Gateway Evenings

Getting of the bus near Sailors Home and walking past Wellington Mews to pass by the Naval Mutiny Memorial Garden I walk down Accommodation Lane to meet Colaba Causeway and even before I can cross the road, I see the salty naked horizon. The rains are not too good this time and the air is warm, but near the sea there is breeze. I take a walk down the pavement leading to Radio Club and stop like drifting wood near a rock to stare at the waves. It is high-tide and the waves are giving out a deep low rumble. As the waves rise along the stone wall, they fill in the pores which empty themselves in spurts before the new wave fills them again. This part of the shore is dotted, perpetually, with small fishing boats and large tankers. Across the road are colonial buildings with pretty names, their windows opening to this Arabian splendour. When I look at the Gateway from the Radio Club end, I see the Ramchandani Marg flanked on one side by colonial architecture and pleasant road side trees and the Arabian Sea on the other, and I can tell that some thought has gone into creating this urban landscape. I walk down Appolo Bandar road and turn into one of the alleys to bump in to a fast-food corner that sells juicy chicken-shwarma. I munch on the juicy melange of alternately soft and crispy chicken, filling potato ,beetroot and the heavenly white sauce from Lebanon, thank the fast-food guy and take the bus back home.