A Day in Mumbai - Changing Times

Yesterday I was in Mumbai with Madhavi, Shweta, Siddha and Sanam.. while Madhavi was recruiting for Persistent at the Tunga Paradise, the four of us had a fantastic day out in the land of dreams and dream merchants!


We started out with a visit to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link - if you ever needed proof of how big India is thinking, this is it. A massive segmental-cum-suspension bridge, taking off into the sea at Bandra, and curving around Bandra-Mahim to enter downtown Mumbai at Worli. And unlike most road projects which leave huge ugly scars on the land, the approach roads and flyovers simply add to the amazing splendour of this bridge.

Check out the link http://www.bandraworlisealink.com/ for some cool details.

From the bridge, to Mannat, the den of the don, the castle of the king, Shah Rukh Khan's palatial white bungalow at Land's End, near Bandstand, Bandra. Huge gates and fences keep the prying eyes away, but we couldn't help just parking opposite the gate, the car stereo blasting out the theme song from Don, hoping against hope to catch a glimpse of this person who has given so much entertaining moments, happiness, cheer and hope to millions and millions of Indians all over the world.. the showman of them all, SRK! I do not care how big an actor he is, I know I would love to be someone who could make a stadium full of fans scream and jump in glee just to get a glimpse of me!

Next stop, Atria Mall in Worli. Right beside the Worli flyover, Atria welcomes you with a huge glass facade, dozens of large glass sections held in place, almost magically, by the spider hooks. Huge rays in the floor created by toughened transluscent glass tiles radiating out welcome you into it's fold. The mall itself is very upscale, with leading international brands jostling for the attention of Mumbai's well-heeled, who gingerly step out onto the patio from their air-conditioned limousines. But worry not, no matter who you are, like the rest of this beautiful city, Atria will welcome you with open arms! And as you can come to expect, they have a pretty nice website at http://www.atriamumbai.com/index.htm.
ps: Atria is situated right opposite Poonam Chambers which saw one of the biggest bomb blasts during the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts

We checked out some of the cool stuff available there - the beautiful chess set in China clay for 1.5 lakhs was just a little too expensive for me to pick up. We visited "Illusions of Art", where beautiful portraits rendered on the inside of concave surfaces team up with light to give you a surreal experience - the eyes of the painting follow you as you walk around. Almost scary!

Then to fun and games in the games area. The creme de la creme is the Orama 4D theatre - crystal clear 3D movies (you got to wear the special 3D specs), the moving seats in tandem with the movie, and, hold your breath - water jets and sprays, gusts of air, smells, water bubbles - the experience is COMPLETE. I have never clapped so much in appreciation before!


By this time, it was time for a good lunch, and then we picked up Madhavi, before going to InOrbit at Malad for more shopping. The previous evening, actually, we had been to HyperCity (http://www.hypercityindia.com/home.asp), a HUGE (how about if I say it's the size of a couple of football fields?) mall catering to almost each and every item you might ever need - the only ones we could pin point after a LOT of thinking that were not available, were medicines and jewellery. From fruits, to fish and meat, from electrical appliances to TVs, Refrigerators, from hammers to fire extinguishers, from soaps and deos to books, from laptops to VCDs and XBoxes, name it, and chances are, you will find it at HyperCity.

At InOrbit (http://www.inorbitmalls.com/b2c/index_malad.html), we shopped at LifeStyle, and then at Shoppers Stop. We had just walked into Shoppers, and realised they have a new section for the Home, called The HomeStop. We went up the short elevator, and then just stood in shock and awe at the scale of the "extension". Almost as big as HyperCity, stuff stacked up as far away as your eyes can see, if you ever needed an example of the power of the booming Indian middle class, this was it. Hundreds of people gleefully walking the aisles, excited and enthusiastic at the choices they now have. We spotted one of India's movie/TV stars in our midst, but out there, we were all one with one common goal - shopping to our heart's content.

Finally, tired and exhausted after a long day, we left for Pune by 12, and thanks to another of modern India's engineering marvels, were home and in bed, 160 kms away, in less than 2 hours.