[dilsedesigroup] Double Egg Fry and Pani Kam chai

[Gaurav Raje <chimbs@xxxxxxxxx>]

Unlike my previous mails, this mail has not been edited by any other
person. These are words which come directly from my heart. It may have
mistakes, but convey my feelings.

Double egg fry aur ek pani kam chai

The developing infrastructure and the escalation of the standard of
living of the mumbaiites has given a green signal for all the
international food chains to start operating in Mumbai. With the
success of McDonalds, many other firms such as pizza hut have started
establishing  their outlets in mumbai. As a result various local
chains too have started creating such coffee points, such as Cafe
Coffee Day or Barista to name a few. However, with the sudden changing
face of the mumbai culture, mumbaiites are forgetting their roots.


I was just having a walk in south mumbai(as i always do for tp), along
with two of my friends(who have been conviniently ommitted from this
mailing list) when a friend of mine suggested that we stop for a cup
of tea or coffee. Though south mumbai is filled with all the chain
restaurants, a local irani restaurant stood right in front of me, in
an inviting way. The architecture of the 60's had a magnetic charm. I
recognised the place to be my usual hangout place when i was a kid. At
that time, it used to be filled with people from all the stratas of
society. All young, old, rich as well as poor people used to have
their tea and some snacks over there. It used to be a jolly place.
Now, all i could see was an empty dinning hall, a very small number of
customers who i guess were mill workers who were having their lunch
break. This Irani restaurant had finally bowed under the competitive
pressure and started serving the various international cuisines such
as italian as well as mexican, ie pastas, pizzas and tacos and
burritos. But the look and feel still remained as that of the typical
irani restaurant though i prefered to stick to my double egg fry and
pani kam chai. Inspite of this make over, one could make out that his
age old business was now in danger. He was not doing very well and was
considering shutting down the restaurant, probably selling itoff to
give rise to another barista. The rich people i guess had boycotted
the ordinary place for a much fancier place, which was more american,
more aesthetically appealing, rather than this old simple place.
However, little did these people realise that they had in fact
boycotted the very essence of mumbai-culture. People look at the fancy
buildings in bandra kurla complex, marine drive and feel dat their
city is beautiful. However, the parts of the city which they see are
in fact newly developed areas which donot promote the real sense of
the city. The real mumbai as built by our ancestors happens to lie in
the small streets of areas such as kalaghoda or girgaum. Sprawling
chawls and houses stuck close to each other, as if hugging each other.
The real city doesnot lie in these corporate chains. It lies in these
age old small scale hotels.

Once can see the state in which the sterling theater happens to be in
right now. Sterling used to be one of the best theatres in mumbai.
This is because of the multiplex theatres who offer comfort at a high
scale. People prefer to enjoy these value added services without
bothering much about the price of the tickets. Our government favours
these multiplexes.

A recent proposition made by the chief minister includes the complete
transformation of mumbai into a city such as Shanghai. But do we as
mumbaiites want to become a city such as shanghai and lose our love
for the city? Mumbai acquires a special place in our hearts. No matter
where we go, we dont feel at home unless w come back to our town. Will
a resident of a city which is an exact replica of another town have so
much pride and passion about his city in his heart? I dont feel so. So
why do we want mumbai to become like shanghai or manhattan? Why not
let it remain mumbai?

Mumbai on its own is beautiful, for only one reason- its originality.
No city in the world will have a world class skyline as well as a
first class forest situated within its boundary. The heritage
architecture of the buildings in south mumbai, the local shops, the
irani hotels, the udupis, the dhabas etc all had once formed an
integral part of the city. The prince of wales had a special meeting
with the dabba wallas as they too were embedded in the description of
the city. Without all these aspects, our city will be nothing but a
chunk of land. The legendary pakistani columnist Talat hassan once
said that the true spirit of secularism exists in mumbai where people
are not differentiated and people of all religions sit together to
have a cup of tea. But now, a new division factor has been
introducced, viz economic status? Now that the feeling of communal
harmony has started to float around, we have started searching for new
ways of dividing the society.

So guys, just think about this the next time u enter a chain.The
disappearance of iranis can be linked with the multiplication of
baristas. I am not against any chain or any other joint. Just that
they should not replace what is already there. Those who like shanghai
can just go to shanghai. Why do they want to bring it here to mumbai?
We should take only the good aspects out of western culture, not ape
it.  Or else it may happen that the only thing which u will be able to
give your next generation will be the memory of double egg fry and
pani kam chai.
-- 
Chimbaben




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