A walk through Chor Bazaar

Chor Bazaar

Around 200 years back, Mumbai had several markets like the garment market ʻMarwadi Bazaarʼ near Bhuleshwar - Crawford market road which was famous for all kinds of clothing (sarees, dhoti etc), head gear (pagdi) and mattresses. Then you had ʻAngrez Bazaarʼ located at Meadows street near fort area and the ʻSatta Bazaarʼ which was located on the terrace of a tall building near Mumbadevi pond.

Members of the Marwadi community gathered at this satta bazaar and bet on when it would rain, the quantum of rainfall, duration for which it will rain etc. The cops eventually shut down this place.

Apart from these there were several other markets like ʻBhaaji Bazaarʼ (Byculla market),ʻKaande Batate bazaarʼ (Duncan road), ʻPhool Bazaarʼ (Bhuleshwar), ʻLohar Chawlʼ(hardware market), ʻChira Bazaarʼ (Dhobi Talao), ʻPaan Bazaarʼ (Khetwadi), Crawford Market, Null Bazaar etc were built between 1860s to the late 1870s.

One of the most interesting of them was the ʻBhikaar Bazaarʼ. All the beggars, fakirs who roamed on the streets and went door to door begging for food, frequented this place. These beggars would carefully segregate different food items (food-grains, Dry – wet food items etc) in small bags and at the end of the day sell them at Bhikaar Bazaar. Other poor people purchased these food items. As time passed by, even this market shut down.

Christening of Chor Bazaar

Chor Bazaar (literal translation: thiefʼs market) is one of the oldest markets in Mumbai. Originally this was a clothing & footwear market. As time passed by other items like antique furniture, spare parts, electronics; film memorabilia started being sold here. We met Rehman uncle, an old octogenarian who has spent his lifetime in chor bazaar. He had this interesting story to share about how chor bazaar got its name.

During the British era the erstwhile viceroy was on a visit to Mumbai. His motorcade was passing through Sand Hurst road and from the nearby small alleys near null bazaar he heard some loud noises. The vendors were screaming, “ Be rupaiyah, be rupaiyah joona poorana samaan le lo bhai”, “meetho Khaajo ek aana”, they were screaming at the top of their voice. Due to relatively less population and lack of any vehicular movement, the streets of Mumbai were usually quite. Unable to bear the noise caused by the vendors, the viceroy shouted “ye kaisa bazaar hai, poora shor bazaar hai”. The locals could not understand and interpret the viceroyʼs thick British accent and shor bazaar as he had named it, became ʻChor bazaarʼ.

Years passed by and the talented pickpockets from different areas of Mumbai have contributed to the prosperity and reputation of this market, and are continuing to do so.

Claim to Fame

Rehman uncle told me that during Queen Victoriaʼs visit to the city, a violin went missing from her baggage. It was later recovered at this market; similarly the police recovered actor Rajkumarʼs stolen Rolex wristwatch in this market. Nawaab Ali Yaavar Jung was the Governor of Mumbai. He was put up at his official residence, Raj Bhavan in Walkeshwar. One morning he realized that someone has robbed his clothes from the cupboard in his bedroom. The police were furious to learn this. Imagine a theft occurring at the Governorʼs bungalow despite the highest security cover. The thief was a novice. He had stolen the clothes of a nawaab, the loot comprised some really costly Sherwanis, hats, kurtas etc. There were no takers for such expensive garments at the poor manʼs street market. Out of the loot, he managed to sell only the buttons of the Sherwanis. Carrying the most expensive clothes in a street market led to his eventual arrest.

The Area

The area starting from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel road (from Null Bazaar) till Maulana Azad road (J.J. Hospital road) covering Mutton Street, cheemna butcher street and mochi gully is referred to as Chor Bazaar. Within this limit there are several small by lanes/areas like mini market, Mughal Bazaar, Chindhi Gully, Bohri Mohalla, Gujar street, Baara Imaam road, Mini Market etc which comprise the chor bazaar area.

Mutton Street & Cheemna Butcher Street

It is believed that a British engineer named Morton had designed and constructed Null Bazaar building. The street opposite the fish & mutton market was named after him.

Members of the butcher community in Null bazaar could not pronounce Morton properly. The name changed from Morton to Mutton Street. The interesting fact is that you wonʼt find a single shop selling mutton on Mutton Street. Next to Mutton Street you will find Cheemna Butcher Street. Despite being named after a butcher, you wonʼt find any butchers/abattoir on this street. You will only find shops selling vehicle spare parts in both the streets. The nearby Mochi Bazaar however has stayed true to its name. You can find all types of footwear in this street.

Hardware Bazaar

The hardware market is located opposite Null Bazaar right at the entrance of Mutton Street, Cheemna Butcher Street & Saifee Jubilee streets. This market is famous for selling all hardware material. You are bound to find all hardware tools right from a small nut bolt screws to power drills, hammers, hacksaws etc. You will also find daily wage workers like painters, construction labor, carpenters etc standing near the ʻDo taankiʼarea.

Long time back, outside Mutton Street, lot of vendors would put up their stalls on handcarts. These vendors sold all types of weapons. You might have only heard the names of weapons like Rampuri, buttonwaala chaaku, do-dhaari talwaar, khanjar, khukri, gupti in movies. There was a time when all these weapons were sold openly on the roads.

It is believed that weapons used by all gangs of Mumbai for any murder/extortion etc were sourced from chor bazaar. Mumbai police banned the sale of these weapons around 15-20 years back.

Long time back these stalls sold all types of traditional headgear (caps). You could get Kahmiri, Iranian, Turkish, Bohri, Parsi, Arabian headgear right on the streets. Till date there are some stores that sell only traditional headgear.

There are approximately 500 odd small stalls & shops in chor bazaar. Some of these stalls might be as small as 3Ft X 4Ft, but many of them have store rooms/go downs in nearby buildings. As a rule, these guys never take prospective customers to their go downs. Any material that is requested is brought to the stall. There are roughly around 150-200 odd shops that deal only in antiques. The collection of antiques ranges from watches, furniture, artifacts, film memorabilia etc. We met one guy who specializes only in antique toys. There is a lot of demand for these antique toys. This particular dealer (he is illiterate) sells most of his toys to foreigners using his ebay account. Technology, it seems has now penetrated the narrow alleys of Chor Bazaar as well.

