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n today’s stand-up show,
(a political satire at that)
comedian Rehman Khan
will try and answer burning
questions: “What is
Arveend Kejreewal? Who is
Raaahul Gandhi, How Is
NaMo? Is Uday Chopra an
alien? Is Arnab Goswami
the son of God? and Is sex
politics or is politics sex?”
Attend to learn more.
I
t’s hard to imagine that the
largely uncharacteristic indus-
trial areas of Mazgaon and
Byculla were once tony neigh-
bourhoods; home to the Byculla
Turf Club and lavish parties in
country houses. “So, in a sense,
Mazgaon was what Bandra is
today, the first hip suburb of
Mumbai,” Dhiresh Sharma of
Travel Logs says, interrupting my
train of thought. We smirk in dis-
belief before spending the next
three hours winding our way
through Matharpacady, the first
East Indian village or gaothan of
Mumbai.
Our group of four travellers —
heritage explorer Leora Pezarkar,
Matharpacady local Hansel
Baptista, Sharma and I are to take
a few lefts and rights to the
monotonous hammering of
woodwork inside a dilapidated
mansion.
And suddenly, we are standing
before the defining landmark of
the area — its mango trees that
fruit twice a year. The numbers
are down to just one, and this one
bears fruit in May and October,
standing tall before the yellow
Lion’s Den bungalow. “This is
possibly where someone impor-
tant once lived, going by the two
lion heads at the entrance of the
house,” says Sharma. At the turn
of the 18th century, wealthy mer-
chants including Jamshedji
Jeejeebhoy moved from the Fort
area to set up country homes in
Mazgaon, and some remnants of
the elaborate mansions from 100
years ago still stand.
A township built, nurtured and
populated by the East Indians,
Matharpacady is an enchanting
Portuguese hamlet distinguished
by Moorish architecture, split-lev-
el coloured houses with staircases,
dexterous woodwork and sloping
brick roofs. Two of these belong to
Joseph “Kaka” Baptista’s family,
the late Indian politician and
activist who worked closely with
Lokmanya Tilak. Next, Pezarkar
and Baptista lead us to the decrep-
it Matharpacady Club, a commu-
nity house that was used by locals
to unwind over table tennis, bil-
liards and cards until 10 years ago.
As Baptista shouts out to Uncle
Jerry to check if we can drop into
his home for an aerial view of the
gaothan, you realise it’s a close-
knit community. Kids whiz past
on cycles, and the tinkle of a
piano melts into hard rock.
The walk ends with a tradi-
tional East Indian dinner at
Baptista’s home, jointly stirred up
by him and his mother Marie.
Over bombil fry, prawn pickle,
sorpotel, hand bread, eggplant in
bottle masala and fish curry-rice,
the struggles to keep this gated
community alive are forgotten.
All we are focussing on by then is
who gets that last piece of feath-
ery-light coconut cake.
The Gaothan Saga is a 3-hour walk (Rs
1,750 per head including the traditional
East Indian meal) organised by Travel
Logs. Log on to www.travel-logs.in
— Bhairavi Jhaveri
Watch sitar player T Radhakrishna and vocalist Jyoti Iyer perform
at Y B Chavan, 6.30 pm, for free. Nariman Point.Call: 22028598
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014
WWW.MUMBAIMIRROR.COM/LISTINGS
mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com
MumbaiMirror 42
UNWIND
WHERE: Auditorium, Alliance Française, New Marines Lines WHEN: 6.30 pm ENTRY: Free CALL: 22035993
WHERE: Club Royalty, Waterfield
Road, Bandra
WHEN: 9 pm onwards
ENTRY: Rs 1,500, per couple
CALL: 42296000
TRENDINGTODAY
WHERE: Canvas Laugh Factory,
Palladium, Lower Parel
WHEN: 8.30 pm
ENTRY: Rs 500
CALL: 43485000
MIRROR TRIED A walk through the East Indian village of Matharpacady
When Mazgaon was hip
(From top) A typical, recently refurbished, East Indian home; Dhiresh Sharma
sharing anecdotes on the tour, and the entry to Lion's Den
Take the kids to watch an animated French film
THINGS TO DO TODAY3
D
irector Jean-
Christophe Dessaint’s
Le Jour des Corneilles or
The Day of the Crows is a beau-
tifully (read skilfully executed
using hand-drawn techniques
and not CGI) slow French
film that features a slingshot-
wielding hero, an ogre-esque
villainous father and a host of
fantastical forest characters
and creatures.
Go for Love Sex N’ Politics to LOL
To feature an event on this page, send the details and photographs to Jharna Thakkar on mirrorlisting@gmail.com
Pick between two gigs
For dubstep, EDM
and more
For hip hop
WHERE: Trilogy, Sea Princess, Juhu
WHEN: 9 pm onwards
ENTRY: Rs 2,000
CALL: 26469689
L
et Singaporean DJ and three
times DMC champion,
Andrew Chow, help you bring
out your inner gangster — dance,
stance and all. If you can catch the
gent tonight, see the turntablist on
Friday (May 23) for a EDM and
Global House night at the same
club.
H
it the first-ever VDOT
EMERGE — Mumbai’s latest
music festival — to see a
mix of Indian and UK-based acts
like bass band Engine-Earz
Experiment aside from hip hop
and dubstep group Foreign Beggars.
Supporting the home turf is
Pentagram and DJ Asa.
PICS: DEEPAK TURBHEKAR