Bohri Mohalla during Ramzan teaches you to be yourself, no matter what.

Jalebi chacha at Noor Sweets

“What is the point of shooting this?”

I turned and looked at the young lady who looked sternly at me and said this. I had noticed her staring at me earlier. Perhaps she recognised me? It turned out to be misplaced hubris.

“It’s all there on YouTube,” she added with a note of exasperation at my naivete. 

Why be the n’th person?

This happened at Bohri Mohalla last Thursday.  Srishti Kedia was recording the making of malpuas at Shabbir’s Tawakkal. This was for my Instagram reels series on Ramzan in Bohri Mohalla. Srishti is a videographer whom I often work with. I stood beside her in the crowd and shot some BTS on my phone. This triggered the lady.

What just transpired mirrored my initial scepticism about creating Instagram reels at Bohri Mohalla during Ramzan. Back in the day, Bohri Mohalla was this dark, mysterious place which was tucked away somewhere below the JJ Flyover. The land that time forgot.

Ramzan in Bohri Mohalla has been Instagrammed the hell out by influencers in the past couple of years. Tour companies do foods walk there. The partial redevelopment of the area has slightly gentrified it. Bohri Mohalla was no longer one’s hidden love.

Srishti Kedia

I voiced my concerns to Srishti when we had earlier brainstormed on what to shoot for the channel. Her POV as a GenZ was important. While I had suggested Bohri Mohalla as a subject, I had my doubts. Was there any point doing anything at Bohri Mohalla now, I asked her. How would what we do stand out given that there is so much content created around. It is different from when I was one of very few who would write about it.

Let us turn the clock back by 10 years. My friend, Dr Kurush Dalal was the one who introduced me to Bohri Mohalla, its people and its food wonders. Bohri Mohalla is a locality that lies adjacent to Mumbai’s Mohammad Ali Road. It is named after the members of the Dawoodi Bohra community that live there. “The food at BM is a million times better than what one gets at Md Ali Road during Ramzan” explained the Kurush, “with none of the madding crowds of the Md Ali Road.” He was right. As always!

When Kurush introduced us to Bohri Mohalla in 2011. This was shot at Valibhai Payawala which is no longer there

I did my first FinelyChopped food walk there 10 years back. I have shot for the Discovery Channel US here. I launched my first YouTube channel, The FinelyChopped, here 8 years back. I have written about BM in my blog and have written about it in my book, The Travelling Belly. 

The lady who pointed out the futility of my actions did not know of any of this. No surprises there. Time stops for no man, as the poet said.

With Huzefa Mithaiwala at Noor Sweets

I did not want to be one of those old fogies who rest on memories of the good old days. Which is why I voiced my doubts about being able to create something different from what is out there.

“Your content is unique,” Srishti countered. “It is documentary-style, informative and has a long shelf life.”

Srishti seemed to have more faith in me than I had! Let’s do it, I said. A tad doubtfully.

With Moayyad Mithaiwala at Shabbir’s Tawakkal

The late Shabbir Tawakkal, 2011

My eyes lit up the moment I reached Bohri Mohalla. The familiar sights and aromas made me do a happy dance. The warm smiles with which I was welcomed back had my heart. It was 2 years since I had last come here. I had not kept count but my friends at Bohri Mohall had. I knew their fathers, who had unfortunately passed away. Some of the families had split and ran separate enterprises. Such is life. 

With Shadab Mohammad (in white) and and Haji Abdul Samad at Haji Tikka

I was fed a lot of great food that evening and in one case, literally hand-fed jalebis.  Be it Moayad Mithaiwala of Shabbir’s Tawakkal, Haji Abdul Samad and Shadab Mohammad of Haji Tikka, Zaid Naeem Ahmed of Surti Bara Handi or Huzefa Mithaiwala of Noor Sweets, they all took out the time to talk to us even though they were thronged by customers. I was touched by their kindness.

With Zaid Nayeem Ahmed at Surti Bara Handi

Zaid’s dad, Nayeem. 2014. He is in Pune where they have just opened a new branch

I learnt an important lesson from the stories I heard that evening. Stories of taking the family legacy ahead in the face of a changing world. They had introduced new products, enlisted on delivery apps and built their brands through social media. One cannot be an ostrich stuck with its head in the sand. But they had not given up on what made them unique. They were proud of it.

Be flexible, but be yourself, is what I took out of the evening.

PS: ‘Be yourself no matter what they say’, is a line from the song ‘An Englishman in New York,’ by Sting.

Be yourself no matter what they say Finely Chopped Bohri Mohalla Ramzan video playlist. 2015

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