Driving back from town, I finally crossed the snaking, bumper-to-bumper, unending traffic of Cadell Road and was greeted by the sulphuric stink from Mahim creek. The moment I pass the sculpture that says “A child gives birth to a mother”, I feel a rush, a sense of relief. I have entered Bandra.. I am home!!

I passed Bandra Masjid, took Hill Road, went by Jain Temple, passed the Parsi Agyari and at St. Peter’s Church took a right to approach Turner Road from where I carried on till Rajesh Khanna Garden via the Sai Temple to meet a friend.  On my way, I went past the Gurudwara, and on seeing the Gurudwara, a thought suddenly struck me!!

I had just passed places of worship of five major religions in India, all within a 2 kilometre range and inside Bandra. It is as if Bandra was saying “Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isai, Parsi, Sabko mera Salaam!!”

Bandra is a mini-polis that reflects the essence of Bombay. It is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-cultural suburb where all are welcome and all feel that they belong. Religion, caste or creed has no meaning here. Bandra has become a home to dissimilar and diverse communities and has absorbed the traits and qualities of all to develop its own unique brand of Bandra Culture and Bandra Way of Life.

Only in Bandra can you choose from an array of options for breakfast - Sindhi Dal Pakwan at Tharu, or Kheema Pao at Good Luck, or Idli Dosa at Shiv Sagar or a bagel at the Bagel Shop or a full continental breakfast at Just Around the Corner or pack some khandvi and dhokla from Annapurna.

Bandra was once a suburb of Catholic aunties in frocks and Sandras from Bandra. Today it is a cosmopolitan, hep and happening place, buzzing with its own energy. In fact, of late, I have been seeing a lot of goras in Bandra too.

What better proof of this can be than the fact that all our elected officials are an eclectic mix - our coporators are Mr. Asif Ahmed Zakaria and Smt. Kavita Harvey Rodricks, our MLA is Baba Siddiqui and our MP is Mrs Priya Dutt.

Sangeeta Almeida