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My Recent Visit to my Hometown "AMACHI MUMBAI" with my Flute Tune "Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujhpar"

My Visit to “AMACHI MUMBAI” Photo Blog

Me enjoying Warm Weather in Front of Taj Mahal Hotel (Photo 1)

Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujhpar Flute Tune Played by me

(Author's Note : I have attached above a Flute Tune played by me for one of the most melodious songs “Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujhpar” from the Film : Junglee (1961) based on Raga Yaman and Music was composed by Maestro Shankar-Jaikishen. You may CLICK PLAY button above to listen to my Flute Tune.

First of all, I must apolozise for staying away from Sulekha Blogs for more than 2 months. This is because I went to India to visit my hometown Mumbai and for the complete tour of Rajasthan State. I really missed many of my Sulekha friends during past 2 months. I am back in action now as I am slowly finding time to write blogs. I hope to get response from you through your lovely comments once again.).

I always love to visit my hometown Mumbai every year. So I have told my Boss in USA to let me go on Vacation for 4 weeks to India every year and he okayed it.

I have been living in USA for more than 3 decades now, yet as soon as I land at Mumbai Airport, I get very nostalgic and emotional. As soon as I start walking towards Immigration and Customs to get out of Mumbai Airport, when I breathe Mumbai air I always feel as if I have been freed from Jail and I am now walking free to enjoy freedom. I do not know why I feel this way every time I land at Mumbai Airport. The reason is quite simple. I love my hometown Mumbai. I do not mind even the city is very very congested and there is lot of pollution and dirt. But that feeling of being at home outweighs all these negative things attached to Mumbai.

I love the vitality, vibrancy and fast pace of Mumbai. Many a times, I feel Mumbai to be a sister city of New York where I have been living all these years. Like New York City, Mumbai is the only city in India which is completely cosmopolitan in nature. I learnt a lot from the cosmopolitan nature of Mumbai, since I lived in Mumbai for a long time before I immigrated to USA. Whenever I attend parties in USA, I am very comfortable with all Indians regardless of which Indian state he belongs to and which language he speaks. Mumbai city made me broad-minded in outlook. Although unfortunately things are changing now. And everyone knows here what I am referring to. No comments please!

I have my own flat in Mumbai at Wadala which is very close to busy Dadar. But Wadala is much quieter than Dadar. Originally I lived in Dadar and after living in Dadar for few years, I shifted to Wadala. I did my schooling in Dadar’s King George English School.

This year, I and my wife decided to take a luxury Bus Tour of Mumbai City. Although, I had visited all these Mumbai attractions before for umpteen times, I still wanted to visit again as I wanted to take some digital photographs of Mumbai which I have pasted below.

This luxury bus was to start from Chitra Cinema, Dadar. So I arrived at this Dadar spot at 8 AM and bus was supposed to pick us at 8:30 AM. So I and my wife Lalita were waiting for tour bus to arrive. As I was standing in front of Chitra Cinema which is located in my old neighborhood where I spent 18 years of my life during my childhood, countless thoughts came to my mind and I felt very nostalgic as so many events flashed in my head.

I remember how I had to buy Ticket to see Dev Anand’s movie Kala Bazaar (1960) in black market since I had to leave Mumbai the next day for my Engineering studies. I was always against buying tickets in black market until then. But I had no choice as I wanted to see the movie Kala Bazaar on that day. It is ironic that name of the movie “Kala Bazaar” means “Black Market” and it was a strange coincidence that I had to buy tickets in black market for the first and the last time in my life. That S.D.Burman’s melodious music forced me to see Kala Bazaar before I left Mumbai the next day and I did not care that I was buying tickets in black market.

While waiting for the tour bus, I took few pictures of my old neighborhood. I saw lots of beautiful girls going to College and lots of office goers walking desperately so as not to miss BEST Bus. But in 2008, not a single soul recognized me while I was standing in my old neighborhood. I felt sad as I started thinking of 1950’s when so many people knew me. I knew “Vo Zamana Ab Khatm Ho Chuka Hai”. Gone are those golden days of childhood. Now whole different new generation was in the neighborhood equipped with Cell Phone, Internet and so many new technological gadgets, while during my time, we only had a Radio and nothing more. I remember old days when on every Wednesday night at 8 PM, we used to rush to our radios to listen to Binaca Geetmala. Every week, I used to write the numbering (popularly know as PAIDAAN in Amin Sayani’s language) of most popular 16 songs for the week. I continued this practice for a very long time. I remember how among friends we used to forecast which song will top the list that week. Sometimes my predictions used to come correct but not always.

Tour bus arrived at Dadar exactly arrived at 8:30 AM and me and my wife boarded the bus and our Mumbai Darshan Tour started. This tour bus took us around Gateway of India, Jahangir Art Gallery, Prince of Wales Museum now renamed as Chhatrapti Shivaji Museum, Taj Mahal Hotel, Mantralaya, Raja Bai Tower, Flora Fountain and Fort Area which is the most famous business district of Mumbai. We also covered famous and scenic Malabar Hill, Mahalaxmi Temple, Walkeshwar area, Haji Ali, Marine Drive which has been renamed as Netaji Subhash Road (my beloved patrio), Worli Sea Face, Band Stand of Bandra where Famous Sharukh Khan lives in his house Mannat.

Our Bus Tour finally ended at Hare Ram Hare Krishna in Juhu and our Bus returned back to Dadar exactly at 9 PM same night.

Note : I have attached below photographs of various attractions in Mumbai. I have numbered them. So please let me know which photos you liked the most.

Old Taj Mahal Hotel (Photo 2)

New Taj Mahal Hotal (Photo 3)

Gateway of India (Photo 4)

Fort Area (Photo 5)

Old and New Taj Mahal Hotal (Photo 6)

Chhatrapati Shivaji Museum (Formerly Prince of Wales Museum) (Photo 7)