stranded ships : juhu beach

mahim walk (friday morning)

bisecting the bay, approached only in low tide is a shrine made of a pile of rocks where the sea water turned fresh in 2006. in the morning worshippers walk carefully on the bridge of rocks, buy roses from the vendor on the beach and lay them at the feet of the shrine. in the distance rises the bandra worli sea link.

on the beach littered with garbage brought in with the tide and shit were boats that looked like they haven’t been out ot sea for years. they have grown within and outwards becoming multistoried houses with a sea view.

mahim fort lies at the northern tip of the beach. a sewage line pumps out grey water where a few men were washing. the walls of the fort have completely disintegrated towards the sea but you can enter through a gateway further down. it is completely dark when you first enter. you feel your way against the stone walls still left exposed and can see that the whole inside of the fort has been completely occupied with slums. a narrow lane meanders through the inside with multistoried houses on both side. 

suddenly you are out on the other side on the main lane that runs parallel along cadel road towards the beach where the old houses are. this road leads to the dargah and since it was friday policemen sat lounging outside while worshippers were beginning to gather. 

mahim beach / bandra worli sea link

photo post

avon panorama / juhu beach / new studio tables / fourth and third year students / council conference at rang sharda / oberoi mall saturday evening

bordi / usgaon

there was no form of water body in the area that we (rupali, Prasad, chitra, ameya, sonal, shweta and i) did not get wet in. first it was the beach near goolkhush resort at bordi. black sand and muddy water did not stop any of us from slapping mud pies on each others shoulders and hair. shweta started it all. goolkhush is run by an eccentric parsi family who serves fabulous food irritably. the swimming pool in the compound was where we dipped ourselves next. the water was cold until you started swimming and then it rained. lying on your back as the rain hits your upturned face is divine. mutton for lunch, chicken for dinner. A walk through the town at night took us past open wood doors through which we saw deep green and blue interiors with televisions on. On the dark street silhouettes of conversations in verandahs.

omelettes for breakfast before which we had already finished another round of strokes in the pool. on the way back usgaon dam was overflowing. we swam in the lake and sat under the waterfall as the lake overflowed to the stream running through the center of the valley.

even after two days of intensive partying and holidaying the story did not end there as we drove directly to gyans house for a nice warm dinner party. i had to leave early though. my stomach was killing me and mukul was waiting.

day trip to the vasai virar sub region: image post 2 - arnala

arnala with the three caste based streets that all lead down to a dirty beach, lined with huts and ostentatious houses along with net making, cold storages for the community. the boats have all been covered up for the monsoon and the men lie drunk on the porches. towards the south are the resort hotels with blaring marathi music and naked men in the pool leering at the daytime by-the-hour lovers who came there on their motorbikes.