There are some things in life that are inexplicable and I am sure you would agree that no matter where you live today, you will always stay connected to your roots and to the city that you were born and brought up. There is this strange bond that ties you up with that city and you always feel like you are an integral part of that city. I share the same bond and feeling for Mumbai, the city where I was born and have lived all my life. Although, the city has changed in many ways and it is not the same city that it was when I was in my teenage years, I still adore it and love it with the same amount of intensity. While there are many locals that have experienced the transformation of the city, I am trying to highlight certain points that international travelers will know about it because the city has never been shown like this before.
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Calling Mumbai city, a financial hub is not a bad thing at all. I love that the city that I live in offers opportunities to millions that come here to fulfill their dreams and their aspirations. I spent a considerable chunk of my life in Grant Road among the local Parsi community. As a result, I was always munching on mawa cakes and bun maska that come from B Merwan Irani cafe a.k.a. B Merwan & Company.
The concept of Irani cafes today might be vanishing like the old single screen theatres out with the introduction of Starbucks and Café Coffee Day. However, it continues to cater the people of Mumbai with same spirit and enthusiasm until they completely dissolve from our memories.
Well, it’s the start of the year and I am always excited about the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival that happens in February for around 9 days and I think it is the best arts festival that you can catch up if you are in South Mumbai. I have always been fascinated by artworks and creativity from my early childhood days, but back then I was just a regular school boy who had no interest in academics or sports or anything in school curriculum (I have no interest in all that even now). I had no interest in poetries or literature until 1999 when I joined Elphinstone College in South Mumbai. It was in the same year that Kala Ghoda Arts Festival was initiated by the Kala Ghoda Association. Down here is my personal picture 15 years ago when I was just a college boy attending KGAF.
Christmas is just around the corner and as time slips out of hand panic trickles into our mind. Many people in Mumbai live a hectic life that is hard to describe in words and I certainly know that after all I have been a Mumbaikar all my life commuting up and down the local trains five days a week and getting into that super dense crush load local trains that push you to the limits of madness and havoc. If you are still not ready with your Christmas decorations, Christmas tree and other important things that you need to prepare for the festival you need not panic because you can still make up and get all the information right here simplified and to the point. I have already covered the decorations part in my earlier blog that also talks about Christmas tree and other decorative items that you need during the festival. So, if you are looking for Christmas tree shops in Mumbai or Christmas decorations in Mumbai you can click here.
I have heard this many times that it is because of Mumbai that Maharashtra gets its global recognition, but sometimes I think that is not completely true. There are so many aspects and faces of Maharashtra that people of Mumbai have hardly seen. Of course, like others I feel proud of my city’s contribution to the progress of the state and the country, but it is not just Mumbai alone that contributes. How much do you really know about the wine industry in Maharashtra? Well, if I would have asked myself the same question few years ago, I would have said, I know nothing. In fact, few years ago I didn’t even knew if there were vineyards and wineries in Maharashtra. In the year 2008 when Mumbai was under attack the wine industry in Maharashtra suffered a great deal as most of the wine drinking tourists from Europe and other parts of the world decided to stay away. However, it was only in 2010 that these wineries decided to fight back and get into action and capture the market all over. Today, Maharashtra handles around 75% of wine production across the country which indicates that Maharashtra leads wine tourism in India. To make it even better many wineries are now investing heavily in setting up better infrastructure that allow them to develop their vineyards as tourist destinations like in California and other parts of the world. Here we take a quick look at some of the best wineries in Maharashtra that you can visit as your honeymoon trip or with your family and friends.
In Mumbai, your life mostly revolves around the kind of money you make. I am not criticizing the kind of life that Mumbaikars live but the kind of life they are forced to live. I mean if you pick any random Mumbaikar and scan through his or her daily routine you will find endless hours of hard work, train commute and job frustration and insecurity. I was once a part of this lifestyle and believe me or not this kind of lifestyle actually sucks you out of everything including your precious time that you might want to spend with your loved ones. To me Mumbai city is nothing less than a whirlpool, when you see it from outside it looks stunningly beautiful and it possesses a magnetic power to draw you towards it and when you are sucked into it you hardly get control over your life unless you know how to manage things in a better way. Well, I guess every city has its own lifestyle and Mumbai has its own so I cannot blame it completely after all there are many ways to get a break and chill out with your loved ones. In the last few weeks, I feel the temperature has been soaring high and the humidity factor is just sucking out all the blood and life out of us. Since Diwali festival is just around the corner I believe many people would be looking out for one day picnic destinations and places where they can have a blast with their family and friends.
I often end up debating with my friends on why they tell me that the word “Low Budget Shoppers” is not good to put up in the title or the content that I write. They believe that when I write that I am actually indicating that my readers do not have the financial power to buy from top malls in the city or country, but I do not agree with it. For me low budget shopping is more about finding the best deals and has less to do with the financial status. Being a Mumbai boy, I have seen many upper middle class people shopping on the streets of Mumbai and that is not because they don’t have the money, but because they want to save money and want to buy more stuff in the same amount of cash that they have. Women on the other hand, prefer to street shop because they prefer buying more items in the same budget that they can mix and match and wear it on different occasions. While there are many malls here in Mumbai a big chunk of population still prefers to do street shopping that offers them the right satisfaction that malls fail to offer. Here I would like to explore some of the top street shopping destinations in Mumbai for smart shoppers who would like to save more money while they pick up the best deals that they can find.
Exploring Kala Ghoda’s History, Art, Architecture, Food and Shopping Destinations
Kala Ghoda literally means Black Horse and although the name sounds a bit odd for a location it offers a great experience especially when you are somewhere in South Mumbai. I have been a resident of South Mumbai since my birth and no other place holds a special place in my heart than Kala Ghoda. It is not only connected to my childhood days, but also during my college days. Oh, you must be thinking I am getting emotional and exaggerating about the place because I am emotionally attached to it, but that is not the case. When I write I detach myself from the topic to give a whole new perspective to my readers and audience but certainly Kala Ghoda is among the best tourist destinations in Mumbai.