Nariman Light House Memorial

Kala Ghoda is an event that show cases many creative and innovative installations. There are many stalls and live programmes of music and dance. I make it a point to visit it each year. This time was no different. I went on a Sunday morning and strolled around visiting all the stalls and admiring the installations. If you are there you must visit the children's section too as it has some amazing installations put up by the school kids.

This time my visit to Kala Ghoda was a bit different. Each year they mentioned some heritage walks being conducted there and so this time I wanted to be a part of it. I registered myself at the registration desk there. The heritage walk was to begin at 11 am and it was conducted by Khaki Tours, a well known tour company that regularly conducted heritage walks around historically important places in Mumbai. I had been with this group for two heritage walks during their initial days.I was looking forward to this particular walk as it was to the Nariman Light house Memorial, a place that became well known during the terror attacks that rocked Mumbai in September, 2011.

We all had to reach the Nariman House on our own and the walk would begin from there. The place was a straight walk from Regal cinema and in a lane a bit away from the main road which was always hustling and bustling with people. It is a three storey nondescript building that is surrounded by other small buildings. No high rises here, only the middle class residents nearby going about their daily routines.There is a metal door at the entrance and it is well guarded. They asked for our original IDs and checked our bags thoroughly and let us in. The group lead was a beautiful young girl whose details I cant remember. She took us through the journey in an interesting way and made us recollect the horrific times that this very building witnessed during that attack.

We used the lift and went to the terrace where they have made a memorial in honour of all those who died in the aftermath of that terror attack. The memorial is made of marble and has water flowing and greenery around. There are photographs displaying all the locations where the terror attacks took place during that period.The whole building has been converted into a museum and we can actually see the way the building has been ravaged. She showed us the place where the special security forces landed. They also took position in some buildings around the Nariman Lighthouse in order to retaliate against the terrorists.This place is also known as Chabad House. The vivid memory of a nanny holding little Moshe same rushing back during this heritage walk.

A video film was shown to us as we were taken to another floor. The whole place was ripped to shambles. There was a gaping hole made in the wall by the grenade attack of the security forces to counter the terrorist attack.All the terrorists inside the Chabad house were killed but we also lost some of our brave security personnel.Rabbi Gauriel and Rivkah  Holtzberg had lovingly built and nurtured their Chabad house. It was a place for Jewish tourists. and backpackers who travelled to Mumbai . The couple were immediately killed and their son ,Baby Moshe was miraculously saved by their nanny. There were some other tourists also present here during the attack. We were shown the bloodied wall near which they were ruthlessly shot at by the terrorists. We went to the room which was the nursery of Baby Moshe. The mother had lovingly painted the wall and there was also a wall that had markings of the little ones gradual growth in height. She told us that last year Moshe came to visit this place and his height was marked on that very wall. As the tour guide explained all the happenings of the terrorist attack every single person at that heritage walk was left teary eyed and over whelmed.It was like a flash back of the unfortunate events of that black September 2011.

 At present there is no one staying there. There is an office and there are plans to make it a state of the art museum and memorial of September 2011. To conclude I can say that visiting this place brought back some painful memories that we all would like to forget. It is events like thes e that make us realize the fruitlessness and pain caused by terror. The video beautifully tells us that we should not think of revenge but we should fight back with love. The heritage walk leaves us with a noble message given by the honourable Rebbe.

"We must translate pain into action,and tears into growth"- The Rebbe.

" We must remember the past to create a better future."

" A little bit of light, dispels a lot of darkness." 

We came out of the Nariman House with a heart full of pain and hope for a world without terrorism. I am so glad I attended this particular heritage walk. The Nariman House is open for heritage walks and they charge Rs 3oo/- per visitor. You need to carry original ID proof and photography is allowed here.Do visit this place for a look into that dark terror attack of September 2011. History can teach us a lot, we only need to be open to learn from it.

The name Moshe written in Hebrew

Names of those who died in the terror attack

Room where the two tourists were shot.We can see the blood splattered wall.

The letters of the alphabet and numbers written in Hebrew

The ravaged room.

The Rabbi and his wife.

The markings of Moshes height on the wall.

