Dressing up Dressing Down

Every time I get that sinking feeling, when the blue bird of happiness no longer trills, when I find myself singing the blues -- I know t...

Every time I get that sinking feeling, when the blue bird of happiness no longer trills, when I find myself singing the blues 8212; I know there8217;s only one thing to do 8212; SHOP! There8217;s obviously some direct connection between depression and depreciation. Somehow handing over large lumps of money for perfectly ridiculous things makes the world come back into perspective again. Clothes do make the man and depending on which end of town you are, you could end up being entirely different people.

Colaba Causeway remains the haunt of the lost flower children. It is the only place in town where you can choose between 27 different kinds of chillums. The Causeway has lots of character, and lot8217;s of characters lurking in the many alleyways. And the strangest collections of clothes that I8217;ve ever seen. Gold brocade harem pants8230; Sequinned caftans8230; crocheted vests8230; The first time I saw Causeway, I finally understood just where Hippies got their Indian8217; clothes from. Shopping here remains a leisurely activity to besaved for a Sunday morning that begins with brunch at Leopold8217;s and ends with lunch at Mondegar. You can take a break and dive down some of the alleys to pick up antique silver, or peacock feather fans, or mojaris.

Let8217;s see 8211; if you picked your wardrobe entirely off Colaba Causeway there8217;s only two places you could go 8211; Sunny California or Cafe Mondegar. If Colaba Causeway remains a hippies idea of Indian Heaven, then Linking Road is middle class India8217;s idea of Foreign Heaven. Nylon stretch pants. Lace and denim bustiers that cover the bust all the way to the hips. Fake leather shirts. If it8217;s not the West you find glamourous, but the big screen, no problem. Which star would you like to look like? The only question is 8211; do films stars outfits end up copied on Linking Road, or do films stars copy the outfits on Linking Road? You can tell exactly which film is a hit by taking a stroll. Ghulam Jacket anyone? Dil To Pagal Hai churidars? Sridevi salwars?

Hill Road offers more of the samewith the added attraction of Elco Arcade. Shop till you drop and then eat till you burst. If you picked up your wardrobe on the first bit Linking Road, then you8217;d be headed for an evening show at Gaiety Galaxy Gemini 8211; with tickets bought on black. If you picked it up on Hill Road then you8217;ll probably be found at Juhu beach later in the evening, indulging in Kulfi Faloodas.

If you want to head for a couple of pubs in the evening, and perhaps end the night at TFU, then the place to shop is Peddar Road. Strangely all the shops have nudge nudge wink wink names 8212; Scandal, Gossip, Mischief, More Mischief. Here the traffic jams are caused by Mercedes and you can pick up fruit like Kiwis. You can also buy shoes by the kilo. Peddar Road has a shoe shop for every resident. All of them perennially on sale. Just how many shoes do Bombayites buy? From North to South, the one thing you can buy in any part of Bombay, on sale at any time of the year are shoes.

Of course the suburbs have their superior shopping as well.Ever since Ted Lapidus, Croissants and MacDonald8217;s opened up in Lokhandwala the suburb has arrived. The shop windows display all the multiple desires that the average Bombayite indulges. Here, western, Indian and big screen aspirations come together to create traffic jams that block the main street for hours. You can buy a Piaget watch or plastic rain shoes. You can buy hot rolls from croissants or get your wheat ground at the chakki. You can get everything from gateu to golgappas. From one end of Bombay to the other, the shopping is a condensed history of the place. Colaba Causeway comes from an older gracious age, when words like love8217; and peace8217; wer magic mantras. the mantras are gone, but much of the magic remains. Peddar Road is younger but still has old money that ends up spent in exclusive showrooms and shops. Linking Road is young brash India. Not old enough for real style, but young enough to be glamour struck. And it all comes together at Lokhandwala.

Feeling a little down in the dumps? Get up.Get dressed. Get going!

Venita Coelho is a scriptwriter and film-maker