(march, 2025)
for nana and grandpa, who have filled our lives with stories and in turn, made us fall in love with the art of storytelling
author’s note a love letter to bandra
clarabelle jackie
ingrid
sandra from bandra james
masala - a playlist Girl meets
nana & grandpa
june & wilfy
gretabelle & carl
the susegad way of life candies at pali-hill a not-so-secret recipe
macapao the bandra aunty
bandra-isms acknowledgements
dear reader,
this book is many things all at once: an archive; a visual essay of a once sleepy village; a celebration of a culture and community often hidden in the margins; and perhaps, a personal diary too. it started out as a project to celebrate ‘aunties’ and their style – the women over 50 in the neighbourhood my grandparents live in and where my mum grew up, whose clothes have never ceased to amaze and amuse me. as I went on this journey of interviewing various aunties, I discovered that this community is one of many different creatives. the perfect example of “do what you love” and “live a rich life”, where wealth isn’t defined by how much money you have, but rather, how you choose to live your life. so thus, this is a celebration of the transcultural history and heritage of the minority indo-portuguese communities of mumbai, with a special focus on the beloved suburb of bandra. I hope that this starts a broader conversation on the diversity of india, and the various different minority communities that have previously been left out of mainstream media.
nana’s house pays homage to the many visits to my grandparents’ house over the years. growing up outside mumbai, my nana’s house was the portal through which I entered this alternate worlda world where it felt like time stood still, yet was constantly evolving. I have yet to come across another place with the same charm as bandra. this book is a celebration of people, community, their creativity and the spaces they occupy.
bandra west, mumbai, india. that’s where this book is transporting you today. see, bandra is known as the “queen of the suburbs” because of its large population of celebrities, quirky cafes, fancy boutiques and restaurants, and great street shopping. the real estate prices are through the roof because of how much it has to offer.
but that’s not the bandra I want to show you in these pages. before it became one of the most posh areas in mumbai, it was a small fishing village, home to the local fishermen and the indo-portuguese communities of mumbai. in the 16th century, the portuguese arrived in the konkan region on the western coast of india. the locals were converted into catholicism and still practice their religion in the same enclaves they’ve resided in for centuries. bandra is one of these few enclaves, where community meant everything and no one was a stranger.
there are three distinct indo-portuguese communities in mumbai: 1. the east indians, those converts who are the original inhabitants of mumbai; 2. the goans native to the state of goa, which was under portuguese rule for 400 years; and 3. the mangaloreans, those catholics who fled from goa to mangalore in an effort to retain their native tongue and traditions. many goans and mangaloreans migrated to mumbai in search of jobs opportunities. today, all three communities live in the same enclaves, and come together to preserve their shared culture which is a distinct mix of indian and portuguese.
nana’s house documents this version of bandra, the one with a rich history of the indo-portuguese culture demonstrated by its people, their bungalows, the small winding lanes with tons of tree shade, the food, music, and so much more. there’s an energy here that is so special. it’s bursting with creativity, community, and nostalgia.
while there are still beautiful bungalows in bandra, and the indo-portuguese community is still thriving, in their own, quiet way, there’s an increasing amount of high-rise buildings coming up and erasing this charm.
in an effort to document and archive a special culture that is slowly getting lost in the crowd, this book celebrates the ordinary lives of the older generation in bandra. they share stories of everyday life and perhaps encourage us to live more simply, to slow down and enjoy life in the way we want to. in a world that is constantly putting pressure on succeeding in a certain way, this neighbourhood reminds you to make sure you love what you do.
this photo series was done in response to jackie’s interview
this photo series was done in response to jackie’s interview
my mother was the most stylish of the lot. she loved colours and very big earrings.
house
not only would the umbrella and the bag and the shoes be matching, but the rosary in the bag also
by the time I was 15, I was stitching all my clothes. See darling we were twiggy era! so when I started teaching and the meter came in - since I was so slim, I would only buy 1 metre of material.
I used to work monday to friday and on saturday I used to stitch the dress, wear it to church on sunday, and on monday I would have a new dress to wear to school. and I mean like
see darling, a saree gives you some kind of glamour
the saree makes you feel so
you know?
I never smoked, I never drank, but clothes... that was my vice.
Danielle: When you walk the streets of bandra, it’s a lot of dresses and blouses and trousers...
Jackie: and also nothings, where the hemlines are meeting the necklines
but now what is happening is, that there’s such a beautiful fusion of
western and indian wear. I think that that is what I love to wear
clarabelle is a celebrity hairstylist, who has been in this industry for 47 years now.
clarabelle is a celebrity hairstylist, who has been in this industry for 47 years now.
Danielle: what made you want to get into hairstyling?
Clarabelle: actually, it was my dad that planned it for me. I think he just saw creativity in me and thought I might take it up as a passion and oh, did it grow into that!
you know, when I was a child I was a complete tomboy, permanently in shorts, always loafing around, playing in the streets. I think in some ways my father encouraged me to do hairdressing as a way to groom myself *laughs*.
clarabelle runs her salon out of her bungalow in bandra. clients from all over mumbai travel to her home to get their hair done.
some of her long-time clients include the likes of helen, waheeda rehman, deepika padukone as well as lara dutta, kareena kapoor, and shilpa shetty.
