s go, catch a movie after work; 
we can send someone to get tickets in the afternoon, whatever. Son in that 
sense, yeah, I think it’s gonna be a relief after mundane work at leats. You 
want to take a break, just go.

Zainab: What’s your idea of a public space?
Vivek: … (blank)
Zainab: I mean what comes to your mind when I say public space? A park, 
garden, etc.? And what is your experience like in a public space? Your 
experiences in Bangalore, in Bombay? What are your public spaces like in 
Bangalore? Do you have parks, gardens …
Vivek: Yes, in Bangalore we have parks and gardens. It is known as the 
Garden City. We have shopping areas as well.
Zainab: Hmmm. So where do people meet?
Vivek: Malls and coffee shops. Younger generation – a lot of coffee shops. 
My generation – a lot of pubs. One thing that you must understand is that 
Bangalore takes to novelty very quickly.
Zainab: So when does the novelty die out? I mean, does the novelty die out 
too soon?
Vivek: Yes, dies out too soon! Just as quick as it takes to the novelty. 
Very few establishments have survived.
Zainab: Like you would say some of your old coffee shops and stuff like 
that?
Vivek: Yes. One good example would be the India Coffee House on M. G. Road 
which has not changed since donkey’s years when it was first started out in 
1847. The waiters still dress like British Butlers. They still serve you 
toast and scrambled eggs which is LOVELY (smacking his lips, recalling 
tastes from memory). It is just so much a part of Bangalore that if it is 
gone, we would, for Bangalore, it would be a big loss. You have spaces like 
that.
Zainab: So then, what’s the difference between old spaces and spaces like 
malls? Why do they survive and why don’t your novel spaces survive?
Vivek: (thinks) I think they’re very impersonal.
Zainab: novel spaces?
Vivek: Hmm, malls.
Zainab: But aren’t they were customized, individual made?
Vivek: I don’t think so at all. They are just very cold, very ____________, 
very ____________. Look at the kind of displays and collection they have. I 
mean look at Cross Roads by itself – one horrible place to shop!
Zainab: I agree. And you think that old coffee houses are personal or that 
at least there is something to them?
Vivek: They have an old charm, you know.
Zainab: After all these days of living here, do you feel like you belong 
here or you still feel like an outsider?
Vivek: No, I don’t know. I never had these problems. I can make myself home 
anywhere. I feel very much at home here.
Zainab: So you think it’s okay to be a two-city person, a Bangalorean and a 
Bombayitte? And how long do you plan to be here?
Vivek: Sure. I don’t know. Actually a lot depends on my work and how long I 
plan to continue in this field itself i.e. Public Relations.



Post Interview Session – A Walk Along Nariman Point: After we finished 
talking, Vivek and me went for a walk along the sea face. He also promised 
to show me the building where he is living at Marine Drive. As we walked 
along, there was a discussion on spaces and land being a premium in Mumbai 
City. He suddenly remarked, “Remember in the beginning I was telling you two 
things are different between Bangalore and Bombay? This is the second 
difference where in Bangalore space is bigger, both in terms of physical 
space and personal space. Houses are large  whereas here in Bombay, it is 
squatted.”

Soon we reached the sea face. By now, there was a huge crowd of people along 
the sea face. Families had come in large numbers and everyone was bursting 
crackers at the promenade. The air was full of lead fumes. And the crackers 
were of various shapes, sizes and noises (including the new Osama bomb!)! It 
was the entire city’s day out. Yet, when I actually think about the notion 
of public space, I wonder about people’s practices of public space. We talk 
of wanting open spaces and public spaces and then when we have them, we 
pollute them ourselves. Where are the boundaries of rights and 
responsibilities? Or is it about I-don’t-care because it’s not happening in 
my backyard syndrome? Do we then, ourselves, hand over our rights to public 
space to the residents of the area and create the enclosures and barricades? 
What are the limits to public spaces? Where do we draw the line?

As Vivek and me settled at one spot around Marine Drive, we spoke of 
relationships in this city. Relationships is one subject which tops my list 
of favorites because I club it with the larger issue of space and see how 
support systems operate in spaces. Relationships in a city are fragile, more 
so in Mumbai where time is the biggest constraint to a relationship and 
distances separate people (and also fears of the local trains!). Vivek spoke 
to me of ‘Khataah’ the movie starring Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah 
which is set in a Mumbai Chawl and elaborates on the intricacies and frailty 
of relationships in chawls.

The evening ended at 8:30 PM when both of us parted ways towards our 
respective destinations. But Nariman Point was only beginning to come alive, 
noises and people’s cackles were increasing with the passing moments. The 
entire city is here today … in the open … outside of their closed spaces!




Zainab Bawa
Mumbai
www.xanga.com/CityBytes

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