Yesterday, on a chilly winter’s afternoon. On a Sunday – no less- I overcame severe inertia to visit the [tag]Kala Ghoda[/tag] festival.

The journey was itself adventurous. A fully packed local train with its assortment of characters. Fights between sales people who ply their colourful wares in the compartments, the jostling for space, and the compartment specific performances – kept me entertained in the 35 minute journey from [tag]Andheri[/tag] to [tag]Church Gate[/tag].

I love that part of town… it has a whole bunch of child hood memories associated with it…. going for a movie, going to the museum, going to meet cousins, going to [tag]Asiatic[/tag] – the mall before the malls, going to [tag]Satkar[/tag]…. going to meet dad at [tag] Air India Building[/tag]…….. There is a certain charm, a certain character about that part of the city. It’s a bit like an old friend you haven’t caught up with in ages … and when you do you wonder why has it been so long since you saw them… you make promises to meet up soon and then again face that sense of dejavu when you meet after a long gap….

Western Railway HQ, opposite Church Gate Station
Despite the trains being jam packed, the crowds cleared by the time we reached Church Gate, which was rather quiet on a Sunday afternoon….

Across the station is [tag]Eros Cinema[/tag] – the place where i had my first crush. My nani had taken us to see Star Wars – a new hope. I saw [tag]Han Solo[/tag]. I was all of 9, and had my first crush in my life. This is the same place where i saw Superman, Gandhi, the Herbie films…. going to Eros was always a treat. A rare event, but a much anticipated one….

And of course, there is the Mumbai University – I probably have fond memories of the place because I studied elsewhere …. I always found the clock tower rather impressive and imperious ….. typical Brit architecture

And finally, after trudging about at Kala Ghoda – you can read more about that at the official Kala Ghoda Blog – it was time to return home. Under the halogen lights, even Church Gate Station looks pretty……

We got a fast train and were back in Andheri in 25 minutes… it took us longer to reach home from the station 🙂