A Navratri Pandal, Bademiya And A Church Live In Complete Harmony On A Mumbai Road. And We Can All Learn From It.

This Monday, Right Wing outfits in Gurgaon shut down close to 500 meat shops, because, "Everyone should eat vegetarian food during Navratras". Their fight turned moderately violent and the police had to intervene, but despite that, just yesterday, more meat shops were shut as a part of the war against non-vegetarian food.

1400 kms away, one tiny lane at Apollo Bandar, Colaba holds up the middle finger and shows just what India really is about. Tullock road is the lane right behind the famous Mondy¡¯s restaurant, you can see the Taj Palace hotel from here.

It¡¯s a usual Mumbai by-lane except it is where the famous Bademiya, Mumbai¡¯s poster boy of Mughlai food lives. 15 feet away, a Navratri pandal churns off music in full force. 10 steps away is Bowen Memorial Methodist Church, which just happened to be holding a wedding yesterday. All without a single cop present, all without one single sneer or jeer. This is the India that we all love, but the India we were fast forgetting.

The road is lit up like its preparing for a big wedding, there¡¯s lights, dimmers and at the end of the road, there is a stage blaring religious songs set to Bollywood tunes and a small crowd. As we turn into Bademiya, its 8.45 (still very early for Bademiya) most of the customers are people who¡¯ve tanked up on the local watering holes like Press Club, Mondy¡¯s or Gokul and arrived for proteins and carbs.

As the order of brain curry, anda bhurji, baida roti, bhuna mutton with the legendary chutney arrive the music continues to blare. It¡¯s a Navratri celebration, but surprisingly not one person at Bademiya seems to mind. A waiter is a little puzzled over why we want to know about the Navratri pandal. The pandal starts with Ganesh Chaturthi and continues until the end of Navratri and happens every year. ¡°It doesn¡¯t go on too late,¡± he explains¡­will stop in a while.

The pandal is set up by the ¡®Apollo Bandar Navratri Utsav Mandal¡¯ and by now there is even a drum set up and the crowd is thickening ¨C both in front of Bademiya and in front of the mandal stage.

Another waiter, this time our own is less talkative but confirms there are no issues between the pandal which ostensibly celebrates being vegetarian and Bademiya which is the poster child of everything carnivorous.

Truth be told, there is a small Bademiya (set a few steps away from the main Bademiya) that is properly vegetarian but if you walk down this road, you¡¯ll forget that this is the same state which had seen a rather vicious, violent crackdown on beef. This is also the city wherein many societies don¡¯t rent out apartments to non-vegetarians.

In a country where people don¡¯t think twice before thramming their dietary and religious beliefs down the throats of others, Tullock Road in its own way shows the middle finger. It also shows the way in which not one but several religions can survive together without needing a cop to break them up. Or without shaming someone for eating non-vegetarian.

As we get ready to leave after polishing off our meal, the business outside the ¡®vegetarian¡¯ Bademiya has started picking up. I wouldn¡¯t be very surprised if it gets some business the Navratri mandal.

Lead the way Tullock road ¨C you are an unlikely hero in a country like ours where Dominos goes vegetarian during Navratris and KFC gets pressure from Shiv Sainiks to go off the chicken.