Walking Around Matunga

Summer Vacation ………………That crazy time in between annual exams and school reopening.

The house is a buzz with studies, temperature running high , kids not studying , Mamma’s shouting making them sit hours together for revision. Papa’s trying to avoid confrontation by keeping to themselves or taking tough subjects like Maths and Science to ease the load. Then the annual exams comes and goes like the proverbial storm. The last written paper is over and there is a sense of calm and peace like the battle of Panipat is over and soldiers are retreating. A breather for both the kids and their parents. You think finally its all over , all is well for a few days till the big question arises and starts haunting you. A simple question from the kid at home jolts you –Mamma I am bore what should I do ?

Even a question about the Big bang theory is easy to answer, but this one is a loaded question. If you answer with a suggestion like read some story books  or put on the TV. It is shot down with a stern look , a look that makes you feel you have sinned by giving a suggestion. Then you realize , that’s not what was expected of you. Kids today don’t want to do small things like playing with their friends and watching TV , which they anyways do during regular school time. But these were the only option during our childhood days.

I still remember the last day of school. A few of us kids would form a group , pre-decide a small sum each would bring on the last day , then after the exam was over rush the school canteen and blow it up on Burgers , Hot Dog ( veg cutlet in sausage shape stuffed in a subway type pav , sprinkled with chutney , tomatoes and onion rings…. A Great filling snack) and finally the ice cream candy. Hopping and skipping back home to world of freedom. During vacation we use to get up as usual, get ready have some break fast and then run to play with our friends, either in the common landing in between the flats or downstairs in the building compound. Sometimes during afternoon time when most of the elders were sleeping, we used to gather in some friends home mostly in our our flat or the ground floor flat of “Daddy” or third floor flat of our friend Kilol Bhuta and play Carrom , or table tennis using dining table or cards for a game of “Pach Teen Don” , “304” , Mendi Kote , or Memory game like “Not at Home”. On other occasions we would play board games like Business or Ludo or Snakes & Ladders

Coming back to today's kids , they are so wound up that each parent needs to think on how to channelize that energy into activities they will love to do and also earn in return. For a quaint place like Matunga , there a lot of option for kids to engage in activities to care of the Summer vacation boredom. At the Dadar club , there is facility to learn swimming at their in house  nice and clean swimming pool. The Dadar Club carries out swimming classes for 5 to 12 year old kids both boys and girls from middle of April to end of May every year. Training is provided by Rane sir an ex State level swimmer and his students. The class timings are also good there are 2 batches in the morning 10am-11 am and 11am-12pm and 2 batches in the evening 4pm -5pm and 5pm-6pm. The number of students per batch is also small around 5-8 in a group. So the instructors can teach their wards in a focused manner. Girls can enroll the help of Lady instructor  so there are comfortable learning the sport. The Dadar club also has facility of a tennis court. They also have coaching camps for tennis. The court is layed out on Cement but ok for beginners to learn the sport.

If sports is what you are looking for your kids you can try out the coaching sessions for Badminton at the Matunga Gymkhana. This indoor badminton court is as per professional / Olympic specification. Well layed out and made of wood ,unlike in other gykhana’s where cout is marked on normal or cement flooring. As a result even if you play for hours together there is no harm to your legs – knees and ankles in particular. They conduct special coaching camps during summer vacations in batches of various age groups. With quality instructors this one is a good option.

Another facility where you have good option to lean sports is the Savio Club in the Don School premises. They have wide variety of options. Like special batchs for indoor sports like Carrom and Chess. Or get your kids enrolled for Basket ball or Football. The Basket ball court in inside the main quadrangle of the school. The court is marked on tiled flooring and the basket ball nets on permanent structures. The court is very professional with flood lights and separate changing rooms for boys and girls. This facility has the pride of hosting state level tournaments for inter school competitions under the state governments sports department. Great court good coaches good sport to take up. For the football enthusiast they have a big football ground behind the school with good mix of green and red mud. Bieng a sports encouraging school , Don Bosco has heavily invested in sports facilities and all these are kept in good condition thorugh out the year. Coaching for football is carried out only in the mornings makes sense as the kids and their legs are fresh for an exhaustive session of football. They also teach roller skating to kid upto the age of 10 years at this club.

