Talaash! Which part of Mumbai do you want to see?

Madh Village















Tulsi.

Friday at noon, for a short while, I was running around the Chembur Cremation Ground/Electric crematorium looking around for Tulsi leaves. I was there for a friend's cremation and the last rites involved placing among other things, tulsi leaves (which an uncle had forgotten to buy from the market) on the lips . We didn't find a Tulsi plant in the relatively green grounds.

But, Madh and Versova fishing villages are among the few places in Mumbai where homes still have a place for the Tulsi or the Holy Basil plant (some now are home to the more Mumbai-appropriate money-plant and wild weeds). For the rest, Tulsi was a character from a soap.

Also, note the travelling salesman selling cloth in the last picture. Life goes on a different pace in these villages. It's closer to the pace of life in the open sea and the rise and ebb of tides.


Photo Books by Mumbai Paused







Digital photo books with stories from the streets of Mumbai are now available at Footpath Bookshop


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