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.

Chalo Arnalaaaa ...

As far as possible I try not to go to the same places for my treks and photo walks.It is my quest to see as many new places as I can. I had visited the Arnala sea fort two years ago when I went there with an all women's group as a celebration of International Womens Day.This time around when the Tattva Adventure's group planned to go there ,I decided to join them as some of my old pals were also joining in.Sai and Jaal were the leads and the small group made our way to the seaside from where we had to take a ferry ride to the fort.It was a long wait for the ride so we had time for photo ops and also to take videos on the lines of IIN. It was hilarious to see Jaal and Kshiteej try out different themes for the IIN videos. each time the ferry arrived,there were crowds of people waiting to rush in.Finally we made it inside a crowded ferry and reached the other side.A walk through the Koli village later we reached the fort.The ferry ride was an eventful one,both to and fro from the fort.I wondered why they took in so many passengers at one time .It was really dangerous as during the ride the ferry wobbled precariously.There were many a heart in the mouth moments.A foreign visitor who was also on the ferry made his fear very obvious and kept clutching on to his friend and had a look of discomfort all through the ride.Even before we could get down there were many locals trying to push their way inside the ferry.What a mad rush it was to get a place inside the ferry.The over-loaded  ferry rocked from side to side as we made our way to the other shore.I am sure there was a sigh of relief as we reached the other shore safely both times.We had the introduction round while we waited for the ferry.So when we reached the fort we started exploring it.before we went to the fort we visited a nearby temple. There were many fishermen's houses as we made our way to the fort.The men were busy weaving fishing nets and we saw dried fish all stacked up in toplis ready to be sold in the local market.
An enthusiastic Koli woman and her friend were very curious to see us there.She had many questions for us and she posed for pictures with us. She was happy to meet us and we taught her to say 'Yo!' with the right gesture.The fort was small and we walked along its periphery.There were dry fishes strewn around which we used as props to click pictures.The vast expanse of the sea was visible from the fort.The water of the sea looked very dirty.There were many boats and ferries on the sea.I did not expect it to be so crowded with boats and ferries.far away we could also see a couple of huge ships.It was a hot and humid day yet we enjoyed ourselves bonding,chatting and pulling each others leg.There was some restoration work in progress in some areas of the fort.We took short breaks to sit and chat and click pics.Bernies umbrella, Jaals videos,fish eating snaps,group pics......all kept us busy.As the heat was becoming unbearable ,we made our way to the small Shiva temple in the precincts of the fort.There was a well there which was full of small fish and a few turtles.We felt relaxed once inside the temple.We had a variety of delicacies for lunch and then there was the interview of the Tattva team by our radio interviewer Sagar Maladkar. We had a nice time sitting in the cool shade chatting away happily.The heat had got on everyone's nerves and so everyone decided to call it a day after visiting the nearby beach.There was nothing much to explore in the fort.There was a small Masjid seen in the fort precincts as we made our way out again.There was a wedding celebration going on near the settlement just behind the fort.It was a weekend of celebration for them.We spent some time at the beach and made our way back to the station. It had been a small but enjoyable trek though the heat had made it tough for us to stay longer. I made a few new trekker pals at this trek and they are in touch with me to this day.All in all,it was a day well spent in the company of good friends.

Some snapshots of the good time we had at the Arnala trek.Some of these clicks are courtesy my trekker pals.