A very long break from posting on the blog - a very busy July with my work taking precedence, then the children's school year finishing and the various activities associated, friends functions and then a long break to Bombay......just back, feeling refreshed and with enough of Elco's pani puri tasted to keep me going for another year!
So much has changed and so much hasn't. The autos still drive manically and have rigged meters, the above mentioned Elco's Pani Puri still tastes gorgeous at Rs60, Marks and Spencer still has inflated prices compared to what we pay here, prices of onions and tomatoes are still increasing et al.
The Range Rovers seemed to have increased and we weren't even in South Bombay, seen loads, our friends/family/fish lady/bhajiwala all upset about the condition of the roads, the prices of essentials etc.
Yes, I have brought back my beloved banana wafers, lots of pickle and masalas and, this time, lots of prawn balchao and bombay duck! Not sure if its new, but cured/dried/gutted fish is now allowed to be brought into the UK - from the customs website :) lovely Friday with sorak and prawn balchao.
Something that stood out from our visit was my good friend from Sophia who I met after 20 years definitively telling us 'not to come back to India, its not nice here' :( We were talking about options and I was mentioning it was good to see my batchmates highly placed in Indian television and doing well for themselves, when she was very clear in her feelings). :(
These are some pictures, more to follow:
1) Rakhis on a roadside stall
2) A cow at Khar station ticket purchase area - on my yearly train journey to Churchgate.
So much has changed and so much hasn't. The autos still drive manically and have rigged meters, the above mentioned Elco's Pani Puri still tastes gorgeous at Rs60, Marks and Spencer still has inflated prices compared to what we pay here, prices of onions and tomatoes are still increasing et al.
The Range Rovers seemed to have increased and we weren't even in South Bombay, seen loads, our friends/family/fish lady/bhajiwala all upset about the condition of the roads, the prices of essentials etc.
Yes, I have brought back my beloved banana wafers, lots of pickle and masalas and, this time, lots of prawn balchao and bombay duck! Not sure if its new, but cured/dried/gutted fish is now allowed to be brought into the UK - from the customs website :) lovely Friday with sorak and prawn balchao.
Something that stood out from our visit was my good friend from Sophia who I met after 20 years definitively telling us 'not to come back to India, its not nice here' :( We were talking about options and I was mentioning it was good to see my batchmates highly placed in Indian television and doing well for themselves, when she was very clear in her feelings). :(
These are some pictures, more to follow:
1) Rakhis on a roadside stall
2) A cow at Khar station ticket purchase area - on my yearly train journey to Churchgate.