The Entrepreneurs

In the old days the business community here was dominated by the ʻChachasʼ wearing black coats and red turkish caps. Kathiawadi Muslims are the dominant community. Nowadays the Mansuri, khoja, Memon, people from UP & Hyderabad dominate the streets. You can find some Bohris who deal in antique furniture and glass items. The Mochi gully is full of Marathi folks from Sangli, Miraj, and Kolhapur. They are the ones who host the Ganeshotsav celebrations in this area.

Chindi Gully

Chor Bazaar has its own fashion street. Clothes stolen from balconies, terraces of chawls, laundries, railway stations etc are often sold to the cloth dealers here. Some rich people donate their clothes; middle class families exchange the old clothes for some utensils, with the vendors (called as Boharni in Mumbai). These clothes are also sold to dealers at Chor Bazaar. Defective clothes that have been rejected at the factory level are also sold at this market.

In less than 2 days, these old clothes are stitched, Stains removed, washed and ironed. They try to make them look as new as possible. There are a lot of people staying in Mumbai and the outskirts who cannot afford to buy readymade garments from shops or even buy some cloth and get them stitched. Chindi Gully at Chor bazaar is a big boon for such people.

Mughal bazaar

Though this place is called as Mughal Bazaar you will not find anything (no antiques, furniture or any equipment) that is remotely linked with the word ʻMughalʼ. This street is famous for selling all kinds of shipping equipment. You can find old navigation meters, anchors, steering wheels, small meters/gauges, lighting equipment, warning bells etc. Most of these shop owners have godowns in nearby areas where they store all the heavy equipment.

Baara Imam Road

This road is famous for its garages. These garages specialize in buying old / scrap cars, cars damaged in accidents, stolen spare parts etc. My father actually calls this place as the ʻgaadiyon ki Shamshaan bhoomiʼ. The skilled craftsmen in this market dismantle vehicles as surgeons do autopsy in the morgue or butcher cut carcus of beef in a matter of a few hours.

Good useful spare parts are removed while the rest is sold as scrap metal. This is the only area where you can still manage to find spare parts of any cars including some vintage cars.

Mochi Gully

This lane is famous for the different varieties of footwear. Remember how once upon a time someone stole your shoes from the stairs of a temple? be sure that the shoes made it in this lane only to be polished and sold to someone. Loot collected during riots, shop lifting etc is also sold to the vendors at Mochi Gully. Nowadays there is a great demand for branded footwear and keeping up with the latest trends, you will find footwear from Adidas, Nike, Fila, Red Tape, and Woodland etc on these streets. The enterprising individuals from Dharavi design near perfect replicas of these brands and are available for purchase at Mochi Gully. There are chances that if you visit this market in the early hours on Friday morning you might also end up getting original branded shoes for a cheap throwaway price.

Bollywood Bazaar near Gujjar Street

This street is really famous amongst film memorabilia collectors. You will find numerous shops that sell old film memorabilia like posters, photographs, lobby cards, booklets, old LPs and 78-rpm records, gramophones, turntables, cassette players, speakers, amplifiers etc. Apart from these you can also find various POS material like standees, danglers, calendars, and signboards etc that were used for brand promotions in the past. In some shops you will also find antique lamps, watches, old phones etc.

Business

There is a lot of risk in this business. Not every shop owner buys material that is stolen.Some of the shop owners buy material only from genuine owners of the material. In India there are lot of restrictions on possession and selling of items that are more than 100 years old. Officials from the Archaeology department keep a strong check on this market to ensure that illegal items like animal skins, ivory, Statues, old items of historical importance, items from heritage buildings etc are not being traded. Businessmen from Chor Bazaar often participate in auctions held across India. They are the first ones to bid for artifacts from old palaces that are being auctioned, thrown away as scrap, broken furniture that is being discarded etc. These people also purchase some of the old furniture and linen items from star rated hotels.

The Future

There are news that the buildings of this area will be demolished under the SRA/Redevelopment scheme and this once historic market will be replaced by posh air conditioned malls and high-rise buildings. I can only wonder whether does this 250-year old market really need a makeover? It is still operational because it offers the poor and the rich an opportunity to purchase items at throwaway prices on the streets. Will people dare to visit this place if air-conditioned shops replace these stalls and roadside stalls? Will it appeal to people and provide the same experience as it does now? Only time will tell…

Note: A big thank you for my friend Stuti Sakhalkar who has clicked all the photographs for us. Without her help it would not have been possible to show Chor Bazaar as it exists right now. Do visit the link below and check out her work.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theblackcanvas/

The real inspiration behind Angry Birds

Was this the inspiration behind design of the 'Angry Birds?'

Have you been to Pune?

Initial Introduction:

I have visited Pune several times. Some business visits, but most of the time to meet my brother who is now settled in the ‘Land of the retired- Pune’. To be more specific he stays in Kothrud, which to an average Mumbaikar is like a rude and impolite version of Dadar/Vile Parle (E). The Pune experience starts the moment you leave the Mumbai-Pune expressway and connect to NH4 (Pune - Bangalore highway). After having cruised at high speeds on open roads, the speed symbolic to the lifestyle in Mumbai, you are greeted with slow running bikes plying on the middle of the road. People riding at their own pace, not willing to let you drive by the side and overtake their vehicle. Its here that you realize that the average biker is to the roads of Pune what a cow is to the roads in rural areas. The cows often gives you the look, an expression that I interpret as a dialogue ‘what is the hurry? Can’t you see I’m busy walking slowly and not doing anything, fly over me if you are in a hurry’ or it will remind you of a dialogue that you are bound to hear when shopping in the afternoon in Pune “aata dukaan band aahe, 5 chya nantar yaa”.  It is at this place on earth that GMT/Pacific Time/IST have no meaning, Pune operates, works on its own time zone and pace.

Weird Places, weirder names.

