I had done a short list of experiences and places in
Bombay in 2004 - a sort of 101. But that was too short a list to justify that Bombay is my favourite city in India. Here's another attempt to redraw a list of city's many charms. Should we say the 201 course?
100 Things To Do in Bombay
- Get high on qawwali at Haji Ali
- Spot a celebrity at Juhu PVR
- Sit down on the steps of Asiatic Society library
- Crane your neck to see the Bombay Stock Exchange building
- Spot a leopard in IIT Bombay campus. If you can't, then spot a girl
- Enjoy a play in Prithvi Theatre
- Enjoy the NCPA in a play or opera
- Find some calm around the Banganga tank
- Haggle for non-antiques in Chor Bazaar
- Face the high tide on Worli seaface
- Bet money on race horses at the Royal Western India Turf Club, Mahalaxmi
- Dangle your feet, lean back on your palms and enjoy the sea from the Marine Drive promenade
- Go for a heritage walk in the Naval Dockyard (first Sunday every month, Indian nationals only)
- Explore the Sanjay Gandhi national park. A national park in city limits? Oh yeah!
- Soak in the Victoria Terminus
- Watch DDLJ at Maratha Mandir
- Party at Hard Rock Cafe and mourn for a minute the death of mills around Parel
- Jog on Juhu beach
- Sit on a tetropod at Nariman Point in midnight till police constables shoo you away
- Stand still on flyover bridge at Dadar station and watch the crowd whiz by you
- Find out who is grittier. You or Crawford market?
- Find the Fort wall
- Ride the Victoria on Marine Drive. Yeah, cheesy, we know
- Discover the city's Jewish connection at Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue
- Watch sunset over Aksa beach in Madh Island
- Discover the underbelly of Bombay in Dharavi
- Stay for a night at Taj Mahal Palace hotel. You definitely want to tick off this luxury address for the oh-I-stayed-there-for-a-while conversations, don't you?
- Catch the national madness of cricket in Oval Maidan
- Read a Bombay book (Suketu Mehta's Maximum City?) in Azaad Maidan
- Cheer a football match at Cooperage ground
- Bury your nose in books for hours at Strand
- Stroll in Bombay University
- Climb the airport boundary wall in Kurla to gain phenomenal views of Boeings
- Swoon at a concert in Bandra Kurla complex
- Gaze at the Queen's Necklace from the Hanging Gardens at dusk
- Hunt for antique furniture (real or fake?) in Oshiwara
- Hike up the Mazgaon Hill
- Buy books from roadsides around Flora Fountain
- Envy the private palaces of Malabar Hill
- Party on a ferry in the Arabian Sea off Gateway of India
- Take a break from the city. Vasai offers the ramparts of Bassein fort, ruins of Portugese churches and East Indian food
- Trek in Sahayadris
- Say hello to the fauna at Byculla zoo
- Buy a camera from D N Road's gray market
- Dare the red light district of Kamatipura
- Guess what RFID system they use to tag clothes at the Dhobi Ghat
- Take a power nap at David Sassoon Library
- Catch movies at art-deco cinemas: Regal (1933), Eros (1938), Metro (1938)
- Bow your head before city's famous deities: Mumbadevi, Mahalaxmi, Walkeshwar, Siddhivinayak, Iskcon
- Dine where Shahrukh Khans and Ness Wadias dine: Olive, Indigo
- Feel the sufi mysticism at dargahs of Haji Ali and Maqdoom Ali Mahimi
- Shop at the Bandra boutiques or if they are too expensive, give Hill Road or Fashion Street a shot
- Gape at famous residences: Shahrukh Khan's Mannat, Amitabh Bachhan's Jalsa
