Well done, Baby Bombay!

Two mothers explain how it’s never too early to kindle a sensitised love for Bombay history in even the very youngest

The city chronicler’s child

Thanks for thinking of Baba Zaran for your column. I’m gathering everything as he has his afternoon nap next to me,” wrote Simin Patel, widely known as Miss Bombaywalla. As the founder of the Bombaywalla Historical Works archive, she engages city lovers with chronicles of half-forgotten gems in nondescript gullies dotting the rapidly changing cityscape. 

Little wonder that her 14-month-old, Zaran, is a toddler about town. Growing up matter-of-factly amid memorabilia that form the tools of his mother’s trade—from faded vintage posters and sepia prints to yellowed confectioner menu cards and tattered laundry receipts. He romps. She records. The results are enlightening and endearing. Over to the charming Bombay discoveries of Baba Zaran, in his mother’s voice. 

BABA Zaran’s first public outing was at 11 days in Cafe de la Paix (CDLP) at Opera House, right after his visit to our paediatrician Dr Balsekar’s clinic on Sandhurst Bridge nearby. He was really an infant but I had no apprehensions at all. 

At the Gaiwadi pandal for Ganesh utsav in an outfit by Marlex Tailors; (right) Greeting the priests of Dolours Church in Dhobi Talao on Christmas Day, 2024

It was a rite of passage. The first outing had to be CDLP. Baba had fallen asleep after his two vaccines. On subsequent visits he sat with Gustad (Irani) on the gulla. He has sat on the gullas of three Irani restaurants already. CDLP, Britannia with Afshin (Kohinoor) and Koolar & Co with Amir (Koolar).

He has always been curious and loves calling out to people. I take him on my research expeditions. You can spot us in the photo at Dhobi Talao on Christmas Day, greeting the priests of Sonapur’s Our Lady of Dolours Church. A good part of my book on Irani restaurants is set in Dhobi Talao. I also start chats with Zaran 
on the telephone by saying, “Hullo Bastani!” The telephone is variously my fist, AC remote or TV remote. 

Other outings have included a tour of Matunga with our friend Swati Iyer who grew up in the neighbourhood. Zaran visited her [1945-established] dancing school, Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir, the Shankara Matt temple and the vegetable market. Our tour ended with dinner on a banana leaf at A Rama Nayak. 

The Asiatic Society organised a tour of the Jama Masjid in September. The three of us—Zaran, my husband Sameer and I—had an enriching and lovely time. Baba admired the fish and turtles in the tank and crawled freely in the halls on the upper floors. He was by far the youngest participant.    

For a Girgaum story, I’d covered Marlex Tailors for Bombaywalla. Mukeshbhai the owner sweetly made an outfit for Baba when he heard about his birth through Bipin Gharat, who features in many of Bombaywalla’s Girgaum episodes. Bipin is a stylish physical culturist who is the actor Jeetendra’s No. 1 fan. He featured in our piece on the Famous Physical Culture Home in Girgaum. We were so taken by his clothes that he led us to his tailor, Marlex. When our CDLP group planned our Ganesh pandals in Girgaum route, I made Zaran wear Mukeshbhai’s creation for the first time. See his picture at the Gaiwadi pandal, which was celebrating 100 years.

Last year, Zaran and Mama attended the WSD [Welfare of Stray Dogs] Christmas party at the Sewri kennels. He has always been comfortable around dogs, first with Max, our compound dog that sadly had to be sent away, and subsequently all the doggies he has met along the way. We hope to adopt a dog when we are more settled.

We’ve travelled with Zaran to Darjeeling, Mahabaleshwar, Hyderabad and Varkala in Kerala, and managed between us. With some drama, of course. Sameer is hands-on, doing everything from carrying to changing and bathing Zaran. He enjoys oiling Baba’s hair. 

Almost since Zaran could do anything, he has been drawn to wheels, on cycles, on wheelchairs… Now, after his first birthday, when he got what I call Zaran’s Royal Fleet—several types of tiny cars as gifts—he’ll still toss them down and spin the wheels. We think an early internship at the Engineer Brothers’ Garage at Lamington Road will be a good idea.         