Like any other city across India, even Pune has its share of places with weird names. Top most on my list is Junglee Maharaj road, more famously disguised by the new breed of collegians (future IT company slaves) as JM road. The name might be funny but JM road happens to have some fine eateries, places to shop. A proud Puneri will say “ aamchya JM road var Mac Donaaaaaaald aahe”. Its funny how a region, which is obsessed with its vada pav and missal pav suddenly, becomes proud that some American junk food outlet is present in their otherwise conservative ‘Punya Nagri’. Its mixed emotions when Pune is concerned. People like to boast of a rich culture (which I accept exists), curse the new trends and outlets. The McD’s and the Pizza huts in the city are merely some names to mention in a cultural debate to prove how forward the city is, while making an attempt to condemn how all these American fast food outlets are spoiling ‘Puny Nagri’. It’s normal to hear people say that “Aapan campaaat/deccanaat/chaukaat bhetu”, where ‘campaat’ is the slightly posh area called as ‘Camp’ and chaukaat means every other junction in the city. Pune has like a zillion places that are linked with the name of Lord Ganesh. The ruthless Punekars have not even spared Lord Ganesh, the deity is identified by different names like jilbyaa Ganpati, Dagdu Ganpati etc. I will refrain from describing this more as I am personally a Ganesh devotee and partially fearing the backlash from the so-called ‘Internet Hindus’.

Reaching a destination:

Unlike other developed metros, Pune lacks the local transport infrastructure. The PMT bus service, as rest of Pune, operates at a time and pace that the world is not aware of. Its funny that these buses represent the belief of the average Punekar, praise them in a debate and condemn in a local discussion with someone from the heart of Pune, a 90 year old Joshi Kaka from Sadashiv peth. Auto rickshaws are found at every chowk (junctions), but they seem to have more attitude than the erstwhile Peshwas.  You have to believe the fact that the auto rickshaw driver is obliging by accepting money from you to drive you to your destination. As it is said “Bihar mein har bachha politics apne maa ke kok se seekh ke aata hai” every auto rickshaw driver in Pune is born with the talent of making you feel obliged for giving him some business and money. The above also holds true for most of the other businesses in the city. A simple google image search with the keywords ‘Puneri Paatya’ is all that is needed to prove my point. Owing to the lack of public transport system, the average per sq km population of bikers/cyclists in Pune is higher than the total population of mosquitoes in Dharaavi in Mumbai (Asia’s largest slum).

The bikers on the roads of Pune have their own set of rules, not known to anyone. Sometimes I feel that the mad actions and stunts in a Rajnikanth movie have more sense than the road sense of the average Punekar. I am not making this up, there have been incidents when a biker stretches his/her right hand and draws a virtual cross in the air to indicate that he/she is not going to turn right but actually going to the left. Now tell me am I wrong in comparing these creatures with the action sequences in a Rajni movie?

Mandatory praise for Pune: (I’m scared of the Puneris too)

Pune is a historic city. There are old monuments that have withstood the torture and hardships of time, the greatest being the Puneri ego, which stands taller and stronger than the walls of Shanivaar Wada, the home of the Peshwas. Keeping the criticism aside, Shanivaar wada plays host to lot of socio-cultural events, be it the wonderful decorations in Diwali or the traditional events during Ganpati. Maybe this rigidity in the attitude can be a reason why Pune has been able to retain some of the old traditions/culture, which is dear to the Maharashtrian community.

People:

I was born in Mumbai in a simple middle class Maharashtrian family. The building where I stay has people from different religions, caste and professions, all staying together peacefully (the kitty parties are an exception to this communally and diplomatically correct/sensitive statement). Visiting each others place for lunch/dinner on festival days has been very common. It’s only in Pune that I have encountered the question “mag tumchya naav chya kiti polya banvaaychya?” (It simply means how many rotis are you going to eat?). Come on! Who asks their guests how much are you going to eat? The most surprising statement that tends to justify the question is “ oh we don’t like food being wasted you know”, I think I don’t I need to make another statement on how hospitable the people are. Dare to visit someone in the old Peths of Pune and you will be a spectator to a typical one sided conversation “ Oh you have come at 3 PM, I’m sure you must have had your lunch, its not tea time yet, what can I offer you?” at times like these I guess a person doesn’t have any answer, the only option is to put your foot on your mouth and politely reply “only water would be fine”.  People with such attitude are available by the million but there are some good exceptions too, mainly the new couples who are from the current generation.

Pune for the collegians:

Pune is well known for being the education hub. There are many schools/colleges that are renowned and till date impart some good quality education. Pune is a very good destination for students who are from other cities. It is safer compared to most other cities and the cost of living is not too high either, on that front Pune scores the brownie points against its metro counterparts. All the fun associated with college life depends on the locality in which you live. While some are fortunate enough to live in more tolerant buildings others have had to bear with the Joshi/Kulkarni Kaka/Kaku screaming from their first floor window because you were speaking with your mother on the phone while walking in the building compound at 9:30 PM in the night.  If you were planning to shift to Pune, it would be advisable to find out whether there are any flats that are rented by students/bachelors in the building. On your first visit to some building if you encounter an old man who asks too many questions, kindly assume that he is the Joshi/Kulkarni kaka of the building and he will be the party pooper for the rest of your stay in the building.

Place for the foodies

As a foodie I will vouch for one thing, Pune has some really nice eateries. My visit to Pune is never complete without having some hot and spicy mutton curry famously known as ‘Taamda rassa’ locally. There are some really awesome outlets serving you missal pav, sabudana khichdi in the old and conservative Peths in Pune. I have still not found places that serve such authentic Maharashtrian food in Mumbai. Other than these you have the world famous in Pune ‘SPDP’ from Vaishali. For the less knowledgeable ones, SPDP is just like any other Dahi Puri at every other chaat stall at Juhu, with a frugal attempt at trying to create a brand out of a routine dahi puri. A hardcore Punekar will beg to differ and argue that SPDP differs from a regular Dahi Puri, for my ignorant foodie soul its just another attempt at branding shit as “exotic crap imported from the golden lands of UP’. CADB available at a store below the world famous in Pune ‘Karishma building’ and the cold coffee at Durga Coffee house are some of the other places that an average Punekar will brag about. I can say one thing for sure, for a tall glass of cold coffee at Rs. 12, Durga coffee is worth a visit.

