Another era discovered in Kalbadevi quarter

After the Majlis-Max Mueller Bhavan 'City Narratives in Literature and Cinema' film festival ends in September the lovely 19th century Edward Talkies Theatre, where you can still watch movies for 18-28 rupees, will go back to screening kitschy 1990s Bollywood flicks. But that's not the only artefact from antiquity to be had.

The whole neighborhood of Kalbadevi and Dhobi Talao down Lokmanya Tilak Marg is a veritable study in odd and ends from another era.

Wagle & Co., Lokmanya Tilak Marg, Dhobi Talao: In Dhobi Talao, you can throw a stone and you will hit a sports shop. The area has a sports fetish -- Diana Sports, Bombay Sports, Pioneer Sports, Jhaveri Sports the list of shops goes on. One of the oldest, Wagle & Co. stands out with its striking signage of stained glass-like panels. Established in 1865, it claims to be the first sports shop in India. Several Bollywood gossip sites say that when Shahrukh Khan wanted to set up an especially constructed boxing ring for his son, Aryan, he approached Wagle & Co. In addition to the run-of-the-mill cricket bats and tennis racquets, they have some unusual stuff here. If you are in the mood for an India rope trick, pick up a malkhamb rope for Rs 1,500. They even have hunting gear. 

Wagle & Co: 290 LT Marg, Dhobi Talao; tel. +91 982002 8841

St Xaviers High School, Lokmanya Tilak Marg, Dhobi Talao: Across the road from Walgle & Co. is St Xaviers High School, an institution that can easily double up as a natural history museum. It houses a 3,000-odd collection of preserved animals, birds and reptiles that rivals that of the Prince of Wales Museum down town. A snarling Bengal tiger guards a row of classrooms inside. The collection scattered across three floors, belonged to Father Antonio Navarro, a former Jesuit priest and ornithologist. The tiger was gifted to him by the maharaja of Bansda who was a student at the school.

Some of the exhibits have a touch of the macabre,  particularly a section of cut-off birds' heads. Not quite what you would want to chance upon without warning. The school's museum-worthiness doesn't stop at the stuffed animals collection. In the compound stands a strangely shaped piece of metal mounted on a stone pedestal. This is a piece of the broken propeller of SS Fort Stikine that fell in the school compound after the famous Victoria Docks Explosion in April 1944. If that's not quaint and quirky, I don't know what is. 

St Xaviers School: LT Marg, Dhobi Talao; tel. +91 (0) 22 2262 1113

The New & Secondhand Book Shop (NSB), Kalbadevi Road, Kalbadevi: You can go hunting at this dusty little shop situated a few paces ahead of Edwards Theatre. Started by JN Ratansey, a wastepaper trader in 1905, NSB's dusty recesses have long been a favorite haunt for lovers of the printed word. Dr BR Ambedkar got his books from here. So did yesteryear heroine Begum Para, Dr Rafique Zakaria and newspaper editor AG Noorani. Foreign visitors including well-known French writer Olivier Todd have found priceless old books here -- from rare French classics to first prints of HG Wells works.

I ducked into the store on a rainy afternoon, spent an hour there and came back with a stack of old books -- a King Arthur compilation with illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, a copy of "The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs and an Eskimo tale with fabulous woodcut illustrations that I am thinking of framing -- all between Rs 30 to Rs 50. NSB has made browsing simpler by organizing their books according to topics. And they have 68 of them -- from gardening and spirituality to dictionary and children.

NSB: 526 Kalbadevi Road, Bank of India Building; tel. +91 (0) 22 2201 3314

Kyani & Co., Dhobi Talao: The old sign forbidding loitering and other such sins ("do not spit," "pay promptly, time is invaluable," "do not write letter," "do not comb") has been taken off and you can sit for hours reading a freshly purchased book and having chai and brun maska at one of the red checkered tables that dot this famous and still cozy Irani cafe. Or start your day with a plate of their baked beans on toast and a plateful of akuri (scrambled eggs Irani style). End with one of their famous cream buns, crunchy with a macaroon-like twist on top and creamy custard inside.

