“Nandu! Ay, Nandu!” He’s sleeping again, isn’t he? Somewhere on Bombay’s Dockyard Road, there is an exasperated foreman and an attendance register with red marks running down every single page. But who can blame Nandu? In a toss-up between a day spent loading goods and a steaming plate of perfectly fried Baida Roti, is there really any contest? We didn’t think so. If you want to catch Nandu awake, try late in the morning when the first batch of