Confession from the heart: 

Despite all my inhibitions and negative opinions about Pune, I can’t change one thing, Pune still remains a destination that I will visit every now and then because a part of my soul, my brother and bhabhi, now stay in Pune. It feels nice to let go off the ‘I’m a Mumbaikar, I party all night long’ attitude and settle down for some disciplined fun with the loved ones as prescribed by the Joshi/Kulkarni Kakas of Pune, just for the people you really love.

Video-Coach ki haseen yaadein

In Mumbai the railways are the daily means of commute for millions. Today our lives invariably follow the train timings and not the time on our wristwatch. While the numbers 7:47 or 6:36 wont make sense to many, for me they have a different meaning altogether. 7:47 is the Churchgate bound fast train arriving at platform no 5 at Andheri station. This is the train that my ‘train friends’ travel in. Don’t know their names but the short guy with the curly hair will always be seated near the left side window at the far end, the uncle carrying a VIP suitcase to his right and a funnily dressed Gujju uncle (his dressing sense suggests so, don’t know whether he is one) always at the opposite window seat to keep spitting gallons of Manikchand that is mandatory to pass the time. There are some sleeping beauties too; they are always sleeping, leaning on the neighbor’s shoulder. I guess that after a while the regulars get used to that man sleeping on your shoulder like your wife cuddling you in the night.  The faces are familiar, your presence acknowledged with a smile and the offer to place your bag on the top luggage rack, all this without speaking a word. My place was always at the door hanging on one foot, feeling the breeze, listening to some rock music on my iPOD and watching a disgusting game of Kho-Kho (people pooping on the side of the tracks one after another) as stations pass by; the sight and the smell cannot be avoided. 

There is a general opinion that the trains on the western line are better than their central side counterpart. But there is one area where Central Railway scores the brownie points over western railway. Central Railway has more video coaches compared to western railway. For those who are not aware of the local train lingo let me explain the concept of video coach and its importance to the average male train traveler. A video coach is the compartment in which the ladies coach and the gents coach is separated by a small window (grill) providing unobstructed view of the ladies compartment to the cat-fight hungry males of the gent’s compartment.

It is always entertaining to watch the expressions of the female travelers. I believe that some girls watch other girls in a more embarrassing way than guys. A man will simply look at the face, the vital assets and that’s it, our world ends there. For girls it starts with the color of her hair, analyzing which celebrity’s hairstyle she has copied to the brand of clothing, whether it suits her figure. In short all the way from the top to the bottom, the last comparison being whether the color of her nail paint matches with the color of her hair, dress, her personality etc. Women also have this unique ability to judge a female based on her appearance. The analysis will be enough to fill up the ‘about you’ section on any site.  All this analysis will probably take her less than 5 seconds, and that I would say is some serious talent. It is equally funny to look at the way these females will point the odd ones out, without even pointing a finger, just by making signs with their eyes and tilting their necks.

The conflict amongst the women starts at the time of boarding the train. I have sometimes noticed personally other times heard weird stories from female friends. While boarding a train, pinching, hair pulling, pulling the dupatta, pinching the butt etc are very common. Does this act of women troubling other women qualify as self-defense, survival technique, eve teasing or molestation? I would request the readers to draw the conclusion. 

For the sake of humor and comparison lets call them Spartan warriors for a while. Once these Spartans have boarded the train, the trouble starts. Some young chirpy remembers being pushed by a fat sweaty sari clad aunty. Yes she will be aunty even for her husband, please get the point will you? After the initial squeal followed by a few remarks made in an accent that is the trademark of Xaviers and Sophiya’s students, an argument ensues. Contestant number one is a college girl wearing a good pair of jeans, a nice top, fashionable sandals, someone with whom you would want to be seen to make your friends jealous and the other contestant a “kolin”, more famously known as the macchiwali and for my friends unaware of both, a fisherwoman. The machhiwaalis have a unique style of dressing.  Most of the times they wear a nauwaari sari (Kaamwali bai ki style ki sari) that can only be green or yellow in color. What makes these macchiwalis noticeable is the quantum of bling that they usually wear. They wear more bling than a dozen rappers put together or maybe two Bappi Lahiris. Most of the time wearing at least ½ kg of gold, necklaces that look large enough to serve as chains to attach a small ship’s anchor or maybe even pull a car. Anyways just imagine the situation when females from such diverse backgrounds enter a fight.

 To highlight the cultural differences and beauty quotient, lets call the fisherwoman as ‘machhiwaali’ and the hot girl as ‘Item’ lets stick with Bambaiyya Hindi. Our item will usually make a sad face looking at the macchhiwali, muttering something in English. The macchhiwali will usually respond with a very brave loud comment. Being a very sophisticated girl, our item responds “excuse me?’’ in her polished accent. There is nothing more annoying to any macchiwali than to hear someone talking back in English, call it jealousy or pure instinct the words “excuse me”, are also considered as abuses. At this point the machhiwali starts responding with the best of its kind abuses in Marathi, call it a habit, our item has to respond back in English. If she is traveling with a friend the first lines usually are “Oh shit/yaar shiiiiiii look at the way she is talking”. And then round one of the bout begins. The catfight goes on with the macchiwaali trying to hurt our item with her abusing; now in Hindi, I guess butchering Hindi language more than her opponent. The fight continues and the male passenger across the grill is enjoying the show. The scene reminds of the scenes from movies where a criminal is watching a fight from behind the bars and is enjoying every bit of the action. A crowd would have already gathered near the screen (by now it has turned into an entertainment screen). It’s interesting to note that there will be guys stamping on each other’s feet or pushing each other, but instead of fighting they show great understanding. Instead of screaming or fighting, they will make some space for the other guy so that even he can get a glimpse of the ongoing entertainment show. The screaming can sometimes lead to a bit of hair pulling. Unfortunately I have not witnessed a full-fledged fist fight till date because the moment it gets a bit physical, there will be some is some old lady who will play the role of NATO and bring about unwanted peace.  What ensues is a cold war. Now the passengers are divided between two groups. A group of old ladies criticizing how these young girls have no sense at all and the group of young girls who believe that the aunties are like the cougars described in the latest edition of cosmopolitan or Femina magazine. The aunties passing their comments “Isko dekho, koi tameez ya laaj sharam nahi. Itne chhote skirt aur top, sab kuch dikhta hai. Kaise inki Maa inhe ye kapde pehen ke jaane dete hai? Main to apni beti ko aise logo se durr rehne ko kehti hoon”. The gang of girls with their set of comments “ Shit man look at these women, bloody Ghatis, I’m sick and tired of such women. These old bitches I tell you, even their husbands don’t hump them, bloody take out frustration on other people. Get a life you losers”.  Such scenes were witnessed on multiple occasions during train travel. Till date you will spot groups of men standing near the bridge on platform number 1 at Andheri station after 6 PM, waiting to watch the women enter into a royal rumble while trying to board a Virar bound train.