I’ve spent my whole life in bandra, I grew up on st. pauls road in a big family with 8 of us children. but bandra has changed a lot compared to what it used to be. all those old cottages and bungalows have been replaced by all these tall buildings and the traffic is just a disaster. but still, I can never leave bandra. it’s such a homely place and I love it, I just love it.
whatever you do, make sure it’s something you enjoy. I’m 65 and I have no intention of retiring because
I love my work!
Ingrid: so, I’m a goan from karachi, pakistan. I lost my parents when I was 11 years old. but I was brought up by my grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, so I never really missed my parents as such. and because my mother’s family lived in india, I came often to visit and have a holiday. so the last time I came here, my family said “now you don’t come back empty handed, you have to get married”
Danielle: how old were you?
Ingrid: uhh 30, yes going to be 30. so I came on holiday and at my cousin’s wedding in the catholic gym, fedelis (her husband) was compering! so he saw me from the stage and mind you, I was in a tube top with a black skirt that had a big slit.
this was my 50th birthday outfit. this was just one piece of jersey cloth I picked up in america. just like one of those cutpieces you know? and my cousins were asking me “what are you going to do with such a small piece of fabric?” but I made it into this halter, and I still wear it.
“I always loved to dress! and when I came to bombay, they would all tell me ‘this is an ordinary party, you don’t have to be so dressed up’ but I used to always like to be put together. I mean, no one is going to send you home for being overdressed! whether it was jumpsuits, minis, shorts, tube tops, I always loved dressing up.”
like a true bandra babe, ingrid does a lot of her shopping on hill road, the ultimate street shopping destination in bandra for clothes at an affordable price.
“sandra from bandra” is the colloquial term for christian career women, often secretaries, found in large concentrations in bandra, who appeared to enjoy several freedoms that indian women from other communities didn’t. they were also known for following european fashions and trends of the time. bollywood portrayed these women as hypersexual, often unserious, and everything the ideal virtuous indian woman shouldn’t be. in postcolonial cinema, they positioned these women, and the wider indian christian population as the other, and dangerous to india’s social fabric. by supposedly following a foreign religion, they portrayed them as foreigners in their own native land.
sandra is the girl from bandra, she works as a secretary.
sandra can’t be taken seriously, just look at the length of her skirt!
still, we must appreciate these women for the foundation they set for the rest of us. they made use of their freedoms, and were amongst the first indian women to enter the male-dominated workforce.
although they were the brunt of misogynistic jokes and sexual stereotyping, the rest of us owe something to them for spearheading an opportunity for more women to follow in their footsteps and share their freedoms.
a peek into james ferreira’s 200-year old indo-portuguese bungalow
james ferreira
*james is from kotachiwadi
james ferreira
*james is from kotachiwadi
a peek into james ferreira’s 200-year old indo-portuguese bungalow
james ferreira (68) is an east-indian fashion designer, who began his career in the mid-70s. he has previously worked under zandra rhodes, opened his own boutiques, worked as a costume designer for bollywood, and more recently, shares his knowledge and passion with the next generation as a visitng lecturer. although he has roots in bandra, he lives and works out of his 200 year old family bungalow in kotachiwadi - one of the last surviving heritage gaothans (villages) of mumbai. apart from his passion for design, he also actively works to preserve heritage districts like kotachiwadi from gentrification.
james’ interest in fashion came from his mother, who he describes as being extremely stylish. as a child, he would accompany her on her visits to the various boutiques that made her clothes, fondly remembering the names of some of her favourite designers
there was Madame Pompadour at the Taj, Madame Guleb, Madame Pope, and Madame Heim
“I was a big primadonna when I was young. my mother would spend her thursdays getting her outfits made and I insisted on going with her each week. one thursday we’d go to colaba for her shoes and gowns. the next, we’d go to get her gloves done. then, we’d take the car and head to bandra to my aunty lydia’s for her day dresses and then to aunty anne’s to make the hats. that’s how I spent my thursdays and if she decided to go on any other day, I would tie myself to the bed and refuse to get up unless I was taken along.” he says while laughing
it was only the women who really inspired me. Gayatri Devi, Leela Naidu, Indira Gandhi.
that is for me, my inspiration - it’s strong women
“ itwill end like itbegan, with a piece of cloth”
james’ design philosphy is breathable and wearable garments with only one seam. the entire garment is draped and made from one piece of cloth, to reduce waste.
“if you look at history, fashion began with a piece of fabric. the first garments were all drapes: the lungi, the sarong, the saree. then there are the roman drapes. but the east kept it fluid because of climate constraints.”
but when I wanted to start fashion, my father said no. he said, “no son of mine is going to be a darzi (tailor).” so at the age of 16, I left school and started tutoring to support myself.
interestingly, *laughs* he was okay with me being gay
but in the end I walked out of fashion because I found it really disturbing, I’m not a very commercial person.
“but for us east indians, food is a big part of our lives. it’s always been about the food. the bottle masala, the marzipan, the fugias, the chitiaps.”
james has now started doing sit-down dinner parties in his home, where he plates east indian dishes from his mum’s handwritten recipe books, for the public to try. the ground floor of his bungalow is also listed on airbnb for guests who are keen to experience living in an indo-portuguese bungalow.
