Brownian Movements

  Far from Home, Relics of a Ship Long Gone: The Lifeboats of Havrim A few weeks ago, I went on a birding trip with friends to Mamachi Wadi , a beach in Virar about 50 km north of Mumbai. This quiet stretch of coast lies just north of the more touristy Arnala Beach , which faces the Isle of Arnala —home to an old Portuguese fort .  Our birding spot included mangroves , small creeks, and a pond dotted with lovely water lilies . Scattered around were small houses and flower farms that supply blooms to the Mumbai markets.  Small houses with gardens that grow flowers     Water lilies in bloom  A narrow road led about a kilometer further down to the beach, a haven for hundreds of waterbirds that we had come to watch and photograph. On the way, a small creek caught my attention. Several boats were pulled up along its clay banks. At first, I only glanced at them, distracted by a bird that had just flown across the water. But something about those boats stayed...

  An Invocation to Avan Yazad — Benevolent Angelic Divinity (Yazata) of All Waters Parsee Gate, Marine Drive The Parsee Gate on Marine Drive stands as a quiet yet powerful symbol of Mumbai’s Zoroastrian heritage . The structure consists of two obelisks, each about five metres high, carved from yellow Malad stone and adorned with Zoroastrian motifs. ( Malad stone , a yellow trachyte quarried from the Mumbai suburb of Malad, was widely used in the construction of many Neo-Gothic buildings across the city.) Between the two pillars are steps leading down to the beach — once popularly known as Chhota Chowpatty , to distinguish it from the larger Girgaon Chowpatty at the northern end of Marine Drive.     The Gate’s current location is about 70 metres north of its original site, where it was first erected in 1915–16. It was relocated in April 2021 and restored in October 2024, following construction work on the coastal road at Marine Drive. The monument is attribu...

  POOR LOST SOUL WAITING FOR A BRIDE The lone termite alate destined to die with his wings on. A collection of shed wings. During a recent visit to Matheran, a small hill station near Mumbai I stumbled upon the remnants of termite swarms with innumerable shed wings found in our room, in other adjacent rooms, on the veranda and the steps leading to the veranda of the property. There was a single individual winged termite (Alate) that was seen with intact wings. We had booked a room in the MTDC property that is located just adjacent to Dasturi Naka where the ‘share a taxi’ from Neral, the nearest railhead to Matheran drops its passengers, as motor vehicles are not permitted entry into this hill station. (Till recently the only forms of transport within the town   aside of walking was the narrow gauge Neral-Matheran railway, or ponies or hand drawn rickshaws. Now a days E autos have been permitted to ferry passengers from Dasturi Naka to the Matheran railway station in the ...

  A STEEL BENCH, A SAMOSA, A REVELATION AND A PEEP INTO ENGLISH ENGINEERING HISTORY   Living in Churchgate, close to the station, I have always relied on the suburban railway to travel either for work or leisure for the last three decades. It is astonishing how one may in one’s daily perambulations pass the same place hundreds of times without noticing some striking objects that form part of the milieu of that place. It happened with me recently. It was early evening and I had set out for my evening walk when a sudden desire to eat a samosa made me trace a path to the station where I made my way to the Seema Pandey stall which serves nice samosas throughout the day. This stall is located at the beginning of platform One at Churchgate station. I have been buying samosas from them for quite some time, either taking them home to have with tea or eating it standing on the platform close to the stall or carry it with me to eat on the train. On this occasion the shiny steel ...