A slew of young entrepreneurs are trying to reverse Mumbai's reputation as the country's transit lounge by offering insightful walking tours into its heart, say Gustasp and Jeroo Irani
She was on a month-long visit to India, and Mumbai was her first stop. Though jet-lagged, the lady tourist exulted that exotic India was finally within her grasp. Even as her Indian friend drove her from the airport to his home, the clamour and chaos and the rivers of people that she saw en route both unnerved and enthralled her. But when the car came to a stop at a traffic signal and a snake charmer thrust his basket through the window the serpent within uncoiling itself and eyeballing her malevolently, she virtually passed out.
Yes, Mumbai, the country’s economic powerhouse, socks you between the eyes for it’s unlike any other metropolis in its contradictions and impact... There’s the picturesque sweep of Marine Drive, the colonial grace of South Mumbai, ragged slums crouching in the shadow of plate-glass high rises and Bollywood, that ultimate fantasy factory, buried in its collective unconscious...
But Mumbai’s secret charms are best unravelled by an insider and this is where organisations offering Mumbai Walks come in. They deconstruct the city by taking tourists off the heaving arteries and into quiet bylanes, stepping into quaint stores, markets and eateries where locals shop and graze. All the while, they give an insight into the city’s history and culture, touching on its social fabric — how different communities live together and grate on each other occasionally!
In the course of our ambles, we discovered the place where we could get the most sizzling pav bhaji, hygienically extracted sugarcane juice, fragrant cutting chai and unearthed some fascinating nuggets of information. Very often, passers-by stopped to listen in, smiled and then moved on. Some stubbornly popped into our viewfinders, hoping to grab their place in the sun, others willingly posed. We made friends with local vegetable vendors who competed with each other to show off their wares, volatile fisherwomen who claimed that they would be beaten by their mothers-in-law if they charged less for their prized catch and the temple priest who regularly implored the Gods to safeguard his maximum city.
“It’s all about passion for the city,” says 24-year-old Viraat Kasliwal, founder and managing director of Raconteur Walks. Clad in a T-shirt emblazoned with the Raconteur logo and a jaunty cap, the young entrepreneur states, “Though we know enough to do a PhD on Mumbai, we can’t have our narrative sound like a history lesson.” So their spiel combines history stirred with ardour, personal insights and racy anecdotes. Occasionally, they leaf through a photo album of Mumbai, pointing out sights that look different or have disappeared.
The style of each walking tour is different. Some companies use professional guides while others like Raconteurs rigorously trains young students who have a degree of maturity and have an obvious love for the city. Most often, the owners themselves herd walkers, especially when a group is large. Overseas tourists particularly need to be protected from Mumbai’s kamikaze traffic.
Mumbai Magic’s Deepa Krishnan feels, “You must have a sense of personal joy to be a good guide. Guiding is not an opportunity for the unfulfilled.” Deepa had tasted corporate success as a banker. However, she decided to take a different tack altogether in midlife. She started Mumbai Magic, hoping to convey the sense of excitement and irrepressible hope that the city generates in the rich and poor alike. “Mumbai is not about monuments,” she says. “Its pulse lies in bazaars and walking through them is the best way to get under the skin of the city, so to speak.”
On our Matunga Market tour, Deepa was traditionally dressed in a red sari and chunky jewellery and led us through the South Indian bastion with the air of a chatty social historian. Wreathed in the aroma of filter coffee, of flowers from the flower market and the wafting incense emanating from vibrant colourful temples, this neighbourhood resonates with the spirit of Mumbai as it slowly becomes more cosmopolitan. As a barefoot Jain nun walked slowly down the street, Deepa used it as an opportunity to talk about Jainism. A corporate honcho emerged from his swank car bearing a copper lota of water which he poured at the base of a garlanded peepal tree. That was her cue to talk about Hinduism and Indian spirituality.
What we found remarkable was that all the young entrepreneurs spoke about their intense love for their city and living a life of their choosing. “Grand Mumbai Tours is my passion, my heart, my dream,” exulted 25-year-old Pranav Damle, a mechanical engineer who started Grand Mumbai Tours in the face of initial parental opposition.
For Damle, Mumbai is a delightful cocktail of swish luxury hotels and BMWs offset by bullock carts and gully cricket. His success has spurred his father to join him in his business, and he attributes it to his people-friendly, youthful style and love for life.
Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal, blogger, gastronomy writer, consultant, stylist and author, has a different take on the city. “The best way to integrate into a city is through its food,” says the young epicure who recently launched the country’s first cutting-edge APB Cook Studio, a buzzing space for ardent foodies looking for food and cooking related events. Rushina’s Masala Trails are essentially “curated outdoor excursions which lead you through the varied culinary offerings of the city.” She loves to lead you down the “road less eaten” and her bill of fare includes a Gujarati cuisine tour (vegetarian), a South Indian vegetarian tour in Matunga East, a street food tour and an Indian home cooking tour which melds an excursion to the local market with a hands-on home-style Indian meal, specifically a thali.
We experienced her newly introduced seafood tour at Mahim fish market along with seafood aficionado Sandeep Shreedharan. As we toured the market, fisherwomen squatting in front of brimming baskets called out to him. “They are drama queens,” he smiled, “and they enjoy bargaining with their clients.”
later, as Rushina talked about her twin obsessions — Mumbai and food — and how she has knitted them together, she tried to define the city of her birth. “Yes, Mumbai is like its iconic sandwich, available at street corners... rich, filling and multi-layered.”
Copyright: Exotica, the wellness and lifestyle magazine from The Pioneer Group,available in all rooms of select five-star hotel chains across the country