Danielle: where did your passion to protect kotachiwadi as a heritage village come from?
James: you know, when I was young I hated this house because it was so big, and it was 8 of us children but we were all put into separate rooms and I hated being alone. in the 70s, everyone was living in these exotic cluster flats with the lava lamps and I wanted that. but then as I got older and started inviting my friends from all over bombay, and some international clients home to visit, they would go crazy over my house. that’s when I realised how special it was and how lucky I was to live here. that’s when I started to try and save this area.
joe is beloved and known by all in bandra. him and his band have played at an uncountable number of weddings, birthdays, baptisms, and funerals for decades. he even played at my parents’ wedding!
joe
vessaoker
I’ve been living here for...uhhh... I won’t tell you my age *laughs* but I’ve spent my whole life here - born in this same house - in the kitchen! and 10 of us sibling grew up here together.
when I was young my mother used to tell me in marathi “tu veda ahesa”, meaning “you’re a mad fellow!” she told me “you were kicking me when you were in my womb.” at that time my father used to practice the trumpet, so I was kicking to the beat of whatever he was playing.
joe is beloved and known by all in bandra. him and his band have played at an uncountable number of weddings, birthdays, baptisms, and funerals for decades. he even played at my parents’ wedding!
I’ve been living here for...uhhh... I won’t tell you my age *laughs* but I’ve spent my whole life here - born in this same house - in the kitchen! and 10 of us sibling grew up here together.
when I was young my mother used to tell me in marathi “tu veda ahesa”, meaning “you’re a mad fellow!” she told me “you were kicking me when you were in my womb.” at that time my father used to practice the trumpet, so I was kicking to the beat of whatever he was playing.
joe is a self-taught musician. he practices his craft daily in the bylanes of the bazaar, where he also lives.
in the midst of fruit sellers and home furnishing shops, you can hear joe play his trumpet for all to listen.
I’ve built myself up by playing on the streets. I cannot do without playing my trumpet. if I don’t, my whole day goes out of routine. this is my , if I play my trumpet, I know that my job for today is done.
so people always tell me
“ you bring life tous with your playing, we forgetallour
the old jazz, hindi, marathi, konkani, I play it all. all these bhaiyas (brothers) in the market, they know my songs now because I practice here everyday. nana’s house
all my friends are my students and my neighbours from down this lane. I try to encourage them and teach them, because no one else is - they [“non-catholics” he whispers to me] are not brought up with music like us.
they watch me playing my trumpet and don’t know what it is. to them, it’s unfamiliar. but I call them over and say “don’t worry, come, I’ll teach you”
see bandra was a haven of musicians, I’m talking to you about 30 years back. you could get bass players, clarinet players, bandra was flooded with musicians. you know, you don’t see it today but back then, there was lots of music in bandra - every house had a piano, a violin, a wind instrument.
you could walk along chapel road and you would hear somebody playing the piano, then someone from the next house playing the violin.
and when there was music, there was always dancing
I’m going to give you the honest truth. I grew up, I won’t say a ‘rebel’ but I grew up doing things I thought were fun to do. but thankfully, I stayed down the straight and narrow.
brian tellis
I’m kind of a performing arts junkie. primarily music and theatre... not dance, I have close to two left feet. so, I managed on the night of my wedding to not look too silly. but I’m passionate about the arts.
I mean, back in the day they’d separate your professional job or career from the arts or what we’d call hobbies or passions. I was one of those that wanted to combine the two.
so I started my professional career by spending about a decade in the aviation business. I don’t want to give away my
age when I say I worked at Pan Am... but I also worked for Air Canada and Air France. and then I got into radio. actually, I was privilegedI’m going to sound a bit selfindulgent but that’s not the idea - I went on to radio from day 1 of FM, august 15th 1993. and they haven’t been able to get rid of me since.
around the same time, three of us bandra boys decided to start what we refer to as event management companies - a company that delved into the arts. it was called Fountainhead and I’d like to believe we did pretty well over 25 years. so we created stuff like the Mahindra Blues Festival and Aadyam, the theatre festival for the Aditya Birla Group.
nana’s house
I’m going to give you the honest truth. I grew up, I won’t say a ‘rebel’ but I grew up doing things I thought were fun to do. but thankfully, I stayed down the straight and narrow.
I’m kind of a performing arts junkie. primarily music and theatre... not dance, I have close to two left feet. so, I managed on the night of my wedding to not look too silly. but I’m passionate about the arts.
I mean, back in the day they’d separate your professional job or career from the arts or what we’d call hobbies or passions. I was one of those that wanted to combine the two. so I started my professional career by spending about a decade in the aviation business. I don’t want to give away my
age when I say I worked at Pan Am... but I also worked for Air Canada and Air France.
and then I got into radio. actually, I was privilegedI’m going to sound a bit selfindulgent but that’s not the idea - I went on to radio from day 1 of FM, august 15th 1993. and they haven’t been able to get rid of me since.
around the same time, three of us bandra boys decided to start what we refer to as event management companies - a company that delved into the arts. it was called Fountainhead and I’d like to believe we did pretty well over 25 years. so we created stuff like the Mahindra Blues Festival and Aadyam, the theatre festival for the Aditya Birla Group.