If sports is not the cup of tea or rather a cup of milk for your kids there are other options available in Matunga. Like the Speech and Dram workshops – PLAY (Perform Learn and Analyse Yourself ) conducted by Dipti Gala at Mahavir Building in the lane next to the Matunga Flower Market. In these workshops kids are taught to overcome their fear to perform in front of large audiences. Sessions mostly in the late afrternoons start with speech sessions or story telling sessions where a simple story like the Lion & the mouse is turned on its head by asking each student to continue the story by adding his or her sub plot. Then there are impromptu sessions like drawing objects exchanging them and building a story line on the objects prepared. Some sessions on group plays or dance. All these activities increase the confidence level , power of imagination and concentration in the kids. A great way to PLAY and learn.

Then there and some special classes like Origami and Calligraphy classes conducted by local homemakers in Matunga, turning their homes into  hobby classes. Teaching these special art forms to bring in a lot of joy and colur in the lives of the kids. Origami being ancient Japanese art of paper folding making beautiful decorative material out of colored paper , increasing the motor skills of the kids who take this up as a hobby. The other art form – Calligraphy is nothing but stylized way of writing , making use of variety of simple and special tools / pens to give a wonderful effect to the written words. An ancient art if you look at the written scriptures in old Modi lipi (font) in context of Hindu culture or for that matter look at the Urdu writings. A beautiful way of putting pen to paper to create a little bit of magic.

So the next time you are haunted by the question “I am bored What do I do ?” from your little one. You know where to head to in this magical place called Matunga…..

Happy Summer Vacations to the young ones and best of luck to the parents. As they say in Star Wars movies ------------Let the Force be with you…………(we all parents really need it )

Walking Around Matunga

Mamma mia Italiano………………….

Have noticed the change in eating habits of our children .Ask them what they would like to eat when we go our to a restaurant . Nine out of ten times the answer will be either MacDonalds burger or Pizza or Pasta. Why any one , even my little Bhakti loves these food which we qualify as junk food. But then if you still wish to eat healthy you have an option in Italian food . The pastas and spaghetti are a real hit with kids because of their cheesy taste and soft texture. Also you have options in soups and salads which can be tried to complete a healthy meal. To think of it even in Matunga you now have these option of Italian dishes in regular multi –cuisine restaurants like DP’s or Garnish. But if you want to try authentic Italian food do try the newly opened Café 792 or Chilliflakes in the Parsi Colony.

If you enter the Parsi Colony from the Dadar TT end on the Jame Jamshed Road in the premise of Dina Manzil you will find Café 792 a small but interesting Café serving Italian dishes. An interesting fact being it is named after the plot number it is located at. In Matunga you will find each address will have a distinct plot no. eg 283 or my residence is at 601/C . It becomes very easy for anyone to find a particular building by this plot no. An old but established area identification code laid down in the British era which is still useful. You will find similar examples of such unique identification in various part of Mumbai. In Khar you will have the road numbers like the famous landmark 16^th Raod Khar of Bollywood beauty Ashiwarya Rai before she married into the Bachhan household. Same is the case with Navi Mumbai where the entire geography is divided into Sectors and Building nos. Say for example Sector 17 in Vashi is the most popular and posh area with all the well known landmarks like the MacD’s , Vashi Bus Depot , the Vishnudas Bhave Auditorium and Navratna Ratna restaurant situated in and around this Sector.

Coming back to Café 792 it is a small but cosy restaurant . The interior is very simple with display counters and an open pantry. There is no seating space in the interior. But the exterior is done beautifully. The landscape is beautifully don with the seating space in the exterior. Sort of a gargen restaurant with pebbles, trees and pathways.Run by Jehan Norgolwala who’s father Gustad Dehmiri is partner in the Mumbai’s famous landmark Café Leopold .

