This weekend was the apt description of summer vacations. My mum had sent some mangoes for us and I was mind mapping how I use them – chia pudding topping, late night milkshake, cut into boat like slices, to be eaten messy! I arranged them on a newspaper, neatly, ranging from raw to ripe. My husband had a bit of an epiphany watching me do this – he’s stuck with this mango arranging weird human and there’s no way out.

We woke up early this Sunday and headed out to Bandra. We often visit this shanty book stall in Bandra and my husband buys a bunch of books from here. We quarrel over the purchases. I tell him he should buy soft copies, that it’s the digital age and he gives an elaborate explanation about owning the physical book, the touch and feel of a book. In all fairness though, I end up reading most of the books he buys and I conveniently blame him for stacking them up at home. Efficient that he is, he has managed to draw up some arrangement with the bookseller. We donate books to him every now and then – works for me, because the stack of books at home is minimal and it’s just another reason to visit Bandra.

After our humble donation, we walked around the narrow streets. Bandra is quiet on Sunday mornings. It’s a total shift from what it looks like on Saturday night when drunk friends step out of bars to catch autos. The Sunday air is filled with a waft of Machhi curry prepared fresh at many homes.

Once the sun pierced sharp through the clouds and it became unbearable to walk around, we took an auto back home.

I had some over ripe bananas left from the week and my heart wouldn’t settle to chuck them away. Instagram reels tell you to make banana bread with it but I am one generation older so I’m here for “Kelyacha Shikran”. I mashed the bananas, added some sugar and milk, mixed it all up. My cook made hot rotis that I glazed with ghee, and a lazy Maharashtrian meal was ready.

While dunking the roti in the Shikran, we switched on the telly and played Baton Baton Mein. This is a 1979 film starring Amol Palekar and Tina Ambani. The cast is pretty much what you’d expect in an Amol Palekar film. The credits of the film was all about the streets of Bandra. Elco Paradise, St. Andrew’s Church, restaurants and bars and the narrow lanes of Bandra.

The camera then takes you to typical Bandra households. Two families are seen carrying out their morning chores. The mothers are preparing breakfast. Both families are using “Wibbs” bread – the one with the blue red and white packaging. A jar of what looks like Kissan jam is placed on the dining table. You’re instantly transported to childhood in Bombay. I’ve had this bread growing up with the same red jam far too many times!

The story is tad too simplistic in that two young people meet in the bustling city of Bombay. They spend time together and slowly fall in love. Both have their own past and trauma to deal with and are not looking to get married. They’re happy meeting each other, spending time together, never really thinking about the future until the girl’s mother anticipates wedding bells and the boy’s mother, unaware of her son’s dating escapades, is quick to disapprove the girl. After lot of scenes of self introspection, the couple finally understands that they cannot live without each other and maybe wedding is the right step to move forward. I wasn’t a fan of the story and was often confused about what point the film was trying to make.

However, the film manages to engage you just with its vibe. If vibe were even a word back then, “Bombay vibe” would be this film. The couples dates are often on the Bandra beach where they sit by the waters, chit chatting. They visit cafés and have Limca soda, watch films and plays. They travel by local trains that are packed and crowded. They catch the “9:10” train everyday. Mumbaikars are mostly busy reading newspapers and novels in the train. The Christian aunties of Bandra could be an entire spin off from this film. Bandra looks busy around the station but quiet and peaceful in the narrow lanes. Just when you think that so much has changed, you realise, not much has. The quiet Sunday Bandra of today is not so different from back in the 70s.

In an age of comebacks, I have no clue why 90s fashion and music has made a comeback. As much as I live and breathe that era, it’s mostly just nostalgic for me. What truly deserves a comeback is everything that Tina Ambani is wearing in this film. She’s a “mood board” herself (Yes, I am learning GenZ terms very well!) Her short hair looks just perfect with her tinted red lips.

The songs obviously deserve a special mention, “suniye kahiye” being one of my personal favourites. The filming of the song is beautiful. The couple is walking and wandering around the city. It makes you want to step out of the house with your special someone and sit by the sea. Two other songs are equally famous and extremely watchable.

Watch this one on a relaxed holiday when you’re looking for something easy. It perfectly hits the spot.

-Aishwarya Bedekar