Brian: so broadly, my canvas is the performing arts, consulting for the corporate world, radio. I kind of enjoy knowledge acquisition and I created a podcast a while ago called “tellis like it is”. so, I’m quite excited about the whole digital world.
Danielle: what are your thoughts on AI?
Brian: I think it’s brilliant. very many people have this aversion, not just towards AI but technology in general - believing that it will take over our relevance, or whatever. I tend to believe otherwise. I’m a big believer of the glass half full versus the glass half empty. yes, technology is growing a lot faster than it was, but I still believe that technology can be used to further propagate what we do.
if technology is doing what we are doing, I think that’s a great opportunity for us to do more or to do different. I think that’s my take on technology. you can’t be stupid about it, you can’t be ignorant to challenges or threats or whatever. but at the same time, they say there’s no success without failure.
So , it’s about approach
*bandra’s 67-year old talent contest which encourages youth from 8 parishes in bandra to explore their talents in music, dance, and theatre.
Danielle: your interest in music, the arts, theatre, where did that come from?
Brian: good question, I’d like to think a large part of it came from the Zonals* and sport. these things taught me how to be competitive, how to up the game. but my love for music was always there thanks to my late mum. I grew up in a home where music was always played.
and the spoken word, I’d like to think sporting commentary helped with that. those were the days of transistors - I’m talking mid-late ‘70s. my father, like me, was a sports lover and he’d listen to radio commentary at the time. I’d really kind of trip out on especially the english commentators. I mean, I can remember a line today from the mid-70s, I can’t remember the exact year. the australian bowlers were hammering the english batting. and the commentator said in this typical english accent that I won’t try and copy, “the hungry vultures of the australian bowling attack now hovering over the dying carcass of the english batting”. you know, painting pictures, telling stories. these are things that intrigued me with the spoken word.
Danielle: how would you describe bandra
I mean, it’s cliché but we used to say
You can take a guy, or a ‘lass’ out of Bandra, but you can’t take Bandra out of them
I think one word to describe bandra is and community in various pillars, be it culture, sport, music, or food! I think food is a very big thing
another thing about bandra is that while it was an early fishing village and east indian gaothan, it was very open to inviting communities not just by way of lineage like east indians, goans and mangaloreans, but it was open to cultures as well - it was a-religious, a-finance driven.
so being poor or rich was so subjective, it didn’t matter. it’s about who you were and and how rich you were - but not financially. do you know what I mean?
is one of the reasons this country is really like & I think we need to learn to
for this
in our country
five countries in one geography
Celebrate who we are
- a playlist
kingston town - UB40
gimme hope joanna - eddy grant
walk of life - dire straights
red red wine - UB40
iko iko - the dixie cups
maria pita che - remo fernandes
galyan sakli sonyachi - benny fernandes, jesinta d’souza
bebdo - lorna
itsie bitsie teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini - brian hyland
la bamba - los lobos summer of 69 - byan adams rivers of babylon - boney m. hot, hot, hot - the merrymen maya ya - remo fernandes
bom bom bom bombay meri hai - joaquin, jesinta d’souza down under - men at work
son of a preacher man - dusty springfield i love a rainy night - eddie rabbitt
livin’ next door to alice - smokie speedy gonzales - pat boone in the summertime - mungo jerry
the ketchup song - las ketchup
oh! carol - neil sedaka kokomo - the beach boys
brown eyed girl - van morrison the tide is high - blondie
ain’t no mountain high enough - marvin gaye, tammi terrell
dancing queen - abba you sexy thing - hot chocolate
nana & grandpa
nana & grandpa
Danielle: tell me more about life in josephine villa
Grandpa: there were 8 of us children - nester, steven, eustace, mervin, oscar, me (lenus), gordon, and the youngest, our one and only sister, was olga. our family loved her because she was the only girl so she had to be spoilt. she was a clever girl, good in her studies, but I used to tease her a lot. I would pinch my daddy’s cigarettes from his packet and put it in her compass box so that the teacher would discover them and she’d get into trouble *laughs*. she would come home in the afternoons and start fighting with me
Grandpa: bandra during my youth was such a place where there were no taxis, no rikshaws - the only transport was the bus service. now it was war time, this was in the 1940s. so, there were british troops all over the place. of course, amongst the british troops there were very many indians also. some of them were anxious to join because it gave them access to certain rations and all that.
there was a shortage of grain everywhere because most of the food went to the army. so, we never had extra food, whatever we got was just about enough to feed the family.
my nana, jeanette d’sylva
Danielle: what was your childhood like in pali village?
Nana: pali was a lovely place. but we had a tough life because I lost my daddy when I was not even two years! my sister loretta was born posthumous. so my mummy brought us up without our daddy. and in those days, the women never used to work! but still, my mummy would go to one parsi lady’s house in pali hill. my mummy used to do all the handwork and hems and all that. that lady would take orders for dresses and my mummy used to help her.
