khotwadi, Santa Cruz (W)

Two-tiers: Tabela and Garments

Work Space Mumbai Special: A Kapdawalla's Story. Part 3:
Living, Working and Dyeing in the Two-Tiered Village: Khotwadi, Santa Cruz (W)

Prom Girl on top. Buffaloes and cows below. That's the way the economy of Khotwadi functions. Khotwadi is not all work-space, it also houses a large population who live in tiny homes with family sleeping-space as well as work-space for services for the garment business.

It's easy to differentiate the workshop from the homes, they all have exhaust fans and some of them have air-conditioners, so it wouldn't be right if I call them sweat shops.

Khotwadi is just 1% of the Mumbai garment industry. There are parts of it which have been demolished to make way for luxury apartments. The people who stayed there will be shifted to the standard 320 sq ft 1 Room Kitchen homes as part of the Slum Rehabilitation Plan. Businesses are paid compensation too for displacement. But what is rebuilt will be homes or sleeping places, not work-spaces. People who live there will probably have to travel to work elsewhere.

And here's someone who lives and dyes in Khotwadi.

Tomorrow's story: The national brands of Khotwadi

Dadar + Santa Cruz

Work Space Mumbai Special: A Kapdawalla's Story.
Part 1: Coimbatore to Mumbai.

His Honda Activa is washed and wiped everyday, but he deliberately ignores washing or cleaning the number plate. It's a TN - 37 plate, from Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu and he's afraid that the cops will stop him and ask him to pay the road-tax or a bribe.

Nalin is a young business man from Coimbatore, the industrial and trading town on the Tamil Nadu near the gap in the Western Ghat that forms the main Gateway to Kerala. Nalin Jain's family has been in trading in and around this textile machinery manufacturing hub, a city created by entrepreneurs who fought the system and made machinery for the industries during the tough days of tight controls on Indian industry post-independence.

Nalin's geographical footprint and contacts revolved around the many towns to the east and south east of Coimbatore. Towns like Tirupur that exports millions of dollars of finished clothing, the garment factories and service providers as far away as Bangalore. Each town here specialises in some form of special textile related product or service. Kapda is big business in India, South Indian included and that's the world Nalin, knows like the back of his hand.

Nalin has an brand idea.

When you have roots dug in deep, the best thing to do is try and grow. Nalin had a dream of setting up his own fashion label based in Coimbatore, to use his network of contacts to create something new. He knew the best suppliers, the best tailors, craftsmen, people he could source fresh new trends in style from and most of all he knew the taste for clothes people in South Indian cities have. He knew the network of small but specialised boutiques that cater to the need of the college students and the new generation of youngsters who earn enough to spend more on clothes than before.

He created a brand called Gamma from Coimbatore. It's a brand that is doing very well in the market he is in. But, then he decided to move to Mumbai. From the well woven textile and garment network of the South to Mumbai.

Why did he move here?

What's the Mumbai fashion/garment industry like?

Is it easy setting up a business here?

Who are the people he works with?

Mumbai Paused hopes to take you through a tour of Mumbai, via Nalin Jain's eye and the making of his brand - Gamma, over the next few days.

Colaba

And green Shoes from Mumbai.

I was at this event at the naval base where Sonu Nigam sang. When he sang the song from the movie Border called Ghar Kab Aaaogey, I saw grown up sailors cry and sing along with a faraway look in their eyes.

Andheri (W)

Bollywood Rockstar: Sonu Nigam

One evening, a few months back, me and Nishita Jha, the reporter I was working with, happened to have a flypast Sonu Nigam's home, car and a concert. We started off from his home-office, followed him in a taxi to the concert and got a chance to jump back stage. However,we never got the interview from him because we were probably too slow for the Mumbai-speed of the Bollywood Playback singing Rockstar.

But first. What does a Rockstar fill his wall with?

Quotes. Please note the time mentioned next to the date.

The rockstar's vehicles.

There are his biggest inspirations - Rafi and friends.

There's also the bike that he uses to take his child for a ride, every day when he is in Mumbai.

And this SUV is his Riyaz machine. Sony Nigam drives his own car and why would a singer play music when he is driving? He sings his own songs.

Actually, Sonu Nigam uses the Mumbai gridlock traff*ck to good use. If he has a concert in Mumbai. He spends the hours behind the wheel preparing for the concert.

Pom Pom.

MG Road

Navi Mumbai + Nalasopara

Religion.

On a school notice board, an interesting mix of beliefs. Even "Unknowns and all others" have a place, but not atheism.

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky

- John Lennon

Is it that hard to imagine?

And this is what ideal children (and adults) are supposed to be like in any religion.

Fort, Mumbai + WR

Branded Plastic Carry Bags.

The trend probably started with the Dubai Airport Duty Free bags with the huge Marlboro logo. Then, we had local bags printed with Marlboro and the McDonald's logos. Over time, the Marlboro bags slowly disappeared and elolved into/was replaced by Mokembo Kush Hua, while the McDonald's logo evolved into the design on the bag shown below.

I'm loving it.

Kurla

Meter Up.

Things have changed. Mumbai Autowallas, at least a sizable chunk of them, are now rude and refuse to ply to where customers want to go anymore, just like their brothers in other parts of India.

So the classification system for photos (below) on Mumbai Paused will henceforth be called "Like Mumbai Autowallas, I can only take you to places I want to go."

Off D'Monte Road

Co-author of "The Bad Boys Guide to the Good Indian Girl": Annie Zaidi.

Her books: http://www.flipkart.com/author/annie-zaidi

Powai

Narayan Murthy kush hua?

Images shot for the the story about Mumbai's own student-built satellite called Pratham in this week's Tehelka by Sunaina Kumar. Read the full story here.

The idea, according to the professor who guides the students, is to get them to work as a team and try to get them acquainted with the way useful things are created out there in the real world through collaboration. Narayan Murthy can breathe a little easy, they seem to be working on your complaint here.

More power to you guys!







If you ever wondered what the inside of a satellite looks like, this is it:

New Link Road, Andheri (W)

Villu Paatu or the Bow Song.
Wordfully Yours. 1st Mumbai International Story Telling Festival.

The liveliest acts at the festival was the Villu Paatu storytellers from Neyyatinkara, a small town near Trivandrum in Kerala.

Kesavan Nair, the lead story teller of the group started of in the best South Indian English one can imagine. He spoke about the Bow and the costumes that catches the attention of the listeners first.

The Bow Song evolved in the old hunting communities in the Southern most part of India and Northern part of Sri Lanka. After the day's hunt, they used the bow, the pots, narrated stories and sang songs around the fire as the meat cooked. That should also explain the leopard-skin clothes.

The story narration and music was not the usual, stereotype tribal Jumbaho Jumbaho but regular. The story was about unity in diversity among the different castes, cultures and religions of Kerala. To use his example, the intermingling of people like how the three seas meet at Kanyakumari.

It was the story of a brahmin scholar from Vikramaditya's court who unknowingly marries a Paraya or lower caste girl. He abandons his caste and moves to Kerala, on the banks on the Nila or Bharatpuzha and raises a family with 11 children. They disperse due to certain circumstances and are brought up by different communities.

Nice thought. Only if Kerala would learn from this message.










The performance was great. However, the bow was mostly for visual effect. The sound of the bow was drowned by electronic instruments. The songs were in Malayalam.









No animals were harmed in the narration of this story.