Mumbai Masala: A Taste For Politics

Ravi Raja of the Congress was in the news recently when he defected to the BJP. He was welcomed with a warm smile by Devendra Fadnavis and Ashish Shelar at the party’s pradesh karyalaya at Churchgate. His popularity can be gauged from the fact that he was elected from Sion-Koliwada as many as five times to the BMC where he was very active. A native of Tamil Nadu, he is the son of Raja, who started the famous canteen at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Sion several decades ago. The canteen continues to be popular and justly so for its batata wadas and patti samosas, which are served with a watery but yummy chutney. The batata wadas, made of high-quality besan and potatoes deep fried in Godrej groundnut oil, are so popular that during intervals there is virtual mara mari at the long-laminated counter to get hold of them. Many noted artistes like Pt Hariprasad Chourasiya, Pt Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Zakir Hussain, etc never used to start their concerts without biting into these batata wadas and washing them down with south Indian filter kaapi in the green room. Incidentally, late CM and Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi used to rate Raja’s batata wadas as the best in town.

Shiv Sena (Shinde) candidate Shaina NC during her nomination filing procession for the assembly election

Shining Shaina

The gullies of Mumbadevi and Bhendi Bazar are looking colourful these days with famous fashionista Shaina NC campaigning for the upcoming assembly election. She is the BJP's state treasurer, but is contesting on Shiv Sena (Shinde) ticket for tactical reasons. Shaina is not known only for her good looks and sartorial taste, but also a sharp brain. A regular face on national TV channels, she is getting a good response wherever she goes. A half-Muslim, Shaina is being backed big-time by Muslim women who are grateful to the BJP for criminalising triple talag. She recently showed her aggressive side when she forced Shiv Sena (UBT) MP from SoBo, Arvind Sawant, to offer an abject apology for calling her an “imported maal”. Daughter of the ever affable Nana Chudasama, Shaina is giving a very tough fight to sitting MLA Amin Patel of the Congress.

Ivory towers

Change is good if it is for the better. However, 'what Mumbai is now witnessing in the name of redevelopment is most certainly not a welcome change. You cannot recognise places like Vile Parle, claustrophobic. Bandra, Matunga, Dadar, Parel, Andheri, etc anymore. Nice three-storied buildings have been torn down and tall ugly towers have come up in their place, making the whole neighbourhood look You feel positively insecure walking past these faceless towers. Builders have provided rooftop swimming pools, clubhouse, gym, pebble pathways and more. Still these massive structures totally lack the warmth that the small buildings provided. Earlier, you could just drop into your neighbour's flat to get updated on the latest gossip over a cuppa masala chai or for just getting a second opinion on the kanjeevaram saree you purchased. Of course, the exchange of snacks and sweets was common, you didn't had to wait for Deepavali for that. In the new towers, most people have their noses up in the air and don't even exchange a smile if you happen to bump into each other in the hi-speed lift.

Tailpiece

A wag commented on social media that Mumbai is so hot that the fans and ACs are as effective as the Indian Test cricket team!

S Balakrishnan