Recently saw some advertisements on the upcoming Mumbai Metro railway project. The metro project promises commuters with AC coaches, automatic doors and a journey in a train, which is not crowded. It somehow disheartens me to think that if there is no rush in the train and any pushing or pinching, there won’t be any catfights. In such a scenario will the travel be as entertaining? Will the catfights come to an end? I hope that all the items find some reason to fight and that the entertainment in the video coach does not end, but now it becomes more pleasurable with cushioned seats and an air-conditioned environment 40 feet above the ground.

The History of Paan

This article is dedicated to my Father. He writes for several magazines and newspapers. He was asked to present a paper on old Mumbai to the professors pursuing PhD from Mumbai University. Little information has been documented on the history of Paan and Tobacco. I had access to his research material.  I have made an attempt to write on the subject and present some interesting facts about the history of Paan & Tobacco in Mumbai. Hope you enjoy the post.

Let me take you back to the days when Mumbai was actually known as Bombay. This Bombay had various customs and traditions; one of its oldest “Shauk’ or habit has been Chewing Paan.

Unlike today consumption of alcoholic drinks was not accepted by society as part of the culture. Thanks to the modern lifestyle now socializing or even discussing business over a drink has become socially acceptable. Today we tend to look down upon people who are seen chewing paan, tobacco in public. However in the olden times consumption of paan, smoking of Hukka and sniffing snus had certain social acceptance. For the erstwhile Maharashtrian community eating paan or using snus had the same importance in a man’s life as Haldi Kumkum for women. It was good etiquette to offer paan/supari to guests not only after meals but also during a casual discussion. In North India they used the line “Saale ka hukkapaani bandh karo” to outcaste anyone.

Hindi films, especially the ones based on the mafia have made the Maharashtrian term “Supari Dene” (“Supari Dena” in Hindi) very popular. In the olden days it was a practice offer important job to someone very trustworthy by offering him a supari as the token of contract confirmation along with monetary advance. After completion of the task both parties would break the supari and the balance payment would be made. While inviting musicians, Tamasha troupes, Drama troupes, Singers, Wrestlers for performing at their house or villages there was an old custom of giving supari. In the old wrestling style, the body was covered by oil and one of the ways to grab the opponent was by catching his ears during the initial huddle. One of the first tasks after enrolling a wannabe wrestler in the ‘Akhaada’ was to break the bone/muscle in the ears. They would place a supari in his ears and then punch it hard causing the small muscle to crack, thereby making the ears flexible and difficult to hold on to.

There was a difference in eating a paan on your own and being offered one as a mark of respect. At the Kothas (Mujra houses and not brothels), prior to the commencement of the dance performance, the prettiest of the girls would serve Paan to her beloved customer, actually feed it to him rather than serving it.  If the Tawaaif herself prepared the paan and fed it to her customer, it was considered as an act of showing respect and also as a romantic gesture. There are many folk songs, Lavanis, film songs written on this act. Now managers bowing down and shaking your hand at ladies/dance bars have replaced the Paan culture and twaaifs.

In 19^th century people used to eat twenty paans and smoke one kattal (bundle) of 20 Bidis per day. In Girgaon Khetwadi Galli no 2 there was a 250 years old paan bazaar. Recently it was shifted to Chuna Bhatti. Majority of the Paan wholesale dealers in Mumbai were Jains and Brahmins and all retailers were Vaishya-vanis. They maintained complete secrecy while deciding rates of paan by covering their fingers under a handkerchief and making hand gestures that only the dealers from their network could decipher. These wholesalers sourced raw green Nagvel paan from Mandva, Kelve, Mahim and Janjira. Raw paans are used in religious functions to offer Vida Dakshina to Brahmins. After removing the ripe parts, small pieces of paans were sold as Kapta paan to poor people at cheap rate. In 1850 there were 350 paan gaddis (Paan Shops) in Bombay. Every small lane had a paan shop at its entrance. Paan vendors used to sit on a small mattress (Gaddi) and prepare paans for their customers. Hence their shops were known as Paanachi Gaddi. They had respect in the society. In British regime they worked like secret informers for police also helped newcomers in finding out their addresses. This however has not changed. Despite GPS technology and cellular phones the local paan shop still remains the best place to seek directions.

From 1850 Pune was the main supplier of ripe yellow paans to Bombay. These paans became popularly known as Puna Masala or Puna Peela. There was variety of Supari; White (Paandhari supari from Shrivardhan), Red (Tambadi Supari from Vasai) Fulbardi, Chikni etc. These Vaishyavani vendors would skillfully break supari into pieces like sugar cubes, slice it like thin onion flakes, cut it like saffron sticks.

In last century every household had brass paan container known as dabba or Tabak. Rich families had silver tabak. During festivals even women and children were allowed to chew paans. Senior citizens would keep small Khalbatta with them to crush and soften the paan. Majority of people were Tobacco (Tambakhu) paan eaters.  To spit the Tambakhu juice and remains of paans, people used spittoons, which were called Tasta or brass pickdani. When outside home, these people like rest of India used all open spaces as toilets. These paan eaters used every possible nook and corner on the roads, staircases and electric poles to spit on. Unfortunately this habit has not died till now. The red paan stains are the default interior color of most buildings around the country.

