Since I came to Bombay 8 months ago, I always got an excited rush when I saw graffiti around town. I stumbled upon the coolest lane I’ve seen so far, Nagrana Lane, in Bandra West and followed the winding lane down till there was no more. I took a ton of photos of the graffiti displayed down the lane, here’s one which I thought was trippy.
Commonly eaten after meals, paan is a preparation of betel leaf and areca nut with cured tobacco. Pictured here is a paan-wallah (one who makes paan) readying the leaf for ingestion. One chews on the leaf for some time, taking whatever juices they can from it and eventually spitting out the rest. Although it’s part of Indian culture and generally used to freshen breath, spitting paan has caused the spread of oral cancer, disease and filth across the country. It also stains teeth and is now seen as more of a dirty habit.
I went to a local Archies the other day to purchase a ‘thank you’ card. I was immediately greeted by over-sized teddy bears and balloon hearts, typical V-day leftovers. I noticed that the store had cards for only two types of people: lovers and students!
National exams are right around the corner here in India and I think its wonderful that cards like these exist. Too often students are academically pressurized to extreme degrees. Here, we have a healthy amount of encouragement to study and do well on exams.
Well done, India!
Sabudana (pearl sago) mixed with curry leaves, chopped red onion and coriander, crushed peanuts and mustard seeds.
The Gait 