sweet spot

One of the little things I really like is sleeping on the sand at Chowpatty. (The marine drive one). I think that’s one of the lost experiences in the city. As I often like to say - there is no better solitude than in a crowd. (opposites reconciling again) Being a part of a teeming mass but yet all alone gives a funny feeling. Sitting on the beach and looking at all the neon signs, hearing the distant din of traffic and getting a Talia massage done is a complete stress buster. That too for a max of 20 bucks within 10 minutes of my Nariman Point office.

For the uninitiated ‘talia’ massage is a basically a foot massage which is done using a small copper vessel, which he rhythmically presses against the sole of your feet. It’s a bit ticklish to start with but is outstanding for relieving feet stress. He will then show you the black residue on the vessel which he claims is your heat which has released during the massage.

I would love to get this done more often but alas….I need to go more often. In fact many times Jasmine and me take Jispa to Chowpatty, spread out the bed sheet and open the hamper for a picnic. 6 pm is the best time to reach there. Jispa can run about with a football or some other game and since it’s a clean beach, we are not so worried about her. We once took our cousin Arjun for a lovely evening and how we buried him in the sand and made him look like a mermaid. He and Jispa completely freaked out and we did as well. It’s fun to dig and play in the sand.

Its amazing, when I think about it, how some of the best spots are bang in the middle of the places you want to run from. There are many such small places in mumbai where I often run to, and I hope to write about them in time to come. If you guys know of any such sweet spots, do write in.