The Portuguese brought Tobacco to Bombay, but it got popular during British Regime. To sale tobacco and snus one was required to procure a license from government. In 1860 the Government earned revenue of Rs. Two-Lakh from taxes imposed on sale of tobacco. Bhadoch, Surat, Dharwad, Nipaani, Miraj and Paandharpur were the main suppliers of Tobacco. There was variety of tobacco available on paan gadi – like thick roti, saffron, rope, dark black etc. At the end of 19^th century in small paper pouches Gaichhap, Kuberchhap branded tobacco was introduced in the market. It was known as Jarda. Paandharpuri tobacco because of its strong taste remained as the local favorite. Pune, Sinnar (Nashik) and Solapur were the main suppliers of Bidis to Bombay market. Shivaji, Sambhaji, Ghoda Chhap, Hatti Chhap, Ganesh, Bijban, Kala Dhaga Tokdi Bidi were the popular brands among laborers, Gujaratis, Marwaris and Muslims. During those times hand made aagpetya (Match boxes) were available. While lighting a matchstick there were chances of burning your fingers since the matches were not carburized. WIMCO Matchbox Compaany from Ambarnath was the first to introduce carburized matches in the market.

During this period along with paan supari other household items such as matchboxes, Candles, soap bars, Post cards, telegram forms, and medicines like Aspro, Anacin, limlet candies, toffees, and biscuits were available in these paan shops. Their biggest clients were laborers, mill workers, dockworkers, Mathadis, safai kamgaars and hawkers. First work shift of the erstwhile mill workers started at 7.00 am. Every morning vendors from Vasai would come with vegetables and milk, newspapers at their designated business streets. Religious people would visit temples in early morning. To cater to this early morning clientele these paan shops started opening their shops early in the morning at 5-5.30 AM

In the beginning of 20^th century cigarette companies setup their business in Mumbai. The popular brands being Pivala Hatti, Charminar, Barkley, Scissor, Panama, capstan, Cavender, Passing Show etc. Filter cigarettes came in very late. Rich fashionable people used to carry fancy cigarette cases containing 20 cigarettes. Some people would buy imported loose tobacco and cigarette paper and would roll their own cigarettes. Film artiste like Motilal, Pyarelal Santoshi would fill tobacco in Rs. 100 note and smoke. Western cultured people would smoke pipe or Chirut (cigar). Film artiste particularly villains like Ashok Kumar, Pran, Ajit made cigarette smoking popular among youngsters. In 1937 a film called Passing Show was released to promote Passing Show cigarette. These were the early signs of covert advertising/branding. Today people talk about branding alcoholic drinks/cigarette’s name with a bottle of soda or mineral water or music albums, but this practice was first implemented way back in 1937.  In his school days my father saw Dev Anand’s film Hum Dono. He was so impressed by his grace and style of smoking cigarette; he enacted his smoking style in front of a mirror. He was caught red handed and what followed were 5 rounds of freestyle wrestling type thrashing from my grand father. In olden day’s only ladies from labor class used to eat tobacco and smoke bidis. Around 1950 onwards people saw vamp or club dancers from Hindi films smoking cigarettes. Nadira, Shakeela, Helen were stylish cigarette smokers. Today’s mod generation ladies regularly carry packs of Marlboro lights in their purses. Even today the orthodox attitude prevails. It’s common for females to hop into a rickshaw, buy two cigarettes and make the rickshaw drive around in circles while they finish smoking them.

Time and society has changed in last twenty-five years. Textile mills closed down, Thousands of textile workers became jobless, wholesale markets were shifted to Navi Mumbai, people realized the importance of education, and youngsters felt smoking bidis and eating paan supari was below their dignity or social status. Subsequently they changed their habits and switched over to cigarette, lighter and paanpatti from bidi, matchbox and desi paan. Due to increase smuggling many foreign brands of cigarettes and lighters were now available in Mumbai. Mangalori and Keralites entered in this new business and built stalls all over Mumbai. People from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar started Paanpatti Thelas (shops) at every nook and corner. These 250 years old paan gaddi vendors started loosing business and they had no option but to close down their ancestral business. Some of them converted their paan gaddis to general stores. Few gaddis survived only in laborer predominant areas like Parel, Lalbaug, Byculla and dock areas. ‘Paan gaddi,’ one of the oldest businesses dominated by 100% Marathi vendors almost came to a standstill by the end of 21^st century; but even today out of ten days of Ganesh Utsav, Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh Utsav Mandal reserves one day only for Paan Supari program.

Paan Patti was like a younger fashionable sister of desi paan. Please note that Paan-Patti was the term used for the modern paan and not the paan shop. Paan patti simply means paan that is folded neatly after stuffing it with all the possible ingredients.  The British East India Company closed down their business in Surat and Bombay became the main trade center. With the industrial growth of Mumbai, Marwadis, Baniyas, Gujarathis and Muslims came to Bombay and settled near Fort area. They were the great paan lovers.

Till 1860 there was no paan patti shop in Mumbai. This paan patti business started flourishing since 1870 from areas like Bhuleshwar, Cotton Exchange, Pydhonie, CP Tank and Kalbadevi. During this period Bombay was getting ripe pila paans only from Puna. When main cities of India were connected by railway, paans from Banaras, Gorakhpur and Calcutta were brought in to Bombay. Slowly Kashmiri Kimam, Uttar Pradesh, Rajastani Paan masala and scented chewing tobacco came to Bombay. Girgaon chowpatty became tourist center. People from Uttar Pradesh had foresight and the vision, they built stalls near the seashore in the sand itself and started Paan patti and Bhel puri business. Subsequently they have encroached Mumbai city, now along with the beach you can find them in every nook and corner of the city. The Paanwaala and bhelwala bhaiyya have now become part of the routine Mumbai life.  

There was a saying that “Paan Khaana amir aiyyash rangeele logon ka shauk hai”. The rich people of Mumbai had huge ancestral properties. Their day would start in the evening. They would wear Lukhnavi kurta/Sherwani, tie gajra around the wrist, chew maghai paan and with a gang of servants set out for their evenings at mujra houses. In those days congress house (back then below pavan pool, today’s Kennedy bridge) or Bachhchubhai ki wadi at Foraas road were some of the famous mujra destinations. Filmy songwriter Shailendra has described these paan lovers in his song –

Paan khaye saiya hamaro,

Savli surtiya hoth lal lal,

hai hai ye malmal ka  kurta,

malmal ke kurte par chhinte laal laal.

There are many filmy songs based on paan eating, right from Shailendra’s classic to Amitabh’s Khaike paan Banaras wala and its new adaptation in a Farhan Akhtar film -Don.