Danielle: how did you two meet?
ahh how we met! I had not met any girl because I was a cadet at sea. I must have been 16 or 17 before I dared to speak to any girl! so I had a friend in hill road and one day he told me “come on, come on, I’ll take you to a dance.” there was a big dance going to be held at greens hotel in bombay, near taj hotel. the hotel was painted green and had wooden floors. all the teachers of all the schools had to attend the dance, some brought their boyfriends and all along. but we could not afford the food at the hotel as the prices were very high, so we brought snacks like samosas and fried patties from home with us. now the problem was to go to town, because
we could not afford the taxis. so, we pooled our money together and went by train from bandra to church gate, some of us without a ticket *laughs*. when we got there, they had lots of games and dancing and music with a band and that winding gramophone with the big horn. everybody had a turn winding it, so it was great fun. so what happened, I saw nana, she was in a very pretty dress with big puff sleeves. she must have only been 18 years old, I was 19. so we started dancing and had a nice time. but because I was a cadet, I had to go back to the ship in the night. but I didn’t know what to do because I wanted to see her again.
Grandpa: so, for the longest time my friends were worrying me to take them on the ship, because they had never seen a ship before. so I told nana to come as well and she brought 6 or 7 friends. I was on a brand new ship called jagtara, which was brought down from sweden. beautiful ship. so, I caught the cook and asked him to prepare a meal for us, and I promised to help him with it. because it was a new ship, we had a very luxurious saloon to eat in. they laid the table with all fancy cutlery.
Nana: you know what, there were three plates stacked one on top of the other. on one side - 4 or 5 spoons, the other side4 or 5 forks and knives. then there were the glasses - water glass, sweet drink glass, and something else. each one had a different purpose but we didn’t know anything! *laughs*
Grandpa: none of these people knew what to use! they were all puzzled, they had never used so many forks or knives and each one is looking at one another and asking “what to use, what to use?”
after dinner I gave them a tour of the whole ship and we went up to the highest point in the whole ship, called the “monkey island”
I took a picture of nana sitting in the monkey island nana’s house
The next time we met was after a long time because my ship left Bombay and returned only after 13 months.
Grandpa: so for many years I used to take her on the ship and we used to have all great fun
it was a scary thing to ask to take her out, I must have been refused quite a few times no?
Nana: what rubbish, never!
Danielle: you thought she was pretty?
Grandpa: yeah, she was very pretty at that time
Danielle: why only at that time and not this time?
Grandpa: this time also she’s pretty. I can’t see now no, *laughs* god spared me
Danielle: god spared you it seems, what nonsense!
[he is shamelessly laughing by this point. my nana is rolling her eyes at him]
Grandpa: so yeah, we started going out, we’d go to juhu to swim and we’d eat at nice hotels. sometimes she’d travel to port cities to see me. so I asked her why don’t we get married and all, so she grabbed the chance! because there was no one else
Nana: *rolling her eyes* yeah, as if there was no one else for me!
Grandpa: yeah there were many people that were possible but none as good as me! *laughs*
Nana: so we planned our wedding in one month
Grandpa: so I was doing my masters, the highest grade in seamanship. I didn’t want to get married unless I passed my masters. there was masters foreign going and masters coastal. if I passed, I would be able to go all over the world.
so I found out I passed on october 10th, and on the 21st we were married!
after getting married, nana accompanied grandpa on the ship. they’d spend months at a time travelling to distant places. when their children were younger, sometimes they would take them along too.
they have travelled to more countries than anyone else in our family
when we went to america, nana went to
they had all the hand prints of actors there. nana took a picture posing with her hand also amongst all those actors’ *laughs*
Danielle: what was your favourite place to visit?
Grandpa: I used to love japan, men. japan was very lovely, very charming
D : and you liked the food?
N: my god , terrible!
G: I used to lovethe food, nana used to feelsick by t h e smell
N: I think I was pregnant at that time. nana’s house
as seen on nana’s first child, mary-lou
my grandpa loved his time on the ship and would tell us great stories of his adventures at sea when we were little. unfortunately, he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa and lost his eyesight. he’s 88 now and has been blind for the majority of his life.
Grandpa: see, my eyes started giving trouble. and at sea, the eyes are the most important thing so I knew I would lose my career. but I kept it a secret for many years. for 22 years, from 1955 right upto 1977, I managed. I learnt my own tricks. I used to study the charts beforehand, the depth of the water, the position of the rocks, I used to prepare myself before we stopped in places. but by ‘77 my eyes were getting worse and the ships were getting too modern with various new technologies for me to keep up with, so I decided it was time to quit.
grandpa fostered a love for the sea amongst everyone in the family
nana loved her sarees. she would wear them at home and abroad. her favourites were the ones with bright colours and large ‘70s prints
postcards between nana and her two eldest children when they spent 6 months in london for grandpa’s eye treatment
since grandpa quit the sea, they now had to find another source of income. his father had given him a shop space in pali that had not been used for 10 years. first, nana opened it up as a library, as she was always fond of reading.
then it became a cold storage and a library. nana would run the library and grandpa would run the cold storage.
they called it majora, after their 3 children: mary-lou, jo-anne, and ryan
Grandpa: gradually, we built up the place. more and more people started coming to us because nana was popular with them. she used to tell them lots of stories and chat with them, so they liked her very much.
then, we turned the library into a snack bar. we sold hot dogs, patties, potato chops, and our business grew.