Now coming to the food they mostly serve non vegetarian and very few options for veg food. Few dishes are pre made while some are made fresh in their kitchen.You can try their Chicken Lasagna a minced chicken dish with Italian spices and herbs and cheese for that tantalizing taste and served with pita bread . Very filling and good to taste. You can also try their Diced Steak with mashed potatoes , the steak is barbecued perfectly to make it succulent and soft served with the mashed potatoes which makes and great combination. This can be eaten alone or with brown bread or multi grain bread that they offer. Another interesting dish is the Chicken & cheese quiche, a crumbly fried katori of maida filled with cheese and chicken cooked with herbs and finally baked to perfection.Want to try some salads try out their Chicken Salad with lots of fresh veggies like celery , broccoli and mayonnaise. A good option if you are a weight watcher. They also have good option in sandwiches like the Junglee Sandwich shredded chicken and mayo and Pesto Mozarella sandwich for the veggy lover with bell peppers , cucumbers and mozzarella cheese. To try something different have their cold cut turkey sandwich so yummy it is sure to be polished of in few minutes of its arrival.

Another specialty of this restaurant is their Parsi dishes like Chicken Dhansak and Dhan Dal Prawn Patio , very authentic in taste from their Parsi kitchen.

If you want to try out some pizza and past do head to a small eatery near the Five Gardens called Chilly Flakes and now renamed as Areezos. Its small in the sense it operates out of a garage and has option for seating only 10 people at a time. The option in the menu is limited but what is served is lip smacking. If you love to eat Veg pizza’s , go for Fiama Pizza in  thin crust option with topping  of Sauteed Spinach, Roasted garlic, Goat cheese and Caramelized onions.The toppings are in well proportion so that the pizza  can be enjoyed rather than eating the dry base in some cases . Another unique preparation is the Verdure Pizza with raosted peppers , goat cheese , asparagus and fresh herbs. Or try their Truffle Pizza with Fontal cheese , white winter truffle oil , fresh parsley and black truffle salt.

For the non-veg lovers there’s the standard BBQ chicken pizza with chargrilled chicken , tomato sauce, peppers and fresh parsley to give that great after taste. Or try something special like the Bombay Masala Chicken – with home made chicken mince (kheema) marinated in Indian spices and mixed with smoked mozzarella cheese, onion , green chilies and chipotle mayonnaise. Another special pizza is the All American Pizza a preparation in lamb which is rarely offered by any other outlet that I know.

Another specialty are their Hot dogs and burgers (more  American dishes than Italian) but good option instead of the usual sandwiches. You can try their Classic Chicken hot dog with chicken sausage with mustard sauce giving that pungent flavor but nice texture. There is wide variety in Burger section of the menu like the Mushroom burger ( mushroom , potato and chilies) and Veg burger (potato and corn patty with ample cheese and mayonnaise). In non-veg you can try their Sloppy Joe Chicken with char-grilled chicken cooked in BBQ sauce and served  with smoked mozzarella  cheese  Or you can opt for their Works Burger with fried eggs , tender loin patty , grilled onions adding some crispiness and rocket leaves and saute mushroom giving added texture.

And to finish off you can order for their Penne Alfredo Pasta rightly done in white sauce  with fresh herbs and aged cheddar cheese available in both veg and chicken option and recently introduce bacon option. For that matter burger is also available in bacon and pork option , though not my personal choice in non veg items those who like their meat can try these options. Also they have Spaghetti Algi E Oleo – spaghetti tossed in garlic , chilly flakes and extra virgin olive oil with grated Parmesan cheese.

To cool off you can order for their coolers like Lemon ice tea or Lemonade or the orange cooler served out of small but cute jars .These can be enjoyed with your main order or just after.

Once done you can always walk off the extra calories wolfed down around the five gardens which is a hop and a step away.

So enjoy the Italian food and come out smacking your finger with a expression “Mamma mia Itliano”