Making a good paan is a skilled job. In paan shop you can always hear the radio playing, the customera pressurizing the paanwaala to take their order first, some customers while sitting in cars place orders, but this paan vendor works like a yogi with full concentration on his job. He cannot afford to make even a petty mistake, because the success of any paan shop depends on the consistency of quality of paan that he serves. Ingredients are same, process of making paan is almost the same, and even then its taste differs from shop to shop. This is the reason why a real paan lover will not purchase paan from unknown vendor. There are people who will visit heir regular Paanwaala first thing in the morning and stock for the day rather than risk buying a paan from an unknown vendor. It’s interesting whether this can be termed as brand loyalty? There is no brand at work but the paan making skills of an individual. In Mumbai there is an unwritten rule that items like Paan and Bhel are to be prepared under your personal supervision, as per your taste if the vendor is unknown to you.  Your regular Paanwaala would know your taste. He just needs to know whose paan he has to prepare, that’s all, he will prepare exactly the same. The taste of the paan is vital. Paan lover’s mood totally depends on its taste.

For a hardcore paan lover the people who make/bring his paan are always fixed. They will not assign this job to any new person. These people have a tendency of getting angry if the paan is not prepared as per their taste.  While chewing paan they will not like to talk with anybody unless it is very important. The usual routine is, to bite the bottom tip of the paan spit it out, put the paan in their mouth, chew it for a minute, enjoy the flavor, close their eyes for a second, savor the taste and then be available to speak.

Normally Gujaratis, Marwadis are considered to be very conservative at spending money but for paan they are liberal. They are capable of traveling all the way from Malad to Bandra; spending Rs. 100 on petrol just to eat a paan worth Rs 10. One of the India’s biggest industrialists died and his funeral procession was heading towards Chandan Waadi crematorium. Press reporters and media people were present for the coverage. There was one person who could not control his emotions, was crying very loudly. People thought he must be a very old loyal servant or some relative from his native place. Reporters were curious to know who he was. They inquired and found out that he was industrialist’s regular Paanwaala. The industrialist was fond of paan and in his memory entire family had decided to give up paan for the period of one year. This Paanwaala had lost the business of nearly 25,000/- per month. While there were famous Paanwaalas serving the usual 120/300 and maghai jodi there were some others serving cocaine paan for members of the mafia and the rich spoilt brats. Such cocaine paans were sold for a sum as high as Rs. 4000/Paan. Some of them still continue the business in areas like Pydhonie, Malabar Hill, Bandra and Juhu. The four oldest Paanwaalas in Mumbai are ‘Babu’ from Bhuleshwar Cotton Exchange Gate, ‘Kanu’ from Madhav Bagh Mandir, C.P. tank area, ‘Govind’ from Kalbadevi opposite Dr. Vigas Street and ‘Shani Maharaj’ from Girgaon Chowpaty, who have minted money out of this business. Every day they used to export paans worth thousands to Dubai, Singapore and Middle East by air and still continue to do so.

The old energetic youngsters (senior citizens as we might think) used to go to the pedhis even without carrying walking sticks. Fifty years back at Girgaon chowpatty paan lovers used to get ‘Palangtod Paan ’ (literal meaning - Bed breaking) for just Rs. 20/-. I still do not know which ingredients they use in these paans, what was the effect after having it? Whether palangtod is to break the bed or the waist? Now people talk about Viagra but substance like Viagra was available at our paan shops 60 years ago. In Girgaon area radios were used at paan shops earlier than their entry in households.  Bua’s paan shop at the corner of Anand Bhavan lane was the public place for all youngsters for hearing cricket commentary. At that time Radio reception was not clear and one needed to seriously concentrate on the sound. Today people watch cricket match on big screens in hotels/multiplexes, but hearing commentary from Vijay Merchant on radio at paan shop had its own fun.  During cricket season ‘Kya score hua?’ during Election period ‘Kaun jeeta?’ “Bhai saahab Anand Bhuvan kidhar hai?” Only the paanwaala could provide correct answers to such questions. During festivals like Kojagiri and Holi these paanwaalas would arrange bhaang for you. Till date the Paanwaala outside Mahalaxmi temple is famous for providing the most authentic bhang in Mumbai.

With Development of the city now paan shops are available at every nook and corner. Some are regular cigarette and Paan vendors while some have focused on creating a brand. Different marketing strategies have been implemented by these new age paanwaalas to promote themselves. The ghanta paanwaala at Borivali rings a bell (ghanta literally) every time a paan is delivered to a customer. ‘Muchchad Paanwaala’ is probably the most abused brand names, there’s one at Charni Road, Andheri , Bandra and Borivali. Each Muchchad Paanwaala boasts about his long moustache and how the other muchchads stole his creative idea. The one at Andheri is listed in Limca book of records for making most number of paans in one hour. 

Times have changed, paanachi gaddi was replaced by paan patti and now paan patti has been replaced by a retail outlet selling paans, cigarettes, condoms, mobile recharge vouchers and what not. The one thing that has not changed is the craving that one has to eat a paan after a round of drinks and a nice meal. We might have the sizzling brownies, chocolate mousse to eat after a delicious dinner, but nothing compares to the pleasure of eating a maghai jodi after a delicious meal. On this note I shall take the last sip of my drink and head to the muchchad Paanwaala at Bandra to have a maghai jodi

Independence Rock -- The Story so far

The year was 1994, the year when I became a teenager. Just like others; I too was restless, full of energy, a rebel without a cause ready to conquer the world with his stupid beliefs. It was always my habit to hangout with guys older than me. They were more like idols to a stupid teenager trying to act cool. To gain their trust I had been through the usual drill of being their orderly, fetching cigarettes for them, being the messenger pigeon between them and their girlfriends and the occasional scapegoat for their practical jokes. I had earned my place in the gang. One day these guys were planning to visit the ‘Independence Rock’ concert. I was told that it is the annual pilgrimage that one must attend to keep their faith in rock music intact; it’s the mecca of rock music. Those days it was a two-day event, usually held on 14th and 15th august. I requested to join and they willingly accepted. After a bus ride to the station and train journey we reached Marine lines station. We started walking towards the venue. The guys took a quick pit stop at an Irani café, quickly gulping down some old monk and thums up. After a brisk 15 minutes walk we finally reached Rang Bhavan, the ultimate venue for a rock show that ever existed in India.

