A Christmas in Goa, 2007

I grew up in Goa, where I spent about 17 years of my early age in this tiny state. My father, a Veternerian by profession had been posted in a central government job since 1972. Though now I am based out of Mumbai, I still spend about almost every long weekend at Goa. This time I was joining my parents at Goa for Christmas.

We took the early morning flight to Goa. Train tickets (Konkan Kanya and Jan Shabtabi are the best way to get to Goa from Mumbai) are impossible to obtain even as early as 60 days before any long weekend.

Goa was surprisingly hot for December. The day after we landed we went to Arambol (or Harmal as it is also known by), one of Goa's less frequented beaches and one of my favorites. Situated in the North at about an hour's drive from Panjim, it is unique in the sense that it has a sweet water lake located just 10 yards away from the shoreline. Arambol which was once famous for rave parties and also known for drug peddling is frequented by foreign tourists mostly.

Lunch at Brittos was next and this place serves great Goan and continental food. Situated on Baga beach, this place is always crowded. Baga was choc-a-bloc with tourists - mostly Indian - and there was not a single square feet of free space anywhere in sight. Baga and Calangute are also particularly famous for Jetskiing and Parasailing.

We left for Vagator shortly after lunch. This is one of Goa's most pitureseque beach and one of Dil Chahta Hai's most famous scene was shot atop a fort along the beachline. As far a swimming experience goes, Vagator is a rough experience and not as calm as Arambol or Palolem.

Goa's best sunset can arguably be viewed from Aguada Fort. The view of Panjim city, Donapaula and Vasco is absolutely breathtaking. Anjuna beach also gives one a beautiful and almost 180 degree view of the sea.

The following day on Christmas eve, we left to see some of Old Goa's churches. Though the Basilica of Bom Jesus - this is where the body of St. Francis Xavier has been laid to rest - and Se Cathedral are frequently visited, my personal favorite is the relatively less known St. Cajetan Church, a stone's throw from the St. Cathedral Church. Modelled after the Vatican Church; the sun rays coming in through the top make it a wonderful experience.

We left for Panjim city for lunch and had chinese food at Goenchin. We picked up some pastries from La Pastelaria, also one of Goa's finest and probably the best bakery I have known in India. Shopping at Panjim is not a great experience. Most of it is located along one road in the city. Calangute and the flea market that assembles at Anjuna every Wednesday are much better shopping experiences.

Goa is also famous for X'Mas balls - dress code is strictly formal - that kick off after the midnight mass on Christmas eve. Typically this time the entire state goes crazy. However we couldn't attend one and left for Mumbai the day after having spent yet another rejuvenating holiday at home.

A Diwali in Mumbai - 2007

A Diwali in Mumbai away from home may not be one's idea of a ideal Diwali, but if one has spent a few Diwalis at Mumbai, then perhaps he/she could make to the best of it.

A Diwali celebration. much like any other Indian festival is best enjoyed in a group. I always have friends over for the entire day. A Rangoli is drawn, even if not elaborate, at least made with a lot of colors. Lots of good food is prepared at home (this year's menu saw Puris, Choley, Paneer, Pulao, plenty of sweets and as always Kheer).

Post lunch we had plenty of conversation, caught an afternoon movie, and later in the evening lit diyas all over the place. At around 8 pm, we left to see the fireworks spectacle along Marine drive in South Mumbai.

Fireworks along Marine Drive has become the most prominent trademark of a Mumbai Diwali. From Nariman Point, one can see the entire Mumbai skyline being lit lit. The incessant fireworks begin as early as nightfall and go on till the early hours of the morning the next day. Needless to say, the sound and air pollution are terrible and to a lot of allergic and asthmatic Mumbaikars, a Diwali in Mumbai is a complete nightmare.

We spent an hour here and later tried, rather unsucessfully to book a table at Dome (Ambassador's rooftop restaurant which would give us a great view of the fireworks). We then went on Tendulkars (located near the gateway of India) which was a memorable experience. Seeing merely his memorabilia on display was a treat in itself. By the time we were done it was almost midnight and then we retired for home having fully enjoyed yet another Diwali in Mumbai.

Durga Puja in Mumbai 2007

Durga Puja is more a celebration of adda (conversations), good food, good (and new) clothes and of pandal hopping. To most bengalis, it has little to do with religion and therefore possibly that is why this festival cuts across religious lines. Though nothing can beat a Durga Puja at Kolkata which showcases over 3000 idols, Mumbai, Vashi and Thane now have over 100 pujas and in the last few years have begun to celebrate the home-coming of the goddess rather pompously.
This year when my wife and I wanted to visit pandals across the city, there was one big problem we came across: there was no single website/newspaper article/tv program that showcased most of the city's big pujas. In fact, the only way you knew were a Puja was being held was through word-of-mouth or if you knew someone who knew where the citys's prominent pandals were. I therefore thought that I would blog my experiences this year for the benefit of those interested in the subsequent years' pujas.

