Re-reading Cities and Communities

Reva and Suresh were resting on the sands of Juhu beach slurping the green, pink, orange juice of the ‘gola’. Neha, their eight year old daughter was occupied in embedding the orange colored paper flag and pebble ‘tof’ (cannon) on the ‘Sinhagad’ that she had just made. With the drizzle and dimly lit atmosphere, they little away from all the mob and merriment. Sunday, for them is a perfect day for a family outing, minus all the appointments and food to cook. Reva and Suresh ru

Laid back on a couch on his twenty feet long hall of this office, Sachin Sharma re-counts his decade in Mumbai. The founder member and partner of Culture Opus, has a studio that creates hair- raising stimulations, ear-splitting stories and eye-popping illustrations. Working as a journalist for mid- day, he now is a senior researcher at his firm where he produces documentaries and advertisements. Sachin came to Mumbai after twenty years of age. Born and brought up in Madhya

"Basically it's a long story," says Fawan a.k.a. Amaze, a professional rap artist, in reference to his music journey. Doning a military cap to match his military pants coupled with his nonchalant stance, he exudes style and a hep attitude. His black T-shirt has the name Slumgods printed in fluorescent green with a font reminiscent of the Arabic dialect. Fawan embarks on his tumultous journey as his father sends him to "something like a boarding school in Poona," he narrates.

Mrs Mahadeshwar tottered her way through the freshly moistened red soil of the ground in front of the Taraporewala aquarium with a group of sixty odd children dressed in red and brown school uniform. It was mid-july. Wary of her bright green cotton sari that stood contrast to the landscape and the students, dodging her way through excited souls up to the ticket window, she wanted to make this primary-school trip memorable for every last one. The teacher along with two kakas (

Swarming along the sands, untainted waves broke themselves along the shore. The sky was filled with a riot of orange, yellow, pink, purple and the crescent on the west side gave way to the looming night. The landscape was relaxed by a gray stroke of crows heading homewards. As I watched the sundown, my siesta was disturbed by two school going boys. “You must not wait here after dark. These coconut trees, these beetles and the sands tell a different tale after dusk.” Dumbfoun

Home is where heart is! A global rock star, Clince Varghese, after 24 years still has his heart set on the far stretched, uninterrupted green farms, narrow meandering kaccha roads, virgin beaches and strong mesmerizing odor of freshly dried fish... his own Vasai gaon! Born in Kerala and brought up in Vasai, Clince now boasts of his band ‘Whats in the name’ that has grabbed audience from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, not only that, but also from Maldives, Karachi, Nepal. Vasai dra

The sky is a mess of pale blue with warm colours from the setting sun and grays from the scattered rain clouds. Crows are cawing cacophonously, likely fighting over fish drying along the Khar danda sea coast. Two dogs have made the yard of the historical Dandeshwar mandir their playground, running around an ancient peepal tree with holy thread tied around its bark and an abandoned well at least half as old as the tree. "Tumhi hey kara, tumhala kahi adchan nahin yenar," offers

Nets were plunged into the boat. A human silhouette, all by itself, was seen sprinting along the Worli coast of Mumbai, preparing himself for the catch. The sea was in high spirits. At the crack of dawn, the boat was unmoored.He was on a mission to grab the gold. There was something about that morning.The sea was artfully rough. Few hours passed when he had not only grabbed gold, but also set a new best. Seventy ‘ghol’ fish at one go. Inspiring the youth of the community, Mr.