Mumbai Masala: A Time For Celebration

With Janmashtami, a series of festivals starts and Mumbai is good at celebrating them. In fact, the vibrancy of the metropolis is reflected in each of these festivals. Mumbaikars believe in celebrating them with gusto. A few crores are spent in enjoying ‘dahi handi’ pyramids all over the city. Ganesh Chaturthi is when Mumbaikars show their devotion to the elephant-headed god. In almost every Hindu household or housing society the festival is celebrated.

In the sarvajanik category, the GSB Mandal’s celebration at King’s Circle easily takes the cake in terms of the dignified manner and the understated opulence in which the festival is conducted. Thousands of Goud Saraswat Brahmins in the US and other countries shower Bappa with hundreds of tolas of gold and diamond ornaments. Of course, in terms of the number of visitors, the one at Lalbaug tops the list. But crowd management needs to be improved in this pandal. Soon we will have Navratri and Diwali, which are big affairs. The massive traffic jams, rains, and burgeoning crowds do not appear to dampen Mumbaikars’ mood for celebration.

FESTIVE FERVOUR

Devotion for desi delicacies

If you happen to visit Lalbaugcha Ganpati, please do visit Martand Misal, which is located a few minutes away from the pandal. The special misal here is amazing. The place is small and one of the walls is plastered with hilarious one-liners. You order special misal and you are served a thali containing a bowl of farsan and matki usal, a small bucket containing tarri (spicy and oily gravy), a bowl of boondi, extra matki usal, two gulab jamuns, a vati of fresh dahi, two large paavs and a glass of buttermilk. Only if you have the guts you will order the zanzanit misal because it is super spicy. Then there are the other usual Maharashtrian items like kothimbir vadis, batawadas, aluwadis, karwas, solkadi and piyush.

India needs more Gadkaris

If you go to one of the many suburban restaurants and find Union minister Nitin Gadkari occupying the table next to you, don’t in the least be surprised. The portly Gadkari is an unabashed foodie and he loves food served in Mumbai’s restaurants. He even enjoys street food like garam vada paavs and paav bhaji. Doctors have advised him to reduce his weight, but there is no way of curbing the mantri’s craving for good food. Incidentally, he says that he loves Mumbai’s restaurant food to that of Delhi. One may disagree with him, but there is no denying that Mumbai offers lot more variety to a gourmet than the nation’s capital. Even though he is occupying an important post in the Union Cabinet, Gadkari continues to be an easily accessible and helpful neta. Wish we had more Gadkaris in our country

Tailpiece

The tagline of Zeel brand raincoats says ‘Sada Sukha Raho’ (Remain Dry Always)! Whoever coined this deserves an applause.

(Compiled by S Balakrishnan)

Published on: Monday, September 18, 2023, 11:21 AM IST