Nana: when I made those potato chops, nobody had thought of making them and selling like that!
Grandpa: we became very famous for our potato chops. everyone liked it.
then one day, a friend of mine from near mount mary’s came to the shop and said “ayee you’re running a snack bar, why don’t you do a wedding men!”
I said “my god! a wedding will be so many people, I dare not do a wedding!”
but he encouraged me to try it and gave me an opportunity. we must have had only about a 100 guests at our first wedding. but people were attracted to our food and the way we arranged it.
nana and grandpa at the opening of majora snack bar
“ Ican remembersc h o o l d a sy dna lrae y d ay s o fcollege, Majorawa s t he lp ac e ”
- brian tellis
they then became very popular for their catering
Grandpa: slowly, we started making parrots and ducks and swans out of food. nana was very good at making these because she had learnt food decoration when she spent three months in hospital in honolulu.
Nana: can you imagine?!
Grandpa: when my ship was crossing hawaii in 1963, she had a miscarriage and had to be hospitalised. I had no way of entering honolulu because I didn’t have a charter for it. so I started sending radio messages and the american army picked up on it. so they sent an army helicopter and they told mama “you have to hang outside the helicopter on a stretcher”
and nana was saying “nooo I won’t go, I’ll die in the stretcher only!” but she was very brave at that time.
Nana: arrey what all things I’ve done, I don’t think anyone else has done only! so many things, if only I tell you!
Grandpa: so she was lying in bed for three months there. I couldn’t stay with her as I had to proceed sailing. but she had very good nurses. they would come and teach them small-small things. so food decoration she learnt there, from the nurses.
what all things I used to make! flowers, parrots, ducks, swans, such beautiful things.
I used to make these centre pieces. he would tell me “I need this, do it”. we had all these ideas for the buffet tables. who else is there? he only had me to catch and do it! *laughs* so I did it all!
Danielle: what did people say about them?
Nana: they liked it, then what! nobody was doing this kind of thing when we started
food has since played a very big role in all of our lives.
christmas lunch at nana’s house, december 2024
house
june & wilfy
june & wilfy
june and wilfy are related to nana and grandpa. june’s sister viola, was married to grandpa’s brother gordon, and wilfy is nana’s brother.
june and wilfy live in the same house he and my nana grew up in - an old indo-portuguese bungalow in the heart of pali village. today, the first floor is bollywood actress malaika arora’s restaurant scarlett house. the evenings usually feature a row of paparazzi sitting on their bikes outside the house hoping to catch a glimpse of the celebrities dining here.
June: in the evenings we like to sit on our balcony. we see all the celebrities coming in their posh cars and all. everyone who goes upstairs will come and say hi to us, so we’re enjoying it!
nana’s house
we met when I went for a walk on carter road. when I asked him later what attracted him to me, can you guess? he said it was my long hair.
today, he’s lost lots of hair and I’ve become fully grey but now we’ve been married for 59 years.
so when we were dating, hill studio put this photograph of mine in their window display. wilfy went and told them
“That’s my girlfriend’s snap, take it out from there - I want to buy it”
he fought with the shopkeeper until he agreed to give it to wilfy! that’s how we have it in our house here now
june, who is in her 80s now, is a true ‘sandra from bandra’. she started her career as a secretary at sandoz at the age of 35, and was still working until a few years ago.
“I started out as the secretary to the commercial manager, and as he climbed up the ladder, he took me along with him. I used to wear 3-inch heels to work everyday. people in sandoz still remember that about me till today.”
hwo did y ou get into collecting antiques?
I justtook a fancy, bas and when did yo u s t art collecting? years back, during my apprenticeshi p where would you g o to find all these things
my main place was chor bazaar
the uncle
with all the antiques
Danielle: what was your favourite antique you collected? anything that was your most prized possession?
Wilfy: this bar, it’s rosewood. very few people have got things like this in their house
I heard you asking him what his favourite antique was. I wanted to shout from the kitchen
for years, from the moment you entered june and wilfy’s house it felt like you were in a museum. every bit of space featured one antique more exciting than the next.
they’ve since sold a lot of their antiques, with only a few favourite pieces still remaining.
“he’s not allowingmetogive away any t hing e lse n o w .hhwtistnaweli e h e ’ s living , to see it ”
gretabelle & carl
Danielle: how did you meet?
Gretabelle: we were neighbours actually, I lived just around the corner. and our parents were very friendly - his mum and my mum. infact it’s so strange, my mum had two sisters who married two brothers, and his godparents are one couple, and my godparents are the other couple. such a coincidence! so then by virtue of us being neighbours, we grew up together. but of course, carl used to be extremely shy at that time.
I told him for all he never spoke at that time, he over-does it now!
*they both laugh*
Carl: back in the day, the entrance to houses were not closed. they used to have a small wicker gate, there would be a little thing to scrape the mud off your shoes before entering. the stone bannisters, the steps, all of those things were built for people to come and sit in your verandah, like a porch.
Gretabelle: doors were
closed when we were growing up
Carl: everyone was going into everyones houses. it was just this sense of community. in fact, we used to play hockey on this road
*the images on this page are not gretabelle and carl’s house. this is another bungalow in bandra.
