If you drive down the Linking Road in Bandra, you may not even notice it, if you are a nature lover, you may be attracted with the tall trees emitting the fresh fragrance from Nilgiri trees, but walk over and look closely, you will see a small patch of enclosed park which can bring peace and tranquility. That is the Nilgiri Park, just opposite Amarsons, where you could relax some evenings.
And this Sunday, this park was bustling with health-conscious veterans who have adopted the organic mode of living.
Entering the park through a narrow gate, I was transported into a different world, where there were stalls of all kinds, screaming 'Healthy Eating, Urban Living' all of them focussed on being organic.
"First time in my life that I am enjoying shopping" I heard one man say to his companion, as he walked from stall to stall, checking for freshness in vegetables and fruits and wanting to grab all. There was sale of seeds, oils, cereals, nuts, cookies.etc
People were interested in buying greens although, mumbai heat and the transport of these farm vegetables from rural to urban stalls had decayed much of it. For example, a bunch of coriander leaves had half of the bunch with rotten leaves. Maybe, if an extra care is taken while packing, we might see the better quality and freshness in the vegetables next time.
One shopper tells me that she was happy with organic potatoes and it made difference of taste in her cooking (next time I will buy those perhaps) and there were brinjals too (not BT mind you :))
There were other things too, like T-shirts, wall paints, baskets, furniture, medicines, etc
There was a canteen at the back of the stalls that sold mediterranean health food like salads with crackers with the option of dressing, pate or pesto. I wanted to buy salad dressing, and even requested for it, but canteen was short of hands and I could not wait longer. But there was something for everyone.
There were many writers too, like
Dipti Dutt and
Chhavi Sachdev, who besides shopping and visiting stalls, were also interviewing people and they went back home with memorable moments to share with their friends.
Next Sunday, I plan to go back there with my own cloth bag and do one week of shopping for cooking oils, seeds, cookies, spices and some fresh organic vegetables.
