eid mubarak!

you may remember me mentioning my sojourn to mohammed ali road a while back. well, with ramzan coming to a close we decided it was time to venture out there again. my roommate (i should probably start calling her by her name - which is kristen) hadn't been there at all but was eager for a crazy, totally indian experience.

people running to and fro under the shadow of the masjid

if it was crazy we wanted, we got it. our first adventure involved getting onto the central railway line for the first time.. which proved harder than expected in the labyrinth of stairs and covered walkways that is bandra station (not even the craziest station.. by a longshot). we ended up on the wrong train but ended up at the right stop (if that makes sense..) which was, appropriately, 'masjid'.

i was quite proud of us for navigating ourselves successfully to mohammed ali road. we only asked for directions a few times. i had assumed we could follow the noise and lights but, this being eid eve, there were noise and lights everywhere. as well as trucks, buses, motorcycles, carts, bikes and street vendors. but what else is new. at one point kristen was wedged between a massive truck and a motorcycle; she was convinced she wasn't going to make it out without losing a few toes.

a local proprietor enticing potential clients

once we made it to mohammed ali road, we descended into the madness. if i had thought it was crowded before, well, i was right. but it was even more crowded this time around. families with little ones dolled up in their finest sparkly attire, young guys roving in packs, and of course the older men beckoning each and every passing potential customer. 'madam, madam, come sit.'

we bounced around to different places - standing, sitting, sampling. eating this and that. i won't bore you with the details of what we ate (as it was largely a reprise of my earlier trip, supplemented by a few different varieties of meat and starches) but suffice it to say that we were quite stuffed with all kinds of greasy delicious food.

at one point we turned down a side street, only to find ourselves face to face with skinned goats and various animal innards. we gauged that we weren't on the tourist street anymore and quickly turned back.

getting back was almost as exciting. by sheer dumb luck we managed to snag a cab among the throngs of people. the first solid 15 minutes of our cab ride we spent at about 5 miles an hour, happily watching the madness pass us by from the comfort of our seats. it seemed to be a never-ending parade of white spotlights, people rushing here and there, and the dangling lights of ramadan. as we made our way back to the west and passed high-end brunch places and fancy gyms, we wondered 'can this really be the same city..?'

bombay belly

i should start by saying that while i appreciated mumbai right away, for the first couple days i didn't experience much of it, really. the first few days were filled with the monotony of registering with the police, buying cell phones, and endlessly looking for apartments (in mumbai, easier said than done. much easier).

so i was particularly excited at the prospect of spending some time with arlene, a friend of a friend, who was born and raised in the city. i met her in a crowded bar but even so she was hard to miss - and not just because she's probably the only chinese girl in the room - she has a warm, friendly personality that's just infectious. so naturally she graciously invited me out with some of her friends afterward. and, luckily for me, it just to happened to be the night they had chosen to make their annual trek to mohammed ali road for ramadan (or ramzam) fare.

the madness at mohammed ali road

if you haven't heard of mohammed ali road (as i hadn't), it's referred to - at least during ramadan - as the street that never sleeps. as you approach the street by taxi you realize just how true this is. the streets are brighter than midday - with the blindingly white kurtas lit with giant fluorescent lights. in front of these people in white kurtas and taqiyahs bustle about looking through piles of shoes or rushing on to enjoy the feast that awaits. as you approach the looming green and white mosque, you can see the crowds thicken around the glow of dangling lights. the smoke and smells of delicious food frying waft up through the air and beckon the eaters forward.

brain food..

we began with a small meal in a rather dingy walkup, adorned with plastic tables and dangling chickens outside. walking up the stairs was treacherous not only because of their steepness but because of the layer of grease on the floor unlike any i have ever seen (and i worked at a cheap restaurant..) there we ordered an assortment of goodies.. tender chicken reshmi with chutney, mutton kebab (in this case just chunks of meat), and an eggy bread i didn't catch the name of. this we capped off with bheja masala (goat brains! very soft) which we washed down with some limca and thums up sodas.

tasty firni

from there it was back outside onto the craziness of the street. from here we skipped the salty snacks and moved straight to sweets. we had sandhal, a light puffy treat with a thin layer of malai (coconut) sort of paste on top. then it was on to the real sweet stuff.. we had some firni, a tasty thick rice pudding-like dish served in charming clay pots.

frying malpuwa

then it was on to malpuwa - which we first saw frying in giant vats of oil and surely later smothered with ghee and who knows what else. everyone jumps in and grabs a piece - deliciously greasy. all this just about filled us up, and by 2am it was about time to go - although each girl had to take a few of this or that home, as per moms' requests.

serving up late night snacks

so i think the lessons here are: if locals offer to take you to food, GO (obviously), muslims get really creative with food at ramadan (also obvious - when you sit and think about food all day you must get pretty good at it), and of course it's never too late for snacks!