Gretabelle: so actually we were friends before we even got together. because I was 1 of 8 siblings. so everybody used to come to our house to play, we didn’t need to go anywhere else to find friends.
in fact all 8 of us siblings have houses that are walking distance from each other, even today. forget about just the 8 of us, even our children who are married all live here!
[gretabelle is sisters with clarabelle. they are 2 of 6 sisters, whose names all end with ‘belle’]
Carl: before bandra became the bandra that we know it to be, this was all fields. a group of locals came together and decided to form a community. so, they bought off the land and started
so my grandad was the one who built this house. he was approached by salsette and this was built in 1928. if you look from outside, the side of the house has my grandad’s intials.
Carl: so initially this house was just a ground floor and a terrace. but now my brother lives downstairs, and when we re-did the house, we converted this into the first floor, which is where we stay.
Gretabelle: so that’s why we’ve got this mosaic floor, this is the original terrace. and actually carl’s grandmum drew the design of this mosaic herself. these types of tiles and colours you’ll never get again! because we tried to restore it as some parts are quite worn out, but we couldn’t find any tiles to match these existing ones.
Gretabelle: so my mother was east indian, father was goan. but carl, both his parents were hardcore east indians
Carl: my dad was from kotachiwadi and my mum was from bandra. so my grandad built this house and I was born here, but because my dad was in the police, we were posted all over. we came back and settled here finally when I was about 10 in 1967. every may, we used to collect mangoes and stuff here. some of the coconut and mango trees on this compound were planted by my grandfather.
It was like a jungle. All the houses were cottages and it was just a different way of life at that time.
Danielle: obviously, bandra has changed tremendously over the years. how do you feel about this?
Gretabelle: oh but we still love it, I don’t think any of us would be able to live anywhere else. you can call it chaotic or whatever, but we don’t need to get out of bandra to do anything. we have everything here, it’s very nice
Carl: except for the traffic
‘susegad’ is a konkani word derived from the portuguese ‘sossegado’, meaning ‘quiet’. this refers to the laidback lifestyle and attitude of goans, but also those indo-portuguese communities in mumbai. it’s about feeling content and living live at a slow, relaxed, and enjoyable pace. why hurry?
whether you’re local to bandra or not, if you live in mumbai, you’ve heard of candies. a cafe that serves sweet treats, baked goods, and snacks, candies is the place to ‘hang out’ or pass time. it’s the perfect example to describe the spirit of bandra. it’s the first place I go to when I visit my grandparents.
a 40 year-old family-run business, candies was started by allan pereira, the son of the owner of mac ronells, another very popular restaurant in bandra in the 70s and 80s. decades on, candies has continued to evolve with bandra, still bringing in droves of customers. at christmas time, it’s impossible to get to the front of the counter. I spoke to allan’s daughter beverly pereira to learn more about this iconic place.
whether you’re local to bandra or not, if you live in mumbai, you’ve heard of candies. a cafe that serves sweet treats, baked goods, and snacks, candies is the place to ‘hang out’ or pass time. it’s the perfect example to describe the spirit of bandra. it’s the first place I go to when I visit my grandparents.
a 40 year-old family-run business, candies was started by allan pereira, the son of the owner of mac ronells, another very popular restaurant in bandra in the 70s and 80s. decades on, candies has continued to evolve with bandra, still bringing in droves of customers. at christmas time, it’s impossible to get to the front of the counter. I spoke to allan’s daughter beverly pereira to learn more about this iconic place.
so, dad started candies back in 1984, and it’s actually named after my sister candice. today, we have three stores across bandra.
although this one is only 16 years old, this is our flagship store I would say because it’s the biggest, it really sets the theme of the whole brand, and it holds our central kitchens and offices.
nana’s house �
so this space is very much inspired by places my dad has visited or things he’s interested in. the mosaics? dad has done all those himself. so there’s inspiration from countries like spain, portugal, turkey, france
in this current landscape of things in the restaurant industry, it’s really really tough to keep something going on. I think with candies, it has evolved over time and the food has remained consistent and we’re very very thankful to our kitchen staff for that.
also many of our staff who’ve worked behind the counters, they have been working with us for years -
Somefrom the beginning
so what is that special thing about candies? food obviously, but also ambience, music, and
with the music, so dad personally downloads all the music and all the videos that you see are songs he’s researched and currently wants to play. like he’s currently having an afrobeats phase right now. but yeah, music definitely plays a big role in the brand
I think the fourth component to candies is definitely community. so over the years we’ve been having this beautiful bunch of urban sketchers who just come here, set up their chairs and start painting. that led to me starting workshops that I run in the space on top. these are art workshops, drama therapy, dance therapy - different things that would help foster a community and help people feel better.
so I think that when you’re on site here, there’s lots to do. you can go shopping at the gift store, you can order flowers at the flower studio that candice runs, or you can just sit here and treat yourself to the many different things on our menu.
so when it comes to food, because we’re goan, we sell things like roast chicken, and goa sausages and...
*laughs* all the Catholic food really
for people like us who have lived here forever, we love it - I love my bandra. as much as I would want to live out of the city, I’m here for what my dad has created and we want to continue this as much as we can
it’s a very beautiful thing to have come into existence and to still exist 40 years later. I just love sitting here and seeing what my dad created, it’s all his vision.
