As someone who has grown up at Peddar Road, Haji Ali Dargah has been one of the most significant places in my life. Just a walk along the promenade or the causeway would calm me down on a stressful day. Kebabs on the rocks by the sea during Ramadan to be shared with both Muslim and non-Muslim friends. And long hours of conversation with Abdul Sattar Merchant, the chairman of the Haji Ali Trust, whose family had been the dargah's caretakers for almost a century. He took me inside to see the mosque's famed silver dome, twice, in spite of the fact that I am non-Muslim and a woman. But more than anything, the glistening dome has signalled homecoming for me. This time, we drove past the dargah twice, and all I managed was the glimpse of a minaret. The coastal road project in Mumbai, the tall barricades, prevent any sighting of the dargah from the road. I told my dear friend, "Mumbai, now feels not like 'home' but a city I once lived in." I miss Bombay.
#mumbai #bombay #mumbaidiaries #hajiali #peddarroad #sobo #hajialidargah
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