W(h)etting my Feet in Pydhonie

2022 ended on a high for me. The last week of the year saw me traversing across the Northwest of Rajasthan with a birders group. It was capped by a busy day in Jodhpur. This has rekindled my travel mojo, which has been dormant for almost 3 years since the onset of the Covid pandemic in February 2020. I rang in the New year today with an impromptu walk. And I have adequate words and pictures for reigniting my travel blog after a long hiatus of 48 months.

Having reached Jauhar Chowk (named after Mohammed Ali Jauhar, a prominent leader of the Khilafat Movement) by the iconic Bus No. 8, I begin walking along Ibrahim Rahimtullah Road (named after a prominent politician in British India who was elected as the city’s Mayor in 1899). My route takes me past the Hamidiya Masjid, and two Jain temples – Adeshwarji and Godiji Parshvnath. This is Pydhonie, the quintessential melting pot of many religions and communities. Where the Masjid stands now, there used to be a pond, where  people used to wash their feet before entering the many temples dotting the area. This is the origin of the name Pydhonie (washing the feet). The pond has long gone but the name survives.

My destination is the iconic Mumbadevi Temple, where the patron goddess of Mumbai resides. As I approach, the crowd increases and I see a long queue whose tail appears to have disappeared into another world. There is a carnival like atmosphere with people gorging themselves on indescribable street food that fills the air with a not so pleasant odour. I instantly abandon my plan to visit the temple. 

I turn away into Abdul Rehman Street, well known for its stationery shops, closed now because it is Sunday. The street is named after a wealthy landlord who owned vast tracts of land in this part of the city in the 1700s. Nearby is the famous Zaveri Bazaar, where bullion merchants make crores buying and selling gold. Tiny specks of gold from the many processing workshops end up in drains. In a side lane, handful of people are scooping out filthy slime from manholes to look for gold. They are the city’s infamous gold diggers. 

Abdul Rehman Street opens into a wide vista, on the opposite side of which is Crawford Market, still the city’s best place for buying dry fruits among many other things. William Emerson, the architect who designed the market also built Victoria Memorial of Kolkata. Part of the market has been demolished for a facelift. 

As I made my way towards CST to take the train back home, the morning light was still perfect and tempted me to take photos of the all too familiar buildings.

PS - After posting I realised the pun in the title. I hope you get it too.