Aamchi Mumbai

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Rahul Singh Talwar writes from our neighbouring metropolis:

There is something very sexy about Bombay. Ahem, my apologies… Mumbai.

There is no place in India which is more cosmopolitan than Mumbai and even the one who shall not be named cannot change it, however hard he tries.

I always knew that Mumbai was a melting point of cultures, one big concoction of races ,colours and countries but I never realised how true this was till yesterday.

It was a Saturday night and all I wanted to do was drink away my sorrows at some place which played music which did not end with “yo mama”, or “shake that thing sister” and considering the way the blacks have taken over music, it was a difficult proposition.

A friend and I decided to head to the Times Café when we heard they were hosting a Beer festival and serving different kinds of international beer. There is only one thing better than beer and that is a variety of beer. Therefore, we decided to go even if that meant listening to the “shorties smack some more ass” as the cafe was famous for giving the gangsta hip-hop stars a free run.

So there I am, in a cafe in Mumbai, the capital of a place called Maharashtra. The person I was with is half Gujarati and half Kannadiga (yes they make them like that too).

A Surdy boy in a Maharashtrian café, drinking beer with a Gujarati-Kannadiga boy. If that wasn’t enough, we were being served beer by a Portuguese bar tender who was serving cocktails with her Swedish boyfriend. I turn to the beer menu and for a change, when they meant, ‘International Beer Festival’, they weren’t referring to Carlsberg or Budweiser. International really meant international to them and they had it all, from the smooth Italian Peroni, to the pub favourite dark Guinness. Then followed Heineken, Lafela, you name the beer, the country, the flavour and the café was serving it!

But the real treat was yet to follow. The Café had mentioned that they would be playing alternative music and it turned out, they were serious – underground English House mixed with Asian star Talvin Singh’s Veena-based electronic tones. Heavenly.

Two Djs, mixing and scratching and one of them doubling up as a congo and a tabla player. For me, fusion was at its best as the tabla had never sounded so trippy ever before.

So this music, this eclectic mix of instruments and tunes reminded me of a place, it reminded me of Mumbai. Where each one of us adds our own flavour. Where us bad North Indians add the pomp and the horrible South Indians the charm. Where the gujus add the fervour and the firangis the heart.

For Mumbai is like a classic oil painting, where colours often merge yet never lose their identity.

All I can say to the one who shall not be named, that he may try but he will fail, for Mumbai will never change, for Mumbai will always be Mumbai. It will always take you in with open arms, and let you be you. Here’s a toast to one of the mighty cities of India:

“To Mumbai, to aamchi Mumbai, to maajhi Mumbai”.

The author is a lawyer, an amateur bar tender and an upcoming bathroom singer who studied in Pune. He now lives and works in Mumbai.

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Filed under Culture, Mumbai

Tags: Beer, Bombay, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Rahul Singh Talwar