byculla Archives

“Trigger Dabaya… Aur Khel Khallas!” 20 Years Ago, Vaastav Truly Mainstreamed Gangster Lingo

Years later, Munnabhai MBBS and most recently, Gully Boy, did what Vaastav set the trend for two decades ago – give Bollywood dialogues a coloquial veneer. Phrases like “pachaas tola” and words like “ghoda” remain a snapshot of what Mumbai is really like beyond the Queen’s Necklace and plush skyscrapers.

Damian D'souza July 22, 2016

People

Lights, Camera, Gangsters: Growing Up With Mumbai’s Real Ganesh Gaitondes

I grew up in the Byculla of ’80s and ’90s, in middle-class insularity on the fringes of the gangland. Yet, I do not recognise the boys of Sacred Games. And I knew them well. They came to collect donations for Navratri and Ganpati, and they didn’t use creative expletives like the L-word.

Samina Motlekar July 9, 2016

Culture

Namaz, Iftar, and Badminton: The Little Rituals of the Ramzan of My Childhood

In most other places, people welcome Ramzan by hanging lanterns on their windows or lighting up the streets. But in Mumbai’s Byculla, children welcome the holy month by fishing for a battered old pair of badminton racquet and as many shuttlecocks as they can lay their hands on.

Tasneem Pocketwala May 24, 2016