Gateway

The day of Eid witnessed thousands of Muslim citizens of Mumbai flock to the Gateway of India for photo-ops, hold-hand rituals, ice-cream treats, and celebratory frolic. There were among the outfits, the striking long, male gown or dress of Arab origins that I haven’t seen many wear in Calcutta, Delhi, or Bangalore. Some young women wore sequined headscarves, some walked around awkwardly in platform heels. Couples hired photographers to take the proverbial couple photo - arms and shoulders, hands interwoven, desiring gazes. Some ladies sat on the ledges of the sea conmtemplating the openness of India. Men drank endless cups of tea from mobile flask tea-shops run by men who maneuvered their way through the crowds quickly. Human beings in large numbers have an energy that doesn’t quite match up the sum total of their individual energies. This is a crowd, public, assembly with the implicit danger of becoming a mob, and the great promise of becoming a revolution. And perhaps, the reality of serving a consumer database.

The ferry-dotted Arabian Sea received human and material energy with quietness. I saw the Gateway this weekend at daybreak.

And then again, I saw it from my taxi in the evening as the crowds poured in (don’t have a good image for this).

And with dancing pigeons.

[Mumbai, March 2026. Copyright: Atreyee Majumder.]