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

Null Bazaar + Bhuleshwar + Chira Bazaar + Princess Street + JSS Road





A Quiet Diwali in Mumbai. 

Diwali or deepavali. It's more than fire crackers and sweets, sales or games of taash. The festival of lights is a time for change, new coat of paint, the change of season and smiles that are sweeter than sweets your neighbours give you.



Flower sellers 




Shops in the market, where as you can see, men draw the rangolis.






When women draw rangoli, they look different.








Diwali is also the time, shops get new signboards. It is also considered the best time to start a new business.

That's work for the surviving signboard painters in the city.








Pushcarts, the lifeline of the traders in the crowded bazaars of the city get a fresh coat of paint every year and that day of the year is Diwali. 






Diwali is also the time for the biggest movie releases of the year. Here's a queue outside one of the surviving single screen movie halls in town.  The Moti Talkies, Girgoan. 






Diwali is the time for new clothes. And here's a very popular footpath sale. (above)









Diwali bonus or baksheesh is an old tradition. Everyone gets it and so do Hijras. This is a hijra's signature marking a shop from where the baksheesh has been collected. 


Mumbai is also the city where the lottery trade is big. And there's nothing bigger than the the Diwali Bumper prize.







And yes, there are people are fireworks and  those who are 'fed up' of sweets at home can have a happy diwali here:





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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