The memorial on the terrace

National Museum of Indian Cinema

One Saturday I saw my friends post about his visit to a museum on Indian Cinema. I immediately messaged him for details and also googled about the said museum. As a fan of museums and Indian cinema this was a must visit for me.
On Sunday I left my house for the museum A train to Grant road and then from there a cab took me to Gulshan Mahal that is at Peddar road. The taxi driver had no clue about the museum so I took help of Google maps. Reached the main road where there is a sign and nothing else that gives us any idea of the beautiful museum inside the Films Division of India complex. The place is spic and span. There are two buildings that house the museum, one is Gulshan Mahal, a truly beautiful heritage bungalow and another is a tall building with a glass facade. Both look amazing for a new visitor. I booked the ticket that is worth a mere Rs. 20/-. The attendant there gave me a booklet explaining the museum details and also informed me that photography with a mobile phone is allowed but no video recording and no cameras are allowed.

We are told to visit the Gulshan Mahal first. The exterior is breathtaking! It is a 19 th century historic palace that takes the visitors to a 100 years historic journey of Indian cinema through an interesting story telling way.At the entrance they introduced me to the government appointed tour guide. During this period the touch screens at the museum were not in use due to the corona virus pandemic. I clearly state here, I went there even before any kind of shut down or social distancing was declared.
The guide was Mr. Sanjay Sahare and his enthusiasm and love for cinema was evuident in the way he explained each and every installation and exhibit. He tried his best to take me and the other visitiors on a visit to the glorious past of Indian Cinema. I have yet to come across any  tour guide who was so passionate about his work. I appreciated his knowledge and passion on my way out. I wish every visitor to Gulshan Mahal meets him and takes the tour with him.They can see Indian cinema through his eyes. The museum is beautiful and well maintained. With me there were only about 5 more people visiting the museum, although it was a Sunday.The nostalgic journey in Indian Cinema is divided into nine sections , namely The origin of cinema, Cinema comes to India, Indian silent films, Advent of sound, The studio era, The impact of world war II, Creative resonance, New wave and beyond and Regional cinema. Each section is beautifully explained with the apt pictures, installations, videos and props. The journey is insightful and at times unbelievable. We cannot imagine how there is so much that went into the cinematic journey in India. Looking around gave me a new vision about Indian cinema. I made a mental note of all the films I wanted to watch and clicked too many pictures.

Once at the museum, we lose track of the time. The other group that was there with me also had mentioned that they had little time to spare so had come there just at a whim and wanted to leave soon. They too were mesmerized by what they saw and spent a lot of time at the museum. I, on the other hand had no time limit of any kind. I wanted to explore everything well  and I did.The other building had four floors where the display was arranged. here too the installations were well maintained and there were suitable audio and video displays . It was really a state of the art museum. The four sections here were- Gandhi and Cinema, Children's Film Studio, Technology, Creativity and Indian Cinema and the last one was Cinema Across India. Each and every section was mind boggling and interesting! It is a must visit for all those who love cinema and/or history. Even the technical aspects of cinema were explained in such an easy manner.The movies I watched, were also mentioned in the installations. I have really watched some gems yet there are so many yet to be watched. Each time I saw something that mesmerized me, I told myself how fortunate it was that I visited this place. I saw the history of cinema in all its glory. there were interesting tidbits about the actors, directors, technicians etc that made us wonder about how difficult it was yet they came out successful .

Once the four sections were done with I realized how hungry I was feeling. I had entered the museum at 11;30 am. and I had only been drinking water all through the visit to the museum and it was already 4 pm! Really did not understand how time passed, that's how spectacular it was. I have raved so much so it is clear that this is a must visit for everyone at least once. Even those who come to India from abroad should give this place a visit, take them there to show them the journey of Indian Cinema with pride.It is sad that such a beautiful museum is not being promoted as much as it should be. Do visit it and spread a good word . Make this museum famous,it needs to be visited!

Some snapshots of my visit.

The only sign we see on the main road that tells us about this museum

It is a heritage building

The breath taking view of the palace

The main entrance

Beautiful arches and pillars all around Gulshan Mahal

The enthusiastic tour guide Mr. Sanjay Sahare

Different techniques used in filming.

The first few years when the camera was used

Beautiful and interesting installations all around.

The iconic Raj Kapoor in Awara.

This is the VFX section where we can actually try out different backgrounds.

Enjoyed trying out different backgrounds with VFX effects.

VFX effects can take you to any place .......in the cold snowy regions too!

Among the black and white gems of a golden era of cinema.

Travelling tent cinema

The changes faces of India cinema.

Nature's Lap

The week had been a hectic and tiring one so I opted to go on my third nature trail as it was near by and it was for a short duration.My earlier trails were to Yeoor hills,Thane and the Mahim Nature Park at Dharavi. I was a complete novice at my earlier nature trails and it was at this trail I realised that I had not made the most of my nature walks. I had failed to observe keenly and had missed out on many of the wonders of nature.This nature trail changed it all for me.

