The Delhi Walla in Bombay.

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

The Delhi Walla spent the final week of 2012 in Bombay.

I had Bombay Masala sandwich and marzipan carrot cake at Leopold Café, hot chocolate at Starbucks, pomfret tikka at Mahesh Lunch Home, and masala tea at Kala Ghoda cafe.

One evening crossing Flora Fountain, I pretended to look as absorbed as any Bombayite on his way to catch the evening local from Churchgate (but I could sense the scam was uncovered and the bumpkin from the interiors revealed).

Earlier that day at the Search Word bookstore in Causeway, Colaba, I purchased the poetry collections of Fernando Pessoa and Paul Celan.

In Juhu, I walked on Chowpatty beach, browsed at the bookstore in Prithvi Theatre, and exchanged greetings with a homeless woman who lives with two dogs and a cat.

On Friday evening I attended the end of Shabbath prayers at the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue in Kala Ghoda.

At Bandstand in Bandra, I saw actor Salman Khan’s apartment. Shah Rukh Khan’s mansion was shiny. The sea was bare except for a solitary boat. A couple sat alone in a park.

One evening I passed in front of Antilia, the world’s most expensive home, and dreamed of making it big in Bombay.

On the year’s last evening, I went to Marine Drive. Thousands of people sat facing the sea. A few hours later the old year ended.

This year see you in Delhi.

The Bombay world

1a (Photo by Jonas Moses-Lustiger)

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