As a new mother and citizen concerned about the quality of future our children will inherit, I worry about issues of access and mobility in the absence of proper pavements. Even for the small stretch from our Tardeo home to the market, Bhaji Gully, a mere 50 feet away, we negotiate abrupt endings, illegal hawkers and the entry to a parking lot. Effectively meaning that his pram has to switch from pavement to road and back, up and down, for the 50-foot stretch. 

We remain excited, though, looking forward now to the elevated walkways and new gardens opening in Malabar Hill and hope they become regular haunts.

‘He was ready to trot to every nook and corner’ 

Toral Shah is the founder-proprietor of Cutistic Gifts, a bespoke label that caters to corporate requirements, wedding celebrations and lifestyle needs. Though helming a business enterprise, she is happiest when assigned orders which harness her love for city history. As it happened when she was approached by the Rotary Club of Mumbai South to come up with unique promotional ideas for a collaborative exercise with the Asiatic Library—a heritage map restoration and conservation project where the brief was to create merchandise that would be meaningful and interesting for children as well as adults. 

Parth Shah (in red) feeding the ducks at Banganga. Pics Courtesy/Toral Shah

She says, “We used some of the rarest ancient maps of Bombay to make jigsaw puzzles, coasters, diaries, bottles, mugs, tote bags, and similar takeaways for cartography enthusiasts. Our work garnered immense appreciation from the organisers and visitors to the exhibition alike. Challenges like these define my Ikigai and I’m encouraged to share the satisfaction with my child.” 

Here is an account of the adventures of Shah’s toddler, in her words. 

At the city dockyard with mother Toral (on right) and friends

Both born and brought up in Bombay, my husband Jesal and I wholeheartedly love the city. While air pollution, exhausting traffic, bumpy roads and low hygiene levels were obvious concerns as new parents, we decided to make bolder choices for Parth not to miss out on the city’s energy, cosmopolitanism and vibrancy, despite the frustrating drawbacks. 

We began taking Parth everywhere from as early as two months—because we sincerely believe that this city will be his home until he may move cities or countries for study and work. The faster he gets used to the Bombay vibe the better, is our reasoning. 

Exploring on the rocks at Marine Drive

Feeding pigeons at Chowpatty beach, watching the sun rise at Priyadarshini Park, playing at the Shoe Garden (Kamala Nehru Park) and watching the boats near the Gateway of India were among our earliest forays with Parth. 

It’s amazing how naturally and effortlessly he imbibed the best from each trip and thoroughly enjoyed every small experience. Just a few months into this world and it seemed that he was ready to trot to every nook and corner of it, fresh and porous to absorb new people and places, different cultures and mindsets. Visits to other treasures like the 1904-built Babu Amichand Panalal Jain temple, the Rajabai Tower, Mani Bhavan, the Shivaji Park neighbourhood and Bandra villages were further engrossing.

Japalouppe farm and equestrian centre, on the outskirts of the city, is a great place for kids to pet animals and bond with them. We drove Parth there when he was two years old. It was a wonderful sight to watch him play with rabbits in his lap and feed birds perched on his shoulders.

While feeding the ducks at Banganga lake, he was as fascinated to watch children diving in and bathing, and families floating diyas on leaf plates, as he was to learn about the significance of the lake with respect to the Ramayana.

At the Nehru Planetarium, Parth loved the weighing machine that tells your weight on the moon, which is roughly 1/6th of ours on Earth. That was a phase when he was observing me work hard to lose some kilos. He told me that the easiest way to lose weight would be to fly to the moon!

Parth’s hunger to seek new places makes us realise that we have made a beautiful and correct decision. So, we dug into more research and planned frequent such outings, ticking several things off our bucket list before he turned five. 

Every place presents its own set of flaws. Having introduced our child to the brighter side of Bombay, we feel, has done wonders to mould his personality and overall outlook. He is a natural Mumbaikar: street-smart, ambitious and yet a dreamer who is easy-going too. Basically, everything that Mumbai is.

Author-publisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay. You can reach her at meher.marfatia@mid-day.com/www.meher marfatia.com

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