India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [97]
If you fancy dipping into the city from a literary point of view, or want to understand its art in more depth, contact Shriti Tyagi of Beyond Bombay ( 98-6776-4409; beyondbombay@gmail.com). She’s put together clever concept-driven tours that, in the case of her lively bookworming tours, evolve out of the plots and characters from popular books set in Mumbai—her Shantaram tour is very popular, but she also brings to life relevant episodes from Suketu Metha’s Maximum City, and will happily research other pertinent books and prepare an exclusive tour for you based on that. Also available are other ingeniously themed tours—thali tripping for foodies, Bollywood tours for film buffs, and rasta shopping excursions for shopaholics. Shriti is the former editor of a prominent Indian art journal, so she’s probably the best person in the city with whom to discover its art; she’ll enlist a textile designer to accompany you on a market tour, and perhaps a journalist to take you through some social history. A typical 3-hour walking tour costs around Rs 3,000, and driving tours run Rs 5,000, with no more than six people on a tour.
Shriti’s landmark-oriented tours are good for getting a sense of the city, but if you like building design, a group of young architects conducts Bombay Heritage Walks ( 022/2369-0992;www.bombayheritagewalks.com), usually on Sundays mid-September to early May, with special monsoon walks June to September. If you have any interest in architecture, they’re quite a gripping way to take in various fascinating parts of the city.
Finally, you could see the city on one of the invigorating full-morning South Mumbai Cycle Tours that happen every Sunday (Sept–June), when the streets are relatively free of traffic. The tour starts at 7am from Eros Theatre opposite Churchgate Station, and culminates with lunch at Café Mondegar in Colaba. You’ll take in Marine Drive’s Art Deco buildings, and check out the diversity of Classical, Gothic, Neo-Gothic, and Indo-Saracenic buildings and landmarks in both well-known and undiscovered parts of south Mumbai; there’s some commentary on the history, too. The tour costs Rs 1,250 per person for a minimum of six participants, and includes the cycle, guide, breakfast, and lunch; check out www.odati.com for more information.
EXPLORING COLABA & FORT
If you’re at all inspired by Gothic Victorian architecture, then a jaunt through Mumbai’s older districts is essential. Most tours kick off at the Gateway of India (see below), but a more authentic place to start, given Mumbai’s origins, is Sassoon Docks (aka the Fisherman’s Market; daily 4am–noon except in the monsoon when weather dictates whether trawlers go out or not), which lies just south of the Gateway, off Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg (near Colaba Bus Station). Most of the delicious seafood dishes in the city’s finest establishments start out here, where Koli women in rainbow-colored saris whip the shells off prawns while others gut and sort fish. Get here early (5am), when the boats return with their first catch, for the vibrant, communal spirit as baskets full of fish are moved around the dock through various stages of processing. It makes for absorbing viewing.
From here, walk back (or catch a cab) to the Gateway, possibly stopping for a refresher at the Taj Mahal Palace’s Sea Lounge, situated directly opposite (see box below). From here it’s a 15-minute walk north to Fort, Mumbai’s cultural center, where you will find the superb Prince of Wales Museum (see later), nearby Jehangir Art Gallery, and the National Gallery of Modern Art, as well as a host of Raj-era Gothic architectural highlights. From the museum you can either head north along M. Gandhi Road to Flora Fountain, hub of downtown Mumbai, or travel southwest down the famous Colaba Causeway.
Mumbai’s Ultimate Afternoon Escape
One of Mumbai’s quintessential