A Day in Mumbai

 The day we returned from Kutch ( October 30,2022) I had a special meeting to look forward to in the evening. A very special lady I got to know in the saree group was going to meet me for dinner at BKC ( Bandra Kurla Complex) in Mumbai not too far from Sunil-Shubhada’s place in Santacruz. She had made reservations for the two of us for 7 pm. I took an Uber ride and reached the place a few minutes before 7. The hostess seated me as I was the first one to arrive. As I waited, I felt a bit of nervousness. This friend I was going to meet in person for the very first time was in Mumbai all the way from Solapur just to meet me! She is a physician and wife of an industrialist. She is involved in a lot of philanthropy and social causes. I was aware from social media what a high profile life hers was. It was the love for weaves that had connected us. But would that be enough to carry us through the evening? I had to calm myself and wait to find out. 

And the wait didn’t last much long. There she was in front of me, even more charming and beautiful than her persona in the virtual world. Suhasini Shah! Just very easy going and friendly. It didn’t need anything to break the ice. We just took off with sharing our individual stories and found we had so much in common. Our childhoods in Maharashtrian households, the medical school years, marriage and raising kids interests in social causes and of course our love for sarees. The food and drinks were secondary attractions that evening although I must say they were really good. I would have preferred to treat her since she had come all the way from Solapur to meet me but she wouldn’t let me. Treat me when I come to meet you in the US, she insisted. If this hospitality wasn’t enough, she had even brought along a saree for me. A beautiful irkal from Solapur that was perfect representation of her impeccable taste. I had some local grown pistachios for her from my beloved Kern County. Just before we took leave of each other we asked the favor of some of the restaurant staff to take our pictures together. It had been a true pleasure connecting with this very special and gracious lady. 

The next day I had to meet yet another really special lady in South Mumbai. Mrs Meera Mehta, a textile designer par excellence. The first time I met her was last year. Prior to that I had simply heard the glories of her paithanis and yearned to get them. This rather reclusive lady could not be found on social media or anywhere with a shop or website. Then suddenly one day she uncovered a message I had sent her on Telegram app. I don’t have words to describe how I felt that day. As if my years of search for an elusive treasure had suddenly been successful. She had called me to her home that time as it was in the midst of the pandemic and she wasn’t operating at her studio. I did get the much awaited paithanis from her that day and also a couple of beautiful ikats. But more than that I instantly grew to admire her. Actually adore would be more precise. Her simplicity and charm just won me over in that first meeting . We had kept in touch after that through messages. I even bought a very special patola from her in the intervening months. 

Our second meeting came during this India trip on October 27th, the day before we left for Kutch. I picked a couple of ikats this time, one of them a modern design, another a Cambodian inspired and one checkered tussar saree. No paithanis this time for me. 

Little did I imagine that, soon after that meeting with her, my sister would send me a message from Dallas asking me to shop for a paithani for her! Why didn’t you tell me earlier ? I was with the best paithani designer just a few days back ! I wanted to tell Minal. 

Anyways. Thanks to Minal, here I was again at Meera’s home( despite my protests she insists I refer to her as just that ). That day I draped one of her ikats that I had picked last year. I had draped the same one to meet Suhasini the day before. Minal had specified she preferred the paithani in black, red or blue. Out of the ones Meera showed me I loved a black one with horizontal jari stripes the best. It had all the special touches that set Meera’s paithanis apart from others. Meera wouldn’t let me go without indulging me in some mouth watering kachoris from Indore and some kaju katlis.

While I was at Meera’s place Abhay chose to stroll alongside Marine Drive. He was back from his walk by the time I was done. I was craving for some kutchi khichadi that I missed having in my 2 days stay in Kutch. I had asked Meera and she suggested this restaurant called Status at Nariman Point. So we headed there for lunch. Abhay savored their Gujarati thali while I satisfied my pangs for the masala khichadi. 

It was a beautiful day in Mumbai, not too humid or hot. We decided to take a stroll at Nariman Point after lunch. Abhay was overcome by nostalgia when he spotted the Oberoi Hotel. We had spent some time there in the early days of our marriage. We watched the Arabian Sea from across the hotel. Whatever little crowd there was soon dispersed after lunch hour leaving only an occasional visitor walking past us. We spent a good hour or more soaking in the view of the skyline of Mumbai from that shore. Once we both had our heart fill we called for an Uber ride to take us home to Santacruz. But on our way we stopped for a little while to meet my saree friend Manisha Borkar Waghmare  and her husband at their home in Shivaji Park and to drop off Minal’s gold patlya and tode for repairs at Valivadekar jewelers near there. 

Had dinner at home with Sunil Shubhada that evening. The following day we were to leave for Assam. So there were a few things to take care of such as laundry, packing etc. before going to bed.