The top Mumbai stories from CNNGo in 2009
Mumbai has emerged, and now it is evolving. The terror of 26/11 made it catch its breath for a short time, but as a hyperactive and cosmopolitan metropolis, Mumbai continues to hold its place as the commerce and entertainment capital of India.
As the stories below testify, here the old and the new coexist, street food thrives next to expensive new bars across the street, youthful creative professionals do well in Bollywood and art continues to extend its reach. Read on for the Mumbai stories that made 2009.
1. World's Greatest City: 50 reasons Mumbai is No. 1
This list is our interpretation of all the elements, those atoms and particles, that make up the miraculous organism that is Mumbai. It's the 50 best but we could have compiled 1,050. When you consider the grandest of icons that call Mumbai home and at the same time focus on its most minute details, it’s hard not to think this is the most incredible city on Earth. And readers agree, this list has stuck on our most popular column since we launched this September.
2. Delicious and defiant: Mumbai's late-night food
My parents ate at these places when they were in college. I hit some of these spots as a wind down to my days and nights. The street side food culture of the after-hours restaurants on this list is a must-know Mumbai experience, whether you crave mutton kebabs or pure vegetarian.
3. The Mumbai Hot List: 20 people to watch
The story is one of my favorites. Music, money, politics, comedy, philanthropy, food, technology, business… if you think Mumbai is all Bollywood, you haven’t met these fascinating, young ground-breakers, celebrities in their own space.
Ravi, a young Gujarati boy, now known as the Lingo Kid all over the internet, sells the peacock feathers his grandmother makes to tourists at Mumbai's Hanging Gardens. He was eight when he started selling feathers and could not speak English. In a few years Ravi could rattle off a sale in more languages than the Pope. Watch the video.
5. Travel writer Chuck Thompson on the evil genius of Indian salesmen
The post that got us the most flack and praise simultaneously is that penned by travel writer Chuck Thompson. But Thompson has a tough hide. His novel "To Hellholes and Back" is a lesson in learning to laugh at the madness that his brand of freestyle traveling brings.
1. 10 personalized presents: From India with love...
India was the bespoke capital of the world before the word went global. Custom made is the name of the game and gifts don't get more uniquely Indo-chic than those on this list. Compiled by Mumbai cool hunters known as the Brown Paper Bag girls.
2. Taj hotel reopens Wasabi and Harbour Bar and Mumbai's new open Aer bar and A tête-à-tête with the Tote twosome
My top three bar openings of the year that bring the new with respect to the old. The historic Harbour Bar at the Taj, burned down to the ground during the terror attacks, ressurected in a totally modern art deco avatar; Tote on the turf, the old world Mahalaxmi Turf Club turned into a paradigm of nightlife in modern India; and Aer, a roof top bar on the edge of the towering Four Seasons hotel with the best view of South Mumbai, covering the old and new in one panorama.
3. Video: Mumbai's master street food chefs
Watch Mumbai's master street chefs whittle a coconut, fold a paan, cut a cucumber sandwich and cobble together a plate of chaat with a dexterity and nimbleness you've never seen before, interpreted in this video by local filmmaker Padmini Harchandrai.
This story did particularly well to prove that global interest in Indian art is alive. Interestingly while the number of domestic buyers has definitely dwindled this year, the creativity among local curators such as Abhay Maskara and Bose Krishnamachari has been promising, with not a few brand new art galleries adding flavor to the Colaba art mile.
5. Director Anurag Kashyap roars from the dark side of Bollywood; Top 10: The biggest lies in Bollywood and The world's best books on Bollywood
Entertainment media in Mumbai eats Bollywood news for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But all too often it's gossip and sensationalism, not journalism. Pushing for alternative perspectives, personalities and publications on the Hindi film industry are these, my editor's picks for Bollywood stories at CNNGo Mumbai this year (and there were many)!
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