[Reader-list] Conversation with Kishu - Part II

[zainab at xtdnet.nl]

11th March 2005

I decided to continue on the conversation with Kishu and try to dig a
little more into his memory of growing up in Churchgate/Marine Drive. As
mentioned last, his first memory of the Nariman Point promenade was
feeding the pigeons as a child.

“Our family was earlier living in a building called Navsari Chambers on J.
Tata Road. I was about three years old when we moved into Anand Nivas. The
reclamation of Nariman Point took place before my eyes, but I don’t have
many memories of it.

I was born in 1965. Growing up years involved playing in the maidans,
going to the circus at Azad Maidan, being at the Cricket Club of India
(CCI), going for walks at Marine Drive and Fort area, etc. What else?
Hmmm, hmmm, I remember. I used to go to Gay Lords’ restaurant a lot. At
that time, bands used to play in the restaurant and when we used to go
there on birthdays, the band was specially play “Happy Birthday to you”
which was quite exciting and nice. What else? Hmmm, hmmm ... yeah, you had
the lemon tarts of Gourdons and the ice creams at K-Rustoms’ which is
still around. There used to be Talk of the Town (today’s Pizzeria and Jazz
By The Bay). We had only two clubs at that time i.e. Berrys’ and
Bombellies. Tea Center was around even then. It was designed by the
government to sell tea. If you look the insides of Tea Center, it is art
deco style. In fact, the furniture inside Tea Center resembles the
furniture in my house too i.e. the art deco style furniture.

Cricket Club of India (CCI) was an essential element of growing up. CCI
looked like Churchgate station in the early days. It was built in 1930s’
and later renovated in the 90’s. While growing up, I did not socialize
much with my neighbours and the mohalla gang but went to CCI instead. CCI
has become very vibrant now. It is way ahead of Bombay Gym now which then
was touted as ‘the place’.
Let me recollect, what else do I remember ... hmmm, hmmm, Yes! I remember
Studio 29. Do you know Studio 29? It was the first disco in town. It was
promoted by Sabira Merchant. Studio 29 was named after Studio 54 in New
York. I think it was named Studio 29 because all the phone numbers in the
area started with the numbers ‘29’. The only other disco in town then was
1900’s which was in the Taj Hotel. But you had to be a member to go there
or you had to be a foreigner because foreigners were freely allowed in.

What do I think about Nariman Point / Marine Drive? Well, it is an
excellent place to spend time without spending any money. A walk after
dinner on the promenade was a done thing and the walk would almost always
culminate into an ice cream at the Yankee Doodles (which is now replaced
by the Inter-Continental Hotel).
The other thing about the Marine Drive promenade was that it was a meeting
place for the Sindhi community. It was a place of pride for the Sindhis.
You remember there were (and still are) stone benches on the promenade.
People would gather there in the evenings. Now, if a Sindhi came from
abroad to Bombay, he was certain to find fellow Sindhis at the promenade
in the evenings. So these abroad se visiting Sindhis would land up at the
promenade in the evening and meet around there. You would also remember my
dad telling you that the promenade was a place where matrimonial alliances
were struck and the girls and boys used to meet there. This is no longer
the case.
The promenade was not so crowded then. The other thing which you must
remember is that at that time, there was no TV and no Internet. Phone was
a rarity, more a luxury and a status symbol. We used to go to the
promenade more frequently then. News and information would circulate at
the promenade among walkers and the visiting publics.

People in this area don’t mingle much with each other. Residents of
Churchgate are reserved people. I live right next to Jai Hind College. But
I went to Xaviers because I thought that if I go to Jai Hind or some of
the other Churchgate colleges, my classmates would want to come home and I
would not like it much. But I remember there was one time when all the
residents of the ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ congregated and came together. This
was about 7-8 years ago. The government decided that the A, B, C and D
roads would be made Pay & Park. So, all the residents with cars would have
to pay for parking their cars on the road. The residents were furious.
There was public meeting held and everyone decided to boycott this
decision. The next day was a Monday and the residents got together at 7
PM, during the peak traffic hour, and did a road blockage on Marine Drive
and Nariman Point. That was one time when all came together and it was a
congregation I will never forget! The Pay & Park decision was revoked.

With the passing years, residents have become more alert now.

Building Identity (associated with individuals living in the area) was
always there and is still there. You must note that a lot of film stars
lived in this area. Nargis, Sunil Dutt, etc. You knew that Nargis lived in
this building and Nanda in that building. In fact, my building has been
built by G. P. Sippy. A lot of film stars built buildings around here. So
each building had an identity according to who built the building.

The promenade is used by the people living in this area.

About the reclamation, well, Air India, the Express Building and the
Oberoi came up before my eyes!

I love living in this area. It is well-lit, the hawkers have been moved
off from here, it is totally safe and with the passing years, the area has
become a more pleasant place to be in. It is a happening place – this area
is prime location!

If you ask me to compare the Bandstand and the Carter Road promenade with
Marine Drive, I’d say that Marine Drive is grander. It has the
‘sea-touching’ effect which is not so in the case of Bandstand and Carter
Road. Bandstand and Carter Road become isolated late at night whereas
Marine Drive is lively. Also, Marine Drive is accessible – you are always
passing it when going from somewhere to somewhere whereas in the case of
Bandstand and Carter Road, or for that matter, Worli Sea Face, you have to
make the effort to be in the area to access it. So, accessibility makes
Marine Drive a more vivacious place.

Over the years, when I think about Nariman Point and Marine Drive, I think
that some things are constant here, like bus numbers 123 and 108 are
always there.

What does the promenade mean to me? Well, that’s a good question but I
have never thought about it. It’s too profound a question. Don’t know what
to say ...”



Zainab Bawa
Bombay
www.xanga.com/CityBytes
http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html