A UK-based photographer-writer launches a guidebook to the city to help newcomers and expats make the most of it without falling prey to staid travel books and pesky guides
Countless tomes have been written about Mumbai. Yet, none are as useful in their entirety as guidebooks, which help travellers make sense of a city and help them - for however short a while - call it home.
Matthew Smith
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So, when we heard that UK-based Wundor editions, founded by writer-photographer Matthew Smith, is launching a guidebook to Mumbai next weekend, we were keen to get our hands on a copy to gauge the lens through which a non-Mumbaikar sees the city.
explaining the reason behind putting it together, Smith says, "There are so many people in the UK with ties to India, so it only made sense to do this." He gathered a tiny army of writers and photographers and started working on the guidebook a little over a year ago.
Until then, he had never been to Mumbai. "When I finally came here, it was overwhelming. There was so much going on. But I had a lot of help from locals," he shares.
Although he spent under 20 days here, Smith says he fell in love with spots like Marine Drive ("perfect if you want to sit and people-watch") and Bandra. He adds, "Because the city is so full of energy, I, as a photographer, never got bored."
Launches On: November 4, 7 pm to 10 pm
At: Nicobar, 34, Guru Nanak Road, Bandra West. ToâÂu00c2u0080Âu00c2u0088RSVP
Log on to: goo.gl/sNijvu
See: Magen David Synagogue
While the Keneseth eliyahoo Synagogue in Kala Ghoda has been a sight for many a sore eyes, few have ventured into Byculla to marvel at Magen David Synagogue, which has been around since the early 1860s.
Pics Courtesy/Bombay – exploring the Jewish urban heritage by Shaul Sapir
The writer elaborates: "With a name that reads 'Shield of David' in Hebrew, the synagogue was constructed by David Sassoon, the treasurer of Baghdad (and also a man known for his philanthropy and his business acumen in Victorian Mumbai), for Baghdadi Jews who were seeking asylum in India from the oppression of the governor at the time, Daud Pasha. Sassoon worked with local architects, who provided european, revival-era architecture, then-popular in British India, rather than being inspired by local or Middle eastern styles." The synagogue hosts services regularly, and is open to the public for a few hours every week.
At:âÂu00c2u0080Âu00c2u0088340, Sir JJ Road, Byculla
For timings, Call: 23006675
Explore:âÂu00c2u0080Âu00c2u0088Matunga's streets
Smith shares that one of his favourite neighbourhoods to explore was Matunga. In the book, he writes: "Wandering through Matunga on a bright afternoon can be a curious, dreamlike experience... Fruit and flower sellers offer pastel-coloured wares, matched by the rainbow of spines the booksellers oversee as they watch the day go by.
Customers buy flowers in Matunga
In the hushed ellipses of the backstreets, watch the endless canopies of green play with the sun's rays, sending shadows and spicules of light drifting over the road and the other bystanders who come out to watch you pass: cats, dogs and the ubiquitous crows."
Of course, no mention of Matunga can be considered complete without waxing lyrical about the food on offer. Smith talks about the three most popular South Indian restaurants - Ram Ashray, Arya Bhavan and Cafe Madras - then naturally segues into the topic of religion.
"Matunga was established when Mathangarishi performed the Mahayagnas on the banks of the river Pumpa and was awarded Maharishi status... Many such deities gaze down from Asthika Samaj, a place of worship established in 1923 when a portrait of Lord Sree Ramachandra was hung in the main hall," he writes in the book.
Shop: Furniture in Dhobi Talao
"On peering into the sleek, polished-wood-framed store front of Various at Dhobi Talao, you'd imagine you were looking into an artist's studio, or a young, urban-millennial's living room."
Pic courtesy/Ambarin Afsar
This is how the book describes this boutique store that stocks furniture and decor. The writer talks about how the space is devoid of the ostentatious displays that we tend to associate with designer stores, adding, "The furniture is modern, yet with a touch of those contours so unique to eastern architecture.
The smaller design objects, too, are what one might call modern, but they are still wholly Indian... By night, the space invites artists and creators to come together, to share their work and their cultural ideas."
At:âÂu00c2u0080Âu00c2u00881, Meghji Bhavan, Barrack Road, Dhobi Talao, New Marine Lines
Call: 22052743
Eat: Friends Union Joshi Club
There are some eateries in the city - Trishna, Cafe Mondegar and Leopold being a few - that have attained cult status in the time they've been around. Friends Union Joshi Club, although not as popular with tourists, is a hit with the working crowd in the area. The guidebook describes this bhojanalaya (lunch home) as "the working man's filling, though no-frills, buffet."
Info/Wundor Editions
It goes on to add: "Arranged like an old-school canteen, with seating on long tables and fans hanging from high ceilings, the Club is one of the city's best lunch homes, filling up with crowds of businessmen from the area during lunchtime on weekdays. Founded more than a hundred years ago, it was meant for the Gujarati men who left their villages to seek their fortune in Mumbai and missed home-cooked food."
At:âÂu00c2u0080Âu00c2u0088381-A, Narottam Wadi, first floor, Kalbadevi Road
Call: 22058089
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