Under the Colourful Umbrella : Marine Drive, Mumbai

Public Promenade, Marine Drive, Mumbai

Under the colouful Umbrella, 

Queens Necklace, Marine Drive

She sat under a colourful umbrella that brightened up the gloomy day on Marine Drive. Perhaps in anticipation of abrupt showers or to shunt out the chaotic city behind her,  or, it could be something more…

I sat a few feet away along the edge, listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the promenade along with the others – lovers, tourists, families, policemen, the have’s and the have-nots. A sense of calmness fills us all and even after 15 years since I had last been here, it still remains the city’s best public space.

The sound of the ocean relieves you from the in-your-face realities - large crowds, disparity and poverty, all coexisting in this space crammed metropolis. Many proposals were made in the past to help improve the lives of hawkers, reconfigure social housing and rehouse slum dwellers. Those plans have been washed away and new subtle signs of ‘Don’t Encourage Hawkers’ hang in the air. On the other hand, one can identify with the bold moves, where plot after plot of public land gives way to yet another unimaginative high-rise, price per square-foot package. This trajectory, gives a glimpse of the city’s drive to remain the financial capital of a nation. In an oceanic perspective, it doesn't matter if few more towers emerged as these boxed urbanism add little or no iconic value to one of the densest cities on earth. And, in- between all this, one finds the goodness in the city’s constant effort to keep this prime promenade neat and tidy. With its well-proportioned tree lines and availability for use round the clock.  It feels like a Sacred space which the city is dearly holding onto, where one can be at peace. 

The natural and the Un-Natural, Mumbai

The Marine drive was conceived in 1915, a brainchild of Sir Phiroze Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, who was no urban planner or politician, but a businessman. One wonders how he managed to get it through the political system, whilst the best of cities other rejuvenation plans remain unrealised. There is a fundamental need for more spaces such as this and less of vertically-stacked square footage, however the poor and the homeless are hoping for the opposite – roof over their heads, a place to sleep at night.

Within five minutes of an abrupt shower, so typical of Mumbai where good things come in small packages, the granite edge is dry again and people gather back to the promenade. With its slick drain details and somewhat questionable construction tidiness of its curved edges, suggests efforts are being made for upgrades in segments time and again. The gush of a strong land and sea breeze provides the much-needed fresh air to drive away the smell of fish cultivation in the nearby harbor. How can one ever forget the 5 am clean up trucks operating the Fort area - they have the power to wake up the city gasping for oxygen.

 
                    Gateway for India (left), Mutton Chap Masala, Olympyia(right)

However, the very same harbor provides for the food joints such as Mahesh Lunch Home, Bade Miya and Olympia, offering delightful local delicacies. These look exactly the same as before – run with the typical half-polite-but-professional ‘Mumbaikar’ attitude. Should these have changed? Why should they? They are set apart from the luxurious five-star Taj Palace around the corner and have equally participated in resurrecting Mumbai back to life after the infamous shootings of 2008. Could they have spruced up the place with new seats and tables? Perhaps, yes. Should they have changed the menu? Absolutely not! Serving to welcome all levels of society, they hold on to their invention without giving in to corporate franchises. They bring to us the true essence of Mumbai - honest,  working tirelessly day and night to serve its people with quality and reasonable pricing.

Mumbai beats …. with a different pulse. After all these years, the waves of technology haven’t stolen the charm of its people. They refuse to change their way of living, perhaps for their own good. Numerous urban legends can be heard in the busy local trains or the watering holes of Gokul, Leopolds & Mondegar. On a lucky day, if you bumped into a Mumbaikar with rare time in hand, they would speak proudly of the people moving into the city, whom they embrace as their own without prejudice. Tales of how these people slept on the railway platforms and with grit, hard work and determination, rose to become great stars in its thriving film, financial and other industries. Thus, the dream to come here from far-off villages with the hope to find success, remains very real in the heart of every person who walk this city.

Under this Colourful Umbrella of Hope, they soon realise that the path to such success in contemporary society involves professional hustling, cutthroat competition and ruthless efficiency – moving them further away from the calm of humanity. 

So, perhaps she's here on Marine drive looking far into the distant ocean in contemplation of another land. Where quintessential needs are met more easily and where one can find more time to love and be loved as humans again….

                                                    Lovers at Bay, Marine Drive

Subharthi Guha

27 Aug 2023

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