Once was Bombay

by Pinki Virani

Comprising Three Novellar And Four Short Stories, To Be Read As Stand-Alone Or Inter-Linked Pieces, This Is An Engaging Piece Of Literary Non-Fiction Rich In Memories And Insights.

Genres: Nonfiction

284 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Kajal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insight into how Bombay became the Mumbai of today. Partially autobiographical, it shows how an open minded city transformed into a city of communal and regional differences. The book has accounts of builders, underworld operatives, policemen, bollywood stars, encompassing all the major elements Mumbai is identified with. The writing sounds like that of a person who has loved and lost a city. There is profound love for the city and there is profound disappointment at what it has become today. Unfortunately, Virani's book was out in 1999, much before global terror victimised Mumbai. It would have been interesting to read her poignant description of the lost glory of Bombay after the blasts.

[Manu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best 'Bombay' book i've ever read. It shows us a view of Bombay through the images of characters that even non residents will identify as belonging to Bombay - the actor, the bhai, the encounter cop, the politician, and so on. Pinki Virani obviously feels for Bombay, and reflects the myriad range of a Bombayite's emotions now - anger, frustration, cynicism all stemming from Bombay's change from then to now

What's wonderful about the book is that it stays true to the title and takes you on a journey in time - to how a place or a road came to be called so, and the societal changes that time has brought about there. It also has some incisive takes on the machinations that has transformed Bombay into what it is now.

Long before Mumbai there was Bombay, and i can identify a lot with the difference it makes to the people who have seen the change, even though i don't live there. This book easily gets into my all time favourites.

[Laxmi]

The author has roped in stories of and from the common man to someone in the police force to people in the Bollywood or their families while mentioning how everyone's life in Bombay was influenced post the demolition of the Babri Masjid thanks to the ruling political party in the city who not only have their own army of people but also influence people from the police force as well as the underworld.
The effort made by the author could be worthy of appreciation; however, the narration and the pattern in which the stories are presented do not manage to make an impression or do justice to the title.

[Vineet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the start, the first chapter and then...

[Ramesh · Rating 1 out of 5]

For starters, you have to know Hindi to read this book; the characters -like Bombayites - speak in both Hindi and English. Secondly, you have to know Bombay to really follow along. I thought I did, but not enough.

If I know Hindi & Bombay better, I might have enjoyed this book. Instead i felt lost trying to piece it together.

[Rckkapoor2]

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