Bandra III

This time also I have parked the car at the same spot. Joggers’ park at bandra(west) has ample parking outside . It has a small lane( chimbai road –one way at one end and main entry from turner road ).

One can park here without having either the worry of vehicle being taken away by traffic monitoring team or guilt of blocking the traffic in case you are delayed beyond the morning hours.

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Sleeping beauty

Today I am trying to cover an area which falls within boundries of turner road and Khar pali road ( P D Hinduja road)

The route roughly followed is

Start and end : joggers park

Turner road-Linking road ( V.P Road )- 14 th -15 th-16 th road- St Theresa road-23^rd -24^th-25^th roads-waterfield road-28^th-29^th-33^rd-roads-dr k b hegdewar road-pali road-pali dana road-pali village-pali market- Pali Hill road ( nargis dutt road)-carter road-rizvi complex-khar danda-chuim village

Map…………..

As I ride on turner road at slow speed I can see a good number of bungalows( which have resisted the urban pressure of builders’ lobby and are standing there ) which in their own way contribute to the very own concept of “ being bandra”

I must have traveled on this road many times , but to know the nuances of the area one has to either walk or cycle at slow speed ( that also couple of times)

There are two main signals before one reaches the main junction where linking road and s.v road meet.

Cycling on linking road in this morning hour is quite different. Cycling in general in morning hours when Mumbai wakes up is a different experience. The road which witnesses financial retail turn over of crores of rupees in a day has a different story to tell.

Men are getting up from their road side sleep ( they have slept on the pavements /small area outside the shops. ) some are getting ready in some corner where they have evolved some kind of water use and discard system .

The road ( especially near KFC and Mac D stretch ) has all the litter ( mainly generated due to careless retail shopping ) . the road looks dirty on both the side, but who cares. Life is going on . the BMC sweepers are yet to start their work.

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St Theresa church is full of life and Sunday morning mass is going on.

A lot of internal road has now more of those stand alone buildings which are new. The old bunglows and buildings are now posh apartments and this keeps changing the demography of Bandra.

Bandra is one place where every food entrepreneur loves to operate from. If you are in food business and not having bandra operations –you have just not arrived.

This has created great demand and per square feet concentration of eateries-food joints – restaurant is highest here as compared to any other place in Mumbai.

In urban journey of Mumbai city the local rulers are still on evolution and learning curve. May be in future the city will identify the potential of each suburb and work out on areas dedicated for food- art etc with infrastructure redesigned to make the operation safe and efficient.

Cycling on union park and then pali hill road is uphill and I am able to use the low gears . Pali hill has famous houses of celebrities.

Staying in areas like pali hill can be healthy if one takes walking as first natural mode of commutation ( before one gets into the car or in rare cases auto or taxi). There are bungalows and apartment blocks which are at different heights and one has to really climb up and down to cover basic distance.

It’s a different matter that inherent nature of “ only wealthy can reside here “ demands the culture of car drop till the lift or may be till your floor or living space takes away the natural advantage of topography.

Today my breakfast break is at “ Yoga house: on sherly road near Rizvi complex.

I am told it’s started by a French lady which promotes Yoga and has a beautiful café on the top floor.

I have a strong kada chai ( a strong tea without milk ) with lovely toasts. The toasts have different varieties including one with chywavanprash ( herbal ) spread.