On the Sidewalk

Writer and actor Saurabh Shukla8217;s favourite haunt in Mumbai is a place that affords him clean, green, breathing space, right in the middle of the concrete jungle. quot;I discovered the Aarey Milk Colony jungles four years ago when I moved to Goregaon. I went there on my bike one day, during the monsoon, and couldn8217;t believe that a city like Mumbai had such a beautiful escape,quot; says Shukla of Satya and Kareeb fame.

Since then, it has become his own private refuge 8212; a place he likes going to when he needs to unwind. quot;It has a couple of beautiful spots like Chota Kashmir8217; and Mini Khajiar8217;, where it actually feels like you are in a hilly area. The New Zealand hostel is another quiet corner of the jungle. And Aarey8217;s main office is a beautiful building with British architecture,quot; he says. In fact, Shukla even used this building as a British Viceroy8217;s office for a television pilot he shot some time ago.

And since he lives close by, he uses his spare time to drive into the woods, sit still andlisten to the birds. quot;Instead of going to Juhu beach, or having dinner at an expensive and pretentious restaurant, my wife and I prefer going to Aarey in the evenings. She has studied microbiology and tells me that this jungle has an amazing variety of plants,quot; he says.

But for Shukla 8212; who8217;s now acting in Subhash Ghai8217;s Taal and Abbas-Mastan8217;s Baadshah, and writing two films for Vikram Bhatt and Ramesh Sippy 8212; the thrill lies in venturing into the jungles at all times of the day and night and discovering new places. quot;The bylanes are quite scary and adventurous 8212; though not quite as harrowing as the highway traffic jams,quot; he says.