Before leaving, pack something from the Kyani top-of-the-charts list -- chicken patties, cheese khari biscuits, mawa cake or coconut jam -- to take back home. Established in 1904, Kyani, like most Iranis, has maintained its reasonable prices and its regulars are a melting pot mix of handcart pullers, cabbies, workers, grey-haired aunties and uncles, college types wearing handloom and corporate suits. Regulars have included Mumbai personalities like Pervez Damania, Behram Contractor, Shashi Kapoor and MF Husain.

Back in the old days, Kyani's was like a training college for Iranis fresh off the boat looking to set up another cafe.

They would pick up tricks of the trade here and then strike up partnerships with others and start their own "caf." According to an account by Aflatoon Khodadad Shokriye, whose father Khodadad and his brother Khodamorad established Kyani's, some Irani cafes used to mix khus-khus (poppy seeds) in their chai. The cafe's chai became a bestseller and soon all the cafes started lacing their chai with poppy, till the authorities cottoned on and asked them to cease the soporific addition. Here's Aflatoon Shokriye's personal account.

Kyani & Co: 657 Jer Mahal, Dhobi Talao; tel. +91 (0) 22 2201 1492

Furtados, Jer Mahal, Dhobi Talao: Pick up a genuine Steinway piano at Furtados. Or an acoustic guitar for Rs 200,000. Or ask for the best coach to help you with your guitar lessons. Established in 1865, Furtados is the place where generations of Mumbai rock stars have bought their weapons of choice. They have hundreds of musical instruments displayed across their two showrooms in the area and hold workshops and concerts. They launched a magazine recently and a record label -- Furtados Records -- that encourages upcoming bands. 

Furtado: Jer Mahal, Dhobi Talao; tel. +91 (0) 22 2201 3163; www.furtadosonline.com

Wellington Hair Dressing Hall, Dhobi Talao: Bollywood hunk Salman Khan smiles down beatifically from the walls of the 90-year-old Wellington Hair Dressing Hall that advertises itself as a beauty parlor for men in the Just Dial directory services. Situated on a junction, the large space has some crazy curves because of the circular structure of the building inside which it is housed. The rates are very reasonable here. You can get a shave for as little as twenty bucks. Add on another zero and you get a full body massage.

Wellington Hair Dressing: 322 Jer Mahal, Dhobi Talao; tel. +91 (0) 22 2200 2007

Bridal wear at Dhobi Talao: Around the corner from Wellington Hair Dressers, mannequins in ethereally white bridal gowns and raven-black wigs stand eternally poised at the windows of a row of bridal wear shops:  Queenie, White Rose and Danns. You can buy a whole lot of Christian kitsch wedding paraphernalia in here -- gowns in silk satin, crinoline, lace, and beads, wreaths and veils. They also cater to the needs of the bridesmaids, and even stock christening dresses for babies.

Danns Bridal: 8/280 Ramachandra Bldg, L T Marg, Dhobi Talao;  tel. +91 (0) 22 2203 5346

Indian Art Studio, Chhayachitrakar Chaddha Chowk, Kalbadevi: At the junction of Princess Street and Kalbadevi Road stands one of the oldest surviving photo studios in Mumbai. The wood-paneled interiors of the Indian Art Studio are full of black and white prints of carefully composed families -- many of them of royalty decked out in their best. The studio's envy-worthy collection of old studio portraits dates back more than 100 years. Some of their rare and original photos found pride of place at the exhibition The Artful Pose: Early Studio Photography in Mumbai (circa 1855-1930) held in February this year. The Alkazi Foundation for the Arts and the Bhau Daji Lad Museum organized the exhibition, which explored experimentation with portraiture, performance and popular art in photo studios.

Indian Art Studio: 174 Princess Street and Kalbadevi corner, Chhayachitrakar Chaddha Chowk, Kalbadevi; tel. +91 (0) 22  2206 3315