The Rebelle blog

6th January, 2020. I finished my morning class and was sitting in the staff lounge when one of my senior final year students, approaches me with a cheery Good Morning. He has just returned from Bengaluru and we exchange pleasantries. Then, he presents me this brown packet with a large box of Mysore Pak in it. My eyes spark with happiness as I take it from him. This is how life responds when we are engaged in the daily grind. It gifts us happiness in the form of Mysore Pak (in my case.) Yesterday, on a cold wintry Bombay morning, I reached Kyani Bakery at Marine Lines and met my Swapbook family for a book walk through three catholic neighbourhoods of Sonapur, Cavela nd Dabul near Marine Lines. We hugged and squeaked with delight as friends met after a long time. As we started walking through the now empty Sunday morning streets in JSS road, I became aware of the buildings and people around me. Our conversations reached a zenith as we all laughed and ribbed each other in good h...

आज मी बऱ्याच दिवसांनी ट्रेनचा प्रवास केला. तसा नेहमीच करते, पण आज पुस्तक वाचता- वाचता गर्दी कमी असल्याकारणाने बाहेर खिडकीतून बघायला मिळालं. काही विचार डोक्यात आले. जिथे उतरले तिथून ज्या रस्त्यावर पायपीट करायला सुरुवात केली तिथे ताम्रशिंबी अर्थात कॉपर पॉड ची ओळीने लावलेली असंख्य झाडं रस्ताभर मला साथ करत होती. पिवळ्या रंगाची अशी उधळून पाहून मन प्रसन्न झालं. मला उगाच त्या रस्त्यावरून परत येता जाता फिरायला आवडेल असं वाटून गेलं. मी मुंबईतल्या फोर्ट भागातल्या छोट्या रस्त्यांवर अशीच फिरते. एकटीने चालायला मला फार आवडतं. डोक्यात असंख्य विषय असतात, त्यांच्याशी एक द्वंद सतत चालू असतं. चेहरा निर्विकार ठेवून फिरणं आता मला जमतं. पूर्वी मी करत असलेल्या विचारांनी फार गुंगून गेल्यामुळे माझ्या चेहऱ्यावर त्रासिक भाव फार पटकन उमटायचे. आता थोडं शहाणपण आलंय. आज रस्त्याने चालताना, ऐन उन्हात त्या पिवळ्या फुलांनी बहरलेल्या झाडांनी फार आत्मिक समाधान आणि शांतता दिली माझ्या विचलित चित्ताला. गेल्या कित्येक दिवसांपासून सारखं माझी फार घालमेल होतेय, सतत अजून न घडणाऱ्या गोष्टींनी मला फार चिंतातूर केलंय. कोणाशी ब...

Hello everybody! TEAM RAAHGEER will be exploring the good ol' charming Girgaon and Khotachiwadi on Sunday, 26 July 2015. Girgaon is the 'village situated at the foothill of mountains.'  COME! Discover its history, growth and transformation through the British Raj and the modern times with us. Also, included in the walk is the Grade III- Heritage precinct of Khotachiwadi, an old east-indian community right in the heart of Mumbai. Meeting Point : Opposite Hotel Golden Star Thali, Charni Road Station. Walk down the foot-over-bridge adjoining Saifee hospital at the intersection of roads below. Timing : 7:00 am - 10: 00 am. Rs. 300 per head. Wear comfortable clothing and footwear. Please carry water bottles and essential rain gear.(Umbrellas et al) Please note : We can only accomodate 15 people max. Only way to join this walk is to get yourselves registered by dropping an email on raahgeer2015@gmail.com or  call/whatsapp on 0-9967-835-094 . Confirmation ...

So, I finally braved all the odd forces and my own time and updated the Raahgeer blog. Here's the link where you may read it. https://raahgeer2015.wordpress.com/ Oh, how proud Am I and beaming with joy to see my baby published. To all who don't know what RAAHGEER is all about, it's a City Walk venture founded by me and my architect friend, Deepa. We conduct City Walks through heritage precincts, and quaint old places in Bombay/Mumbai that are unexplored. Come join us on Sundays. Follow us on the facebook page: www.facebook.com/RaahGeer2015 Email us for queries and registrations on raahgeer2015@gmail.com Come, Walk with us and see this city breathing history! :) :) 

My earliest memory of a Bazaar is the one I witnessed with my Dad. As I can remember, all my first memories have been with Daddy. This Bazaar is located in a small hamlet of about 300 homes. This anecdote is from 1996. Now of course, this hamlet has grown and has a Gram Panchayat and an English Medium school- a known requirement of a fully grown village hub these days. The Bazaar would only open on sundays. It was located on a vast tract of plateau land. Children and adults alike would sit with their wares, and buyers would move through the entire area chatting with everyone. Since everyone knew each other well, barter system was quite common. Years later, the concept of Bazaars has got a new dimension. Now there are mega malls and shopping complexes instead of the humble street side sellers. Central Bazaar Districts established by the British in then Bombay, have still retained their charm and usefulness for residents. And, one such sunday morning walk through some Bazaars in...