It is said that every experience has something for us to learn and that is so true.I learnt many things at this trail and most importantly I experienced that sometimes even our wrongs lead us to something right.I had registered myself for the DCP nature trail to Nagla Block,Vasai Creek and as per the schedule, I reached Fountain Hotel at Ghodbunder road at 7.15 am.on Sunday morning.Seeing a group there I asked whether they were there for the Nagla trail and got an affirmative reply.I met the trail leaders Swapnil ,Samrat and Rohan and also met Robert Jude who was my Facebook friend (Though he claims he has met me earlier at another trek, I disagree).Unknowingly I joined the Nisarg Brahman group which was also heading to the Nagla Block as I did not confirm which group they belonged to.A few metres away from the hotel we started our trail after having breakfast of garam chai and misal-pav, poha and vada pav.Once at the starting point we had the introduction round where a passionate nature lover Samrat Godambe told us the do's and dont's during the trail.He told us to observe and listen and take in our surroundings instead of concentrating on just clicking photographs.His passion for his field was very obvious and I really admire all those who love the work the work they do, as only then do we give it our best.Each one of us had to shell out Rs 300 for the trail which I found to be more considering that I had registered for a free nature trail with the DCP group, but then I could not complain.
Lesson learnt-when you are on a trek or trail confirm with the location and the group name before you join in,otherwise it will be a case of  Jaana tha japaan,pahunch gaye cheen ,samajh gaye naa!! and we may end up with the wrong group and wrong destination.

So we began our trail and saw a few other groups there too,mostly shutter-bugs out there to get a few great clicks.It was a really hot and humid day and we were all sweating profusely.Surprisingly,there was no cool breeze as we all had expected, in spite of being in the heart of the green cover of the SGNP. We walked leisurely and took in our surroundings.We walked,stopped ,looked,called others when we found something interesting,discussed and clicked pictures.The sounds,the beauty and the smell of nature never ceases to amaze and mesmerise.To actually see the little creatures one has to be really observant.Chatterboxes are not needed at such nature trails as silence is not an option here but a necessity.We had a sixty-five year old ajoba who had just had his by-pass surgery with us on this trail.I admire him for keeping up with us and enthusiastically clicking pictures and asking about the various species of creatures we came across.The rest of the group was much younger.Everyone had a great time reaching out to nature instead of being surrounded by the concrete jungle.many queries were asked by the group members and Samrat,our knowledgeable and erstwhile guide did not let us down .he patiently answered our queries and kept updating us with many things that we were unaware of.Butterflies,moths,caterpillars,spiders,lizards,ants,snakes and snails were the creatures we came across on this nature trail.As we went along I came across the DCP group which also had their event that day.My conscience made me introduce myself and I told them how I had registered with their group and came with another group by mistake.The leader,Soumen was quite understanding about it and I hoped we could meet again at another trail.I had shared this little secret of my blunder with Robert and now of course,it is no longer our little secret!

I was happy to try my hand at macro photography for the first time with my cell phone and my point and shoot camera.I did not do a great job but I have made a start at least,and that is enough to keep me going.After the short trail we reached the Vasai creek side and rested awhile for some snacks.We made our way back and the return trip was less eventful as we moved a bit faster and reached the starting point.My photographer pals got some great pictures at this trail.It was a nice and eventful nature trail for me.I came back as a much better nature trailer(I know there is no term like that!) had a great time with my new pals specially Robert and Samrat who kept me hooked on to their photography and their love for nature.Nature trails teach us that if we have good observational skills and patience ,we can get the best sightings nature has to offer.

Here are a few snapshots of the nature trail.

The caterpillar having its fill.....

The introduction round where Samrat told us the do's and donts of nature trails

Lovely,colourful butterflies

Do you know how to differentiate between butterflies and moths?

Beetle alert! Clever camouflage!

Here a beetle,there a beetle!!!

The dead and decaying trees are where these common woody mushrooms grow.

A colourful caterpillar makes its way up

Mushrooms growing on the bark of the tree.

The fruit piercing moth.....what a strange shape!

Nature has its designs on me!!!

These cute mushrooms look like little white flowers.

Abhi to partee shuru hui hai!!!A spider eats its prey!

Robert catches some ants in action on the ant-hill.

A look at the Vasai creek side.....

It was a pretty sight and much cooler here.

My trail mates sitting pretty at the creek side.

A snail makes itself at home among the leaves.

A grasshopper among the greens....

The designs made by the caterpillars....