01 noun. the portuguese word for marzipan
02 noun. the name given to those goans who migrated to mumbai - origin: the staple breakfast for the middle-class goan is bread. thus when they went to the bakery in the morning, they would say “maka pao de” which is konkani for “give me bread”. this gave rise to the friendly nickname ‘macapao’
03 noun. a term that groups the indo-portuguese catholic community in mumbai (east indians, goans, mangaloreans), who all dress, speak, and eat similarly
how to speak like a macapao - or -
a guide to the dialect of english spoken by the indo-portuguese in mumbai
replace ‘th’ with ‘d’ or ‘t’ - eg: dat for that; tink for think
use the word ‘men’, even when speaking to a woman - eg: what men, went to church or not?
say ‘or what’, even when there’s no question implied. use ‘wot’ instead of ‘what’ - eg: you’ve gone mad or wot
try to avoid using articles whenever possible - eg: give me good price
use the same word twice for emphasis - eg: fast-fast, new-new, same-same
questions with the lack of subject-verb inversion
- eg: why you don’t go with them men
use the word ‘no’, even in sentences that don’t have a negative connotation - eg: that gracie is very stylish, no?
08 add ‘and all’ to the end of a sentence for emphasis - eg: she was nicely gossiping and all 09 use ‘only’ for emphasis instead of exclusion. - eg: ya men, he fell down only
photography: emma avent styling, direction, model: danielle saldanha
the bandra aunty is a quintessential element of bandra itself. they talk, walk, and dress differently to any other indian aunties that I’ve come across. forget signage and gps, you can tell you’re in bandra if you spot one of these ladies. for generations, these women have been confident, outgoing and in pursuit of having a good time. almost subculturally, they all have a way of playing around with silhouettes and patterns and wearing, rather outdated fashions. interestingly, many of them have admitted to loving stilettos in their younger days. but they’ve all begrudgingly settled for back-friendly sandals today. it’s worth noting that there’s no escaping the fate of turning into a bandra aunty, all bandra babes must accept this. however, they are sustainable queens and thrifting connoisseurs who, like the babes, do much of their shopping on hill road. this series features a modern interpretation of some of their outfits for various activities.
photography: emma avent styling, direction, model: danielle saldanha
the bandra aunty is a quintessential element of bandra itself. they talk, walk, and dress differently to any other indian aunties that I’ve come across. forget signage and gps, you can tell you’re in bandra if you spot one of these ladies. for generations, these women have been confident, outgoing and in pursuit of having a good time. almost subculturally, they all have a way of playing around with silhouettes and patterns and wearing, rather outdated fashions. interestingly, many of them have admitted to loving stilettos in their younger days. but they’ve all begrudgingly settled for back-friendly sandals today. it’s worth noting that there’s no escaping the fate of turning into a bandra aunty, all bandra babes must accept this. however, they are sustainable queens and thrifting connoisseurs who, like the babes, do much of their shopping on hill road. this series features a modern interpretation of some of their outfits for various activities.
aunty hazel is not a fan of the increased traffic in bandra
can’t get one auto only in this place men!
blossom loves going to the bazaar, one might call her a bargaining
wot nonsense you’re saying men! fast-fast give me good price for these strawberries, or else I’ll go to that other fellow.
aunty jo-anne loves looser silhouettes and accessorising!
aunty suzi only goes anywhere on her scooter, no other mode of transport exists in her eyes!
hi-hi peter! how are you men? lovely weather we’re having today no?
aunty lydia is all decked-up to go for a wedding
fast-fast let’s go to the buffet before the crowd. don’t want the chicken lollipops to get over!
this bandra aunty is talking to her neighbour while people-watching
aye sylvie, why suddenly all this traffic on our road men?! something new has opened up or wot?
arrey ya men this is an old story, everyday one new-new thing is opening. too much it’s become now
these aunties are meeting for their daily at-home rosary
hail mary, full of grace, the lord is with thee . bles s ed art thou.....
these past few months building nana’s house have been so enjoyable but none of it would have been possible without the following people who supported me throughout the process:
to my parents and brother jonty, who have always supported my dreams; and my grandparents, who keep our culture and traditions alive, and who inspired me to create this book celebrating just that.
all the wonderful people I interviewed for this book: james, jackie, ingrid, joe, brian, bev, clarabelle, carl, gretabelle, uncle wilfy and aunty june. thank you for allowing me to share your stories. also a special thanks to chrys-ellen for putting me in touch with so many of these people, and for keeping me company on photo-walks in bandra.
aunty anna and uncle rajdev, who let me stay with them for the majority of the one week I had to document bandra for this book.
to uncle vivish for so kindly and patiently sharing your knowledge of photography with me, and for showing me where the auto-focus switch was on the lens.
for the shoots where I modelled, thank you to my amazing photographer and friend emma, who I’ve always enjoyed working with.
finally, to the staff at aub: dani, corinna, and dan for their constant guidance and support; cerys, for always helping me with the technical bits, and for sitting with me during the excruciatingly long cricut experiments; joe in the bindery for helping me put this together, literally; and jody and lisa for their insights and suggestions.