On Mahasaptami, the first pandal we visited was at Bhandup. This was was held at Tara Singh Compound and is visible from LBS Road itself. From there we moved onto Hiranandani Gardens, Powai. The puja here is a grand affair and this time the pandal was done in the style of the Bahai Temple, Sydney. The style employed here was a Ekchala (one where all the the idols were part of a single structure). There were plenty of bengali food stalls available here and we indulged ourselves to some treats. Lopamdura was performing that night and Shreya Goshal was to be performing the next evening.

From there we moved onto Thane. Our driver told us that Thane's biggest puja was being celebrated at Temblinaka and he took us there. On reaching there we found out that it was an Ambe Ma puja. We went to Hiranandani Estate, Thane afterwards and saw another Ekchala puja. Next we went to see the puja at Happy Valley, Thane. This was a splendid affair for the protima was made out of Shola (a kind of wood) and that too it was done in a very unique style. Usha Uthup had performed that evening. Our last stop for the evening was at the pujo next door to where we lived - Edenwoods. It was a nice idol, though the pandal was a wee bit smaller than the other we had just seen. However we felt like this was a homely puja and next year, if we were to be stuck in Mumbai during the pujas, we would probably spend more time here.

The next day, my wife performed Anjali and we had bhog at the Happy Valley Puja premises. After a slight rest in the afternoon we left to see the pandals on the Western line. Our first stop was at Goregoan (W) at the Kali Mandir . The pandal and the protima here were splendid and I would rank this Puja as one of the best in Mumbai. There was also the Kali temple next door where my wife offered prayers at. After this we visited Abhijit's pandal at Lokhandwala in Andheri(W). This was the most well managed puja and the food stalls here were the best. There were food stalls from Sweets of Bengal, the only authentic bengal sweets chain in Mumbai (they are very expensive though and one nolengoorey sandesh is 14 rupees a piece), Biryani, and Oh Calcutta. It seems that at this Puja they make bhog from Basmati rice and serve more than 4000 people daily. There are plenty of film and tv celebraties who frequent this puja. The day we visited Shaan and Euphoria were among the performing artists. The performance wasn't free and passes would have to be purchased.

We then moved onto the next puja pandal at Mukherjee Badi at Santacruz (W). This is located next to Poddar college on SV Road. This is where Rani Mukherjee and Kajol visit almost every year. There are also plenty of artists that perform at the puja here. The Puja at Ramakrishna Mandir at Khar (W) on 12th Road was our next stop. This was only 5 minutes away. The puja here is very traditional and there is no nonsense attached to it. Among all the places we visited my wife liked it the best. We would have liked to have visited the Shakti Samanta Puja at Bandra (near National College, off Linking Road) but we were too exhausted. I should also warn you that getting to the Goregoan, Lokhandwala and Santacruz puja on any evening will take at least 4 hours of your time. The traffic is simply unrelenting and it would best to hire a AC car than to drive your own around. Other bengalis I know prefer visiting these pandals in the morning or afternoon when the traffic is the least, but I think without the pandal lighting one would miss half the show.

On Navami, we visited the Vashi Pandel opposite the railway station. The ground here was the biggest and it is said that both this puja's and Abhijit's puja's budget go beyond a Crore rupees. The pandel was well done in the style of the Ambor Vat temple at Cambodia. After this we went to the pandel at Chembur Naka. This was a take on the Himalayan mountains with vaious Shivlings on display at the sides. The next stop was at Shivaji Park in Dadar. This puja is over 70 years old and the pandal is very simple in nature. We wanted to visit the puja at Tejpal Hall (off Peddar Road on August Kranti Marg) but we were getting late for Bhumi's peformance at the Hiranandai Puja for which uur cousins had joined us.

On the last day we and our cousins revisited the local pandals at Thane and had lunch at Mahesh lunch home. My wife performing the Sindur Utsav culminated 4 days of our celebration of the Durga Puja. We visited some other relatives at Thane for Bijoya greeting and at the end of it all, it hadn't felt like we had missed Kolkata at all. Good food, nice pandals and some adda had well fulfilled our appetite of a good Durga puja.
Here is a list of the Pandals along with their locations, that one shouldn't miss:

1. Tejpal Hall, August Kranti Marg, Cumballa Hill, Off Peddar Road.
2. Shivaji Park, Dadar



3. Shakti Samanta's Puja, Near National College, Off Linking Road, Bandra
4. Ramakrishna Temple Puja, 12th Road, Khar(W)





5. Mukherjee Badi Puja, near Poddar College, Off SV Road, Santacruz (W)





6. Abhijit's Puja, new Lokhandwala Complex, Lokhandwala, Andheri (W)






7. Kallol Kali Temple Puja, Bangur Nagar, Off Link Road, Goregaon (W)






8. Vashi Puja, Opp. Vashi Railway Station








9. Chembur Puja, Chembur Naka, Chembur





10. Hiranandani Gardens, Hiranandani, Powai






11. Kanjur Marg Puja, Naval Colony, Near Huma Adlabs, Kanjur Marg
12. Tara Singh Compound Puja, on LBS Road, Bhandup




13. EdenWoods Puja, Near Edenwoods, Thane (W)





14. Happy Valley, Thane (W)





15. Hiranandani Estate, Hiranandani, Thane (W)