On Sunday nights Chowpatty Beach is the place to be. Even the last few weeks when the weather has been just sweltering, Chowpatty has been swarming with people on Sunday evening. As the sun starts to set over Malabar hill, families flock to the beach and settle in the sand, play with their children, wade in the water, eat snacks and ice cream, and enjoy the atmosphere of the crowd. Its almost like a mini festival every Sunday in celebration of the sunset and a day of rest. There are food vendors and man-powered rides under twinkling lights at one end of the beach. Balloon and piwheel sellers, chai boys, ice cream men and people selling other goodies like roasted nuts and corn roam through the crowds. Grown women play tag with their families, with saris trailing and bangles jangling. Some children venture out to wade in the ridiculously polluted, though cool, water of the bay. And everyone is just there, to be out and to be together. Its a very vibrant but comfortable place to spend a summer evening. As an added bonus, it is just a twnety minute walk from our flat. Here are a few photos from a week or so ago when John and I spent and evening out at Chowpatty:
These mats outside the food stalls are actually serviced by wait staff. They're beach restaurants. See the menu?
The man swinging from the top of this ride is powering it with nothing but his own weight and the help of gravity. There are about three guys to the wheel and they take turns spinning it.
The food and drink is a big attraction to Chowpatty Beach. You can smaple the delicacies of Mumbai street food:
If you're hot you can cool down with a technicolored ice slush:
But I prefer fresh mango juice from Bachelor's, the famous juice stall across the street:
1 comment:
Anne, please explain that ferris wheel thing in greater detail. That picture is blowing my mind.
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