Last Wednesday, my resourceful colleague Manoj took me to the Ripon Club, that exclusive preserve of Parsis. First the location. Its on the third floor of the Wadia Building, near Kala Ghoda, MG Road. You use the ancient lift with the polite liftman greeting you. You enter the spacious dining hall with lights, black wooden furniture and Crompton fans of the Rajera, and soak in the ambience.
The management has mercifully not air-conditioned the place, but then with the high ceiling and large windows you really don't need an AC. This was my second visit to the club; the first one was with the venerable Behram Contractor aka Busybee ages ago. Even as the well-mannered waiter John from Goa covered the dining table with soft, white cloth, the tall and hefty caterer Dumasia came over and ordered Pallonji's raspberry, the syrupy and extra sweet cold drink without which no Parsi meal is complete.
We chose Wednesday because that's when the trademark dhansak is served. It is basically a semi-thick dal with a unique masala eaten with brown rice, with fresh onion rings and limbu on the side. I ordered crisp salli wafer which goes well with dhansak. The place has a daily change of menu. On Mondays, you have chicken clear soup, mutton ras chawal, akuri on toast. Salli par edu, kheeema papeto, etc are for Tuesdays. There is a la carte menu including angeli chicken, masoor ma ghosh, pork vindaloo, vegna ni katri and cheese macaroni.
Dr Sanjay Mukherjee Forging New Paths
An underground movement led by a Bong doctor is fast gaining pace in Mumbai. Don't worry, it is not an urban naxal movement, but a totally developmental work. I am referring to Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, the MMRDA metropolitan commissioner and the state's most dynamic IAS officer. This soft-spoken doc from Nagpur in tandem with civic chief Bhushan Gagrani is quietly transforming Mumbai like never before.
Recently, Dr Mukherjee was honoured with a prestigious award for his outstanding leadership in steering some of India’s most complex underground infrastructure projects. The Tunnelling Association of India, the Indian chapter of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, recently conferred on him a special award for 'Outstanding Contributions to National Infrastructure and Tunnelling Excellence'. From high-impact water tunnels and proposed underground metro corridors to India’s longest and most ambitious urban road tunnels, Dr Mukherjee, widely known as the ‘Project Man of India’, has shaped some of the most iconic underground projects in the country.
These include the Orange Gate-Marine Drive urban road tunnel, Thane-Borivali twin tunnel, Airoli-Katai Naka tunnels, GMLR tunnel, Coastal Road tunnels, Metro 7A and the upcoming underground metro corridors, Amar Mahal-WadalaParel water tunnel, Gundavali-Bhandup water tunnel, Surya and Tungareshwar water tunnel system, and other major water supply and sewerage tunnel projects across the MMR.
Going The Extra Mile, Thanks To Weather
Despite the poor air quality, the weather in Mumbai is very pleasant these days. This is the time to take long walks without sweating, go on treks at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Malabar Hill, watch flamingos at Sewri and Airoli, have undhiyun and ponk, etc. Incidentally, I discovered a chaat joint 'Gaurav' opposite Harkisandos Hospital. The paani puri, ragda pattice and dahi bhalla are simply yum!
Tailpiece
The government had promised to make railway stations look like airports. However, IndiGo has already transformed airports into railway stations! (Compiled by S Balakrishnan)
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