- Discover theatre scene in the city at venues other than Prithvi and NCPA: Sophia Bhabha Hall, Breach Candy; St Andrews, Bandra W; Rangsharda Auditorium, Bandra W; Ravindra Natya Mandir Hall, Prabhadevi; Gadkari Rangayatan, Thane W; Shivaji Mandir; Bhartiya Vidhya Bhavan, Chaupaati; Tejpal Hall, Grant Road
- Explore the Powai and Vihar lakes
- Visit the museums: Prince of Wales, Monetary, Modern Art, Mani Bhavan
- Admire the British era architecture in Fort: Churchgate station, Western Railway headquarters, High Court, General Post Office, Telegraph Office, Police Headquarters
- Learn about the rock-cut architecture: Elephanta, Kanheri, Mahakali and Karla caves
- Explore the churches: Gloria Church, Byculla, Portugese; Mt Mary Church, Bandra W, Portugese, 1640; St Michaels Church, Mahim, 1565, rebuilt 1973; St Thomas Cathedral, Flora Fountain, 1718; Wodehouse Church, Colaba, 20th century; Afghan Church, Navy Nagar, Colaba, 1858; Our Lady of Salvation Church, Dadar W, Portugese, 19th century; St John Baptist, Seepz, 1579; St Peter's Church, Bandra, 1852, rebuilt 1938; St Andrew's Church, Bandra, Portugese, 1575
- Check out an art exhibition: Jehangir Art Gallery, Fort; Tao Art Gallery, Worli; Piramal Art Gallery, Nariman Point
- Buy fish at Sassoon Docks, Cuffe Parade or Dockyard Road, Mazgaon
- Find the forts of Bombay: Bombay Castle, Fort; Castella de Aguada, Bandra; Madh Fort, Versova; Mahim Fort, Mahim; Sion Fort, Sion; Sewri Fort, Sewri; Worli Fort, Worli
- Buy a vintage bollywood poster in Mini Market or Lamington Road
- Getaway to the beaches around Bombay: Alibag, Kashid, Murud, Nagaon
- Travel to places overnight: Goa, Ajanta Ellora, Mahabaleshwar, Pune, Khandala and Lonavala
- Discover the charm of marble tabletops, bentwood chairs and irani chai at Parsi cafes
- Catch behind the scenes action at a Bollywood studio
- Loft the ball for a six in your neighborhood 'galli' cricket but make sure you don't break any window panes
- Silently stare at the Towers of Silence and Agiaries
- Shadow the dabbawalas for one full day
- Walk through a koliwada
- Ride a vintage lift in a 100 year old building
- Travel in a local train. How about the Virar Fast?
- Ride a double decker bus. Isn't Bombay the only city where they still run them?
- If you have made it to a penthouse in Bombay, you might as well enjoy the view
- Drink cutting chai, eat vada pav
- Gorge on late night sandwiches in Juhu
- Sip some wine at an expensive seaside restaurant: Vie Lounge, Juhu; Dome, Intercontinental, Marine Drive; Aurus, Juhu; Salt Water Grill, Girgaum Chaupaati; Bayview Bar, Nariman Point
- Figure what all the fuss is about having a beer in Mondegar or Leopold
- Jack you car bonnet using a cold-drink bottle and eat kababs at Bade Miyan in Taj's back alley
- Walk the nostalgic streets of Kotachiwadi and pay a tribute to Anant Ashram - once the mecca of fine and authentic East Indian cuisine
- Eat a Gujrati-Marwari thali at Friends Union Joshi club in Kalbadevi
- Smoke a hookah at roof-top restaurant Koyla in the Arab quarters of Colaba
- Eat South Indian fare in Matunga
- Eat pav bhaji, pani puri, bhel puri, sev puri at Girgaum Chaupaati
- Chew a paan outside Shoppers Stop, Bandra W
- Indulge yourself with fruity flavors of Naturals ice cream. And if it's summer, try a cup of alfonso mangoes with malai ice cream
- Learn out the art of ordering tea in a streetside cafe. "Ek paani kum dena."
