Urban Trek - Khotachi Wadi

Ever since Agent J has started taking off on (long and hard) treks in the Sahyadri hills EVERY SUNDAY, my guilt at not doing any activity has grown exponentially (it gets worse with every trek that J comes back from - which is more arduous than the last).

But what do I do? I am NOT a trekker - I love to walk, but climbing hills in rainy slippery weather is NOT my forte. So I decided to embark on Urban Treks - walks through city neighbourhoods that are historic/ interesting / poky or have beautiful architecture/great but as-yet undiscovered eateries/ unusual shops. With camera in tow, of course. :)

Last Sunday saw me take off on my first Urban Trek - in crashing rain. I had a lovely (albeit very wet) walk along Haji Ali Seaface, up Pedder Road and culminating in a lazy browse through Moraa Tara, a curio shop opposite Villa Teresa school that I had been dying to explore after years of seeing and wondering what it sold as I drove past it.

Today, I went exploring among the bylanes of Girgaon - the erstwhile haunt of the city's Maharashtrian Brahmin population (before most of them migrated sequentially northwards - first to Dadar, then Vile Parle, then Dombivali and Thane). On my radar was Khotachi Wadi, a heritage colony which still has old-fashioned houses complete with sloping tiled roofs, wooden balconies and staircases.

As you step in, you feel as though you have stepped back in Time. Most of the really old-style houses are owned by Catholics and you feel as though you are in a secret Goan village hidden in the heart of the city, just a few feet away from the crowds and traffic of crowded South Bombay. The rest of the not-so-old and not-so-beautiful additions in the Wadi are where other communities reside - most notably the Gujaratis. But Khotachi Wadi which used to boast of beautifully preserved buildings, its own heritage festival and the famed Anandashram restaurant - which served terrific authentic coastal cusinine - now looks a little neglected and frayed around the edges. Anandashram has closed down too. :(

I also strolled along Chowpatty, Babulnath Road and Pedder Road, scouting for any heritage buildings that could be captured in my lens. And found lots! Here are the pictures of today's Urban Trek!