Zainab Bawa’s Blog

20 ^th May 2005

This evening, I am at Marine Drive again. I decide to walk around a bit before settling down in one place. From opposite Pizzeria onwards, there is quite a crowd on the wall of the promenade. Families are there, sitting on the sea wall and enjoying the space.

I walk ahead. I come towards Marine Plaza opposite which, on the promenade, is a conglomeration of pigeons. People put grains here to feed the pigeons. This evening, a little boy is playing in between with the pigeons. This is a little child who is running about here and there, playing with the pigeons. There are times when he runs towards the sea wall. There are times he goes back to his pigeon friends. Then, as curious little children do, he tries to feel the ground and everything that’s on it. And as mothers do, his mother comes and gets him to take his hands off the ground, ‘Sheesh, it’s dirty,” she says. A while later, another little child comes with his parents and plays with the pigeons. There appears to be an interesting relationship between children and pigeons. Most people I have spoken to recall their first memories of the promenade as that of feeding the birds. Sea – birds – children – perhaps that’s one of the elements which adds to the buzz of this city!

Watching children take their first little steps on the promenade is a highly satisfying experience. It gets me to think about the relationship that exists between children and the city and one more aspect of freedom that prevails in the city!

A while later, Santosh Yadav comes by. As usual, I purchase chana zor garam from him. “This is very popular with ladies people,” he tells me. “When school and college are on, my stuff gets sold even before I hit the promenade. In parties, women love eating this,” he adds. He begins to explain his business to me and its economics. Last evening, I was with a male friend at the promenade and I could sense Yadavji’s curiousity about my friend. This evening, while dishing out chana zor garam to me, he asks, “Who was that boy with you yesterday?” I reply to him coolly, “He was a colleague at work.” I realize that certain relationships develop in certain ways. Can’t say much about this today … “This must be the peak business time for you?” I inquire with him. “Yes,” he says, “but more business takes place around the Air India building side of the promenade. There are lots of office-goers who sit there. And they are regular customers,” he informs me. “By the way, on some days, you must not give me money for the chana zor garam . Just take it like that only,” he tells me. I promise him that today he must take the money and from next time, I won’t pay him, thus evading the situation for today!

I find it interesting how on a single promenade, spaces come to acquire their character with different groups of people occupying them regularly over a period of time. The Air India Building side promenade now has the character of office-goers who sit there. The Pizzeria side of the promenade has young couples, middle-aged couples, couples from colleges and families. From beyond Oberoi Towers (now Hilton Hotel), the promenade is largely occupied, intermittently, by couples and families. It then makes me wonder whether spaces are consciously designed keeping in mind potential groups of occupiers? Maybe not! I guess spaces simply acquire their character only after they have been built – it’s perhaps a complex relationship between built environment and human behaviour!

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