Friday, October 31, 2014

Streets of small town India

On my 6 month journey through  #76towns I spent all my time on the streets of these towns. I would wake up grab a snack and a bunch of bananas and head out. Through the day I would walk, stopping to speak to people, spending time on life altering decisions like whether I should  turn right or left.  Streets take on the identity of their surroundings - they can become shopping areas, they can become places of rest. Sometimes the streets are so large in small town India that people are not too sure what to do with the space. One sign of progress of a town is when hoardings begin to appear on streets.

A street in Malvan. This small town is known for its cuisine.

For some reason when I see these trucks I am reminded of elephants

A street in Karwar, on the west coast of India

A street in Thirussur, in front of the basilica

-----------------------------------------------------
Samir Nazareth is the author of the book '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People' The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here  and on GooglePlay here . The hard copy will be out in February 2015.

Friday, October 17, 2014

An Irani Cafe in Mumbai


Abdul knew how to make a glass of sweet & salty fresh lime water. He would bring a glass of sugared fresh lime water to the table and then use the salt shaker. As he shook some salt out of the shaker he would say 'Lime water sweet and salty'.
The interiors of the cafe, Monroe and the Titanic share space.

The catholic menu

Abdul worked in the Irani cafe close to where I am currently staying. He was from Uttar Pradesh and had been working at this cafe for the last 30 years. As soon as we sat in the cafe he came to take our orders. But we were more interested in its décor. 'Take your time' he said in Hindi and left, he came to our table twice before we placed our order. After the décor time was spent going through the menu which seemed to be as catholic as the owners beliefs.

Sai Baba hangs out with two founding fathers.

Everything from an 'Irani Wrestler Omelette' a five egg dish, which Abdul said would have us shaking in our chairs if we ate it, to Maggi Noodles transmogrified into something more edible. It was all there on the menu slipped between the table and its glass top.
Irani Specialities

Every religious place has a unofficial place for hedonism close bye. I am told that the Catholics who visit the Don Bosco church on sunday visit this Irani cafe for breakfast post their spiritual meal. One has spoken about man's inability to live on just love and fresh air but it seems that spiritual food is not the manna which sustains.


--------------------------------------------------
Samir Nazareth is the author of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read more about the book here