Apollo Bunder

Girgaon meets Hughes road for ‘tea’ at an Irani café in Colaba! 

There’s something about South Bombay that still evokes a tingling feeling and a sense of awe in me- the reason for which baffles me even after so many years of my love affair with it, which began in my teens, when I went there as an immigrant from Delhi after college. This energy was and is still palpable (for me South Mumbai is Bombay, rest is just suburbs....ok, maybe, Bandra could be included) be it in its amazing Architecture which ranges from beautiful wooden, tile roofed Portuguese inspired buildings to massive stone structures of the British era, mixed with Art Deco buildings, especially, in its cinemas and the homes on Marine Drive. They still inspire me every time I take a walk in the bylanes! (I guess I’ll always be an outsider).  

The mix of haute- couture and the plebeian, where 5 star hotels exist cheek-by-jowl with some questionable establishments- South Mumbai, quite literally is the Melting Pot, if there’s any in the world. Posh clubs, cheap cafes, boutiques and beggars vie for attention with chic restaurants, art galleries and bars that cater to all pockets. 

Add to this Pot, the quintessential and iconic Irani Café, one of the longest lasting and still thriving institutions of Old Bombay and its heritage and what you get is a true example of the word ‘Cosmopolitan’ with a unique visual & sensory vernacular.

A teenager with little money in my pocket, I would spend time in these quaint cafés (run by eccentric owners) for breakfast with bun-maska and chai and evenings for beer with friends whilst listening to the endless repeats of popular music being belted out of a rickety Jukebox (Purple Rain, anyone?). My favourite hangouts were Café Mondegar near Regal, Café Leopold down the road and Café Olympia on the opposite side, separated by the famous Colaba Clausway! Some of my best inspirations came from there as do some of my best friends! 

So, this then, a curation which I fondly call ‘APOLLO BUNDER’, is an ode to My Mumbai- a collection that tries to capture the essence and mood of this Golden stretch, in the pieces I have designed. So much a part of my growing up as a young 20 year old (in the 80’s) who came for 2 months but stayed back for 13 years!

BOBBY AGGARWAL (Principal Designer, PortsideCafé Furniture studio, based out of Delhi)