- Drink Kingfisher, Cobra or Zingaro in your neighborhood look-alike bar of Nightlovers
- Try the green chilli ice cream at Bachelorrs
- Swing to some live music as you enjoy your continental meal at Not Just Jazz By The Bay. Do pay attention to the witty hoarding outside as you leave the place
- Run the Bombay Marathon (Jan)
- Enjoy the Kala Ghoda arts festival (Feb)
- Cheer 'Mumbai Indians' in an IPL cricket match at Wankhede statdium (May-Jun)
- Get drenched to the bone while biking in the monsoons (Jul-Sep)
- Sing "Govinda aala re aala" as 40 feet high human pyramids take the prized matka (Aug-Sep)
- Get lost in the crowds of Ganesh Chaturthi (Sep)
- Watch thousands of pink flamingos in the mangroves at Sewri (Nov-May)
- Eat nihari, kababs and sweetmeats around Masjid on the eve of Eid (Ramzan)
- Run a 'free hug' campaign. This is Bombay, meri jaan!
The list above is sorted like this: Places at the top, experiences next, followed by eats, and seasonal events at the bottom. Other specific eatings will be moved to a separate list below.
10 Books on Bombay
- Bombay, Meri Jaan - Jerry Pinto and Naresh Fernandes
- Bombay Time - Thrity Umrigar
- City of Gold - The Biography of Bombay - Gillian Tindall
- Family Matters / Swimming Lessons and Other Stories From Firozsha Baag - Rohinton Mistry
- Love and Longing in Bombay - Vikram Chandra
- Maximum City - Suketu Mehta
- Midnights Children - Salman Rushdie
- Parsis - Sooni Taraporevala
- Rediscovering Dharavi - Kalpana Sharma
- Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
10 Movies on Bombay
- Aamir, 2008 - Raj Kumar Gupta
- Black Friday, 2006 - Anurag Kashyap
- Bombay, 1996 - Mani Ratnam
- Mithya, 2008 - Rajat Kapoor
- Mumbai Cutting, 2009 - Various
- Mumbai Meri Jaan, 2008 - Nishant Kamat
- Page 3, 2005 - Madhur Bhandarkar
- Salaam Bombay!, 1988 - Mira Nair
- Satya, 1998, Company, 2002 and Sarkar, 2005 - Ram Gopal Varma
- Slumdog Millionaire, 2008 - Danny Boyle
40 Places To Eat At in Bombay
- Jai Hind Lunch Home, Bandra W - Coastal
- Mahesh Lunch Home, Fort - Coastal
- Gajalee, Vile Parle E - Coastal
- Highway Gomantak, Bandra E - Goan Seafood
- Baghdadi, Colaba - Mughlai
- Bade Miyan, Colaba - Mughlai
- Cafe Noorani, Worli - Mughlai
- Gulshan-e-Iran, Masjid - Mughlai
- Kakori House, Bandra W - Awadhi
- Madras Cafe, Matunga - South Indian
- Mani's Lunch Home, Matunga - South Indian
- A Rama Nayak Udipi, Matunga - South Indian
- Swati Snacks, Tardeo - Gujarati and Snacks
- Shree Gujarati Club, Santacruz W - Gujarati Thali
- Govinda, Juhu - Indian Vegetarian
- Bhagat Tara Chand, Vashi - Indian Vegetarian
- Britannia, Fort - Parsi
- Jimmy Boy, Fort - Parsi
- Cafe Leopold, Colaba - Indian, Continental, Parsi
- Cafe Churchill, Colaba - Continental, Parsi
- Cafe Mondegar, Colaba - Watering Hole
- Totos, Bandra W - Pub
- Firangi Pani, Andheri W - Pub
- Not Just Jazz By The Way, Marine Drive - Continental
- Aura, Powai - Continental
- Indigo, Colaba - Continental, European
- Vie Lounge, Juhu - Continental
- Out of the Blue, Bandra W - Continental
- Global Fusion, Khar W - Continental and Sushi
- Barbeque Nation, Bandra W - Indian BBQ
- Alfredo's, Juhu - Pizza
- Cafe Basilico, Bandra W - Bistro and Deli
- Pali Village Cafe, Bandra W - Continental
- The Tasting Room, Parel - Cocktails and continental
- Aromas, Powai - Coffee and bites
- Candies, Bandra W - Potpourri
- Koyla, Colaba - Hookah
- Sammy Sosa, Andheri W - Mexican
- The Spaghetti Kitchen, Powai - Italian
- Theobrama, Colaba - Cakes and Dessert