The cat lady of Cumballa Hill

Following an ancient wisdom the rich in Mumbai have settled on its hills of these there are three Malabar Cumballa and Pali the rule of thumb being that the seat of governance the cityrsquos old money and its film aristocracy more or less divide themselves in that order amongst these three hillocks from where they observe the city with patrician easeGayatri Lagade at Carmichael Road with one of her beloved cats PicBipin KokateAnd it is Cumballa Hill with its roads Carmichael and Altamount these names have long been changed to more patriotic nomenclature but not to much avail where you would probably find the highest concentration of the cityrsquos billionairesThis is where Mukesh Ambani Indiarsquos richest man has built his legendary two billion dollar home the fabulous AntiliaNot even a stonersquos throw away further down the same road is where Kumaramanglam Birla eight on the Forbersquos rich list livesAnd scattered around these two pivots of stratospheric wealth in concentric circles lie the homes of the cityrsquos top bankers judges diplomats and other aristocracyTo give you an idea of the kind of wealth contained on this relatively unprepossessing narrow ribbon at one of the cityrsquos highest point you must believe me when I tell you that only a month ago a young boy not even 20 bought himself a Lamborghini as a coming of age giftThe story Irsquom going to tell you is set on these roads Except it is about another kind of wealthBut let me beginAbout six months ago returning from a dinner at a friendrsquos home on a side lane of Carmichael Road I had to walk a short distance up the street to where my car had been parkedBecause it was deserted and dimly lit and I was alone at that late hour I quickened my step to get to the car as soon as I couldItrsquos a safe enough neighbourhood of course flanked by a ministerial bungalow and the official residences of not only the Governor of Indiarsquos Reserve Bank but also the cityrsquos Municipal Commisioner but I was happy when I reached my car and was about to open the door when suddenly I experienced a flurry of movement and a scrimmage of panicked sounds from under my vehicleMy knees gave way my heart leapt and I was about to scream when I saw herA shadowy figure in the dark recesses behind my car bent over a newspaperA somewhat ragged middleaged lady feeding catsIrsquod come up on her silently and obviously surprised her in the actApproximately 20 cats had been lapping up the morsels of fish and rice laid out on the newspaper behind my carldquoWhat the rdquo I said She staggered to straighten up Slight Dark Bespectacled A little worn from wearI apologised for startling her I enquired what she was doingldquoI feed these cats every dayrdquo she said to meEvery dayldquoYesrdquo she said ldquoI work as a maid nearby And before going home I feed these catsrdquoWherersquos home I askedldquoVery far awayrdquo she saidHow long does it take you to come here I askedldquoMore than four hours back and forthrdquoYou come every dayldquoYesrdquo she said ldquoTheyrsquod go hungry if I didnrsquotrdquoIt occurred to me that she might be crazyIt occurred to me that I was in the presence of something quite extraordinaryI could have asked her for more details I should have stayed longer and chattedBut it was late I was alone My key was in the ignition I turned it and drove homeAnd so as we often do I closed the door on one more insight in to the human heart and one more secret of a neighbourhood already bristling with many I went to bedBut not before Googling Ambernath that night Thatrsquos where she said she came fromlsquoAmbernath is a city in Maharashtra India part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region It has become one of the fastest growing suburbs on the MumbaiPune route The name Ambernath literally means Lord of the skyhelliprsquoIt didnrsquot say how far it was from Cumballa HillOn the map it didnrsquot even look like it was in MumbaiAh well I said Now Irsquoll never know the storyCut to this weekendSame friend Same road Same hill Except now itrsquos 830 pm and Irsquom arriving for dinner I get out of my car And there she is the cat lady I recognise her at once Shersquos hurrying towards the same spotIn her hand therersquos a newspaper bursting with fragrant fish curry and riceHey itrsquos you I sayShe smilesBack again feeding the catsldquoYesrdquo she smilesWhatrsquos your name I askldquoGayatri Lagaderdquo she saysAny reason why these cats in particular I askldquoI used to work as a maid in one of these buildingsrdquo she says pointing upwards ldquoGot attached to these cats Used to feed them daily Saw no reason to stop after I shifted jobsrdquoYou come every dayldquoYes Every dayrdquoYou feed the cats from your own incomeldquoYesrdquo she saysWhat do you give themldquoFish chicken rice and chappattis I prepare it at home in the morning and bring it when I come to work at Peddar Road each dayrdquoFrom your own incomeYes she says From my own incomeHow much does it come to monthlyldquoI donrsquot countrdquo she says ldquoWhatever it takesrdquoShe tells me how much she earns and calculating how much she pays for the cat food and her rent R1000 I realise she gets a pittance to live on leave alone saveIn the lift while going up I try and test her story I ask the liftman if he knows the cat ladyYes he saysHow long has she been coming here to feed the cats I askldquoAs long as I can rememberrdquo he says ldquoShe used to work in this building lost that job moved elsewhere but continues to come every evening with foodrdquoAfter the dinner where Irsquom asked why Irsquom so unusually quiet I ask the night watchman on my way out of the building if the cat lady is aroundldquoShersquos leftrdquo he saysFed the catsldquoYes fed all the catsrdquoComes every dayldquoYes every day Used to work in this building as a maid began feeding a three legged dog then other strays joined and she got attached to the cats lost the job but still comes back to feed them Lives alone in a rented hovel very far awayrdquoHe shrugs I donrsquot know what to say so I shrug tooItrsquos a lonely walk again to where my carrsquos been parked When I reach it I peer under its chassis Sure enough the heady aroma and left over morsels are the evidence of a recently consumed delicious meal A veritable cat feast served agrave la carte on Mumbairsquos most expensive piece of real estate right under the stars A feast far richer incalculably more sumptuous and infinitely more lavish I am certain than ever enjoyed by any of the streetrsquos famous residents who regularly dine at Michelin three starred restaurants around the worldBecause for a meal like this even a sky full of a million stars is not enough