Rang Bhavan is situated next to St. Xavier’s college near marine lines station. There were too many townie beauties around. For my adolescent mind it was nothing short of being in the playboy mansion, surrounded by Hugh Hefner's picks of the season. All the rock fans running screaming, singing in their traditional IROCK outfits, torn/faded/dirty jeans, mostly denim blue and with a black colored rock print Tee shirt on top. I wondered whether it was the official dress code for this event and whether I will be let in since I was wearing a normal Tee with jeans. Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, Metallica were at an all time high that season and invariably you could see a lot of Cobain and Metallica on the Tee shirts. The attitude level increases with the kind of music you listen to. The Cobain and Hettfield fans walked with the “so you are the new wannabe rocker – never mind’ look while the Sepultura fans eagerly searching for people they wanted to bash in the mosh pit. A guy wearing a Slayer tee would definitely look down on a guy wearing a Jim Morrison Tee. The girls were not far behind either, some of them in the traditional IRock attire and the rest in the Xavier’s uniform. By Xavier’s uniform I mean jeans, a kurta (khadi type), chappal, a jhola on the shoulders, big earrings as accessories and an accent which is patented as the townie accent these days. I was happy to realize that there are females whose taste in music scaled beyond boy bands. After years of exposure to this cult even I have developed the attitude of looking down on guys who would listen to rap and R &B music. I guess continued exposure to the rock/metal environment invariably transfers the attitude disease to you.


Like all other places in Mumbai you always have to stand in long queues for anything, whether for a movie ticket, or your railway ticket. It was a pleasant surprise to see a long queue for tickets, I said to myself goddamn; “I didn't know that these many guys lived this lifestyle”. Even before attending the show, just at the venue gates I had started believing that rock n roll is not a form of music but a lifestyle. Standing in the queue we could hear the bands playing inside and the crowd screaming and singing along. The sound of electric guitar was exhilarating, the sound of the drums making my heart pound faster and faster. It's difficult to describe the feeling, one has to actually visit and experience the feeling.


We stood in the queue and then my friend pulled out bottles of thums up from his pocket, and offered everyone a swig. Thums up never tasted that way and then I was told that it was thumsup + OLD MONK, god damn since that day thums up and old monk have become the official drink for all rock shows. No matter how much money we have and even if there's a hotel nearby, invariably we end up drinking on the road and that too OLD MONK. Standing in the queue there was only a 20 feet wall that stood between the venue and us, a wall that divided the ‘already insane’ inside, from the ‘wannabe insane’ standing outside.


Back in those days, thums up and Yamaha were the only companies that sponsored Independence Rock. We paid our dues for the favor by mixing old monk and thums up and continue to do so till date. Rang Bhavan is an open-air theater with a small stage at the far end and circular concrete seating. On entering Rang Bhawan we were welcomed with the best abuses that a crowd can shower on any band. Apparently the band had taken some time to do their sound check and the restless crowd had started chanting “Bhenchod, Madarchod start the fuckin music”. “Wow” I said, people on this side abuse in hindi too. The air was filled with smoke of all types. The smoke from cigarettes, the fogger machine and some really weird smelling smoke too, something that smelled like Mehendi being burnt. After years of attending the shows, the smell of burning Mehendi was what I craved to smell and to smoke. The toilets at the rear side are more of a make out zone. I had never imagined that just for Rs. 60 I will get to experience booze, live rock music and live porn, this was turning out to be the best event I had ever attended.




That show had featured some of the best bands like Agni, Brahma, Pentagram and Parikrama. The time demanded that every band plays the best covers. Bands were not ranked based on how good their original composition was but purely on how well they covered Metallica, Deep Purple etc. That day all the bands were amazing with their work. Songs like Alive, unforgiven, one, another brick, highway star, smoke on the water, paradise city, jump, even flow etc were covered by these bands. In those days Farhad sometimes sang a song or two. ‘Knocking on heavens door’ being his favorite. Lately due to sponsorship commitments he tends to read news from DNA newspaper and somehow tries to make it sound as music. Futile attempt farhad, its neither music nor entertainment, stop making a jackass out of yourself. At a rock show the brain starts defying logic and laws of nature, physics etc. Thanks to the atmosphere and negligible amount of blood in your alcohol and nicotine stream you are bound to believe that you can sing louder than the band. Yes I was screaming (please note: screaming not singing) all the songs. The general practice is to head bang if you like the song or if you are high then believe that you are a wrestler and enter the mosh pit.


End of the show, as usual Farhad Wadia made a promise that the next IROCK will be bigger and better, and I would say that he has kept his promise year after year. What followed after the show was a long walk back to Marine Lines, but this time with really tired legs, a dry throat, clothes drenched in sweat and most importantly a neck that had never felt heavier and this painful. I guess head banging does take its toll on the entire body. What seemed cool back then had now turned into endless pain.


16 years have passed since that day, times have changed but the enthusiasm has not. IROCK venue has shifted from Rang Bhawan to Chitrakoot grounds. The sponsors changed from Thums up to DNA, Network 18 and the wannabe types. The music has changed from melodious Rock/Metal to the less tolerable Death Metal, technical death metal etc. We are no longer teenagers; most of us are in the senior management in multinational companies. Everyone is busy and earning enough to afford a nice visit to expensive restaurants or even a 5 star hotel, but till date when it comes to IROCK

• The same friends call up, doesn't matter if we haven't spoken for 6 months but 2 days prior to IROCK they will call.
• We end up drinking old monk and thumsup, that too on the road no matter how much money we have.
• The screaming, attempts at trying to sing louder than the band never end. End of the show we all end up with neck pain.
• Back then we cursed the college principal for making us attend college. Nowadays we curse the bosses when we are pretending to work with a headache and hangover.
• IROCK is followed by a jam session, where we pledge to form a band and perform at the next year’s concert; only to go back as spectators aged 30 but with the spirit of a 14-year-old, cant help but sing

You say you wanna go for a spin
The party's just begun, well let you in
You drive us wild, well drive you crazy
You keep on shouting, you keep on shouting
I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day…
\m/