The reconstructed road-over-bridge at Carnac Bunder will be opened to traffic very soon and the area will once again bustle with activity. There is so much of history at this busy road junction. There is Hotel Elphinstone, where Nathuram Godse is believed to have stayed. Trade union leaders like George Fernandes, P D’Mello and Manohar Kotwal used to address thousands of dock workers here. After that the netas used to have ‘chai’ at Kaiser-e-Hind restaurant or have a hearty meal at Balgi Hotel tucked in the back alley. In fact, Balgi continues to serve excellent aloo palak, chana masala, etc, with hot tandoori roti. Yellow Gate Bar is a popular meeting place in the evening. If you cross the bridge you can have garam moong bhajias at Masjid Station.
Twenty-one vintage and classic cars from the UK and other countries embarked on a 20-day, 6,000-kilometre tour of western India, from the Western India Automobile Association, Churchgate, on Sunday | Vijay Gohil
Vintage Melodies
The 100th birth anniversary of the legendary showman Raj Kapoor continues to bring his fans together. Thus it was that last Saturday the venerable Dr Prakash Joshi (77) hosted an evening of songs from Raj saab’s films under the auspices of The Asiatic Library. About 150 lovers of vintage Hindi film music gathered at the chandeliered Durbar Hall to watch an interesting audiovisual presentation made by Dr Joshi, who for the past several years has been promoting vintage music with rare passion. He made value addition to each song as he transported the grey-haired audience to an era when melody reigned supreme. The songs ‘Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh’, ‘Ramaiya Vastavaiya’ et al were greeted with applause. An old man was so excited that he actually whistled. Raj Kapoor had opened a museum of the costumes and artefacts used in his films. It was housed at RK Studio, Chembur. Alas, with the studio being sold to the Godrej group, the museum is no more there.
Unsporting Behaviour
It is sad that the 76-year-old National Sports Club of India, which faces the Arabian Sea at Worli, is badly embroiled in a controversy with two factions levelling accusations against each other. The club is very spacious, unlike the Bombay Gymkhana or Breach Candy Club. The food, especially the Chinese cuisine, is simply superb and the service polite and efficient. The construction of the dome is a major value addition. Unfortunately the allegations and police complaints threaten to adversely impact the working of this once-venerable institution, which has a club in Delhi as well.
Tailpiece
Written behind a Swiggy delivery bike: ‘Meal you soon...’
(Compiled by S Balakrishnan)
