Sunday October 19th in Mumbai!

Andheri Station Mubai India

I went from D.N. Nagar station in Andheri West in the shiny new Metro to Andheri station where I transferred to the Western Line. The Metro track is elevated on massive concrete columns, high above the jostling streets. The trains are new, clean and air conditioned to slightly above freezing. On a Sunday in Bombay with midday temperatures around 38 degrees Celsius there were still seats available if you were quick.

At Andheri station a raised and covered walkway snakes a few hundred meters between buildings to the old station, where you again stand in line for a ticket and then find your way down and through the construction site to the correct platform. On the way I paid 10 Rupees to get my shoes shined. On platform 3 I caught the south bound train which terminates at Church Gate.

A game of cricket under the clock tower

This is the area of town where you can see the architectural remnants of the colonial era. After viewing a church, a railway station, a post office and a far off game of cricket I headed for a wooded park with a fountain in center. Along the way a man struck up a conversation by complimenting my shoes. He asked me if they were original quality. I thanked him and said that they were. He seemed friendly and genuine so I asked him what he would recommend to see in the area. He suggested a covered market and said he would show me where it was.

Sugar cane is prepared.

I figured he would want some money but I was fine with that. I wanted to get away from the colonial enclave and he knew the city. We walked through a more residential street and I saw some guys shaving the outer layer off of sugar cane stalks. I ordered a glass of the juice they make by crushing the stalks in an ancient looking wringer.

One sip and I had made a new discovery: I really like fresh sugar cane juice! I had expected syrupy sweetness but it wasn’t too sweet and there was a citric acidity to it.

All eyes on sugar man

Food is one of my favorite aspects of Indian culture. Cooking and eating, talking about cooking and eating, talking about the ingredients, their origin, their preparation, are wonderful ways to start getting to know the country.

Indian food is extremely diverse, reflecting very different geographic regions and historical, cultural and religious backgrounds. It is often beautiful to look at and smell as well as to taste. Food is not without controversy when some don't get enough and where religion dictates different diets to members. Still in a bustling hive of non stop activity like Mumbai with it's ubiquitous food stalls it's the best point of first contact I have found.

One of the street gangs I encountered in Mumbai

When the city gets bewildering, too fast, too loud, too intense, when the thought of bargaining for the rickshaw ride home fills you with angst, sit down on a plastic stool and enjoy a hot, sweet chai and enjoy the dialogue between ancient and modern taking place in the Indian metropolis.

I love to eat from street vendors. They do most or all of the preparation right in front of you on a gas cooker. The food is very cheap and served in small portions. If it’s popular it sells quickly and thus stays fresh. The competition is stiff so my reasoning says these guys are good at what they do and do their level best to keep their customers happy – which means cleanliness and fresh ingredients within their means.

In other words look beyond the apparently unhygienic surroundings to see how the food is handled. Is the oil fresh? Are the utensils clean? Is the sauce boiling? Here you can make an instant inspection yourself, unlike in a restaurant. Just because the cook pushed his rolling kitchen through grungy alleys and set it up on a busy street corner next to a bus station and sells a snack for 10 Rupees (15 cents) a pop does not mean that he didn’t put love into it. There are endless edible delights waiting to be discovered on the streets of India.

When I'd finished my glass of sugar cane juice we went to the covered market. I had the impression most of the action took place mornings and then later in the evenings. There weren't too many customers and many people were having an afternoon nap in their stalls or next to a pile of wares.


After having a chat and a glass of tea I asked my guide to show me the way to the train station which would take me back to Andheri west. Before we parted ways he asked me to pray for him that he would be married within a year. I said I would do so and in addition I that within two years his wife would be pregnant. Perhaps that went beyond the subtle rules of social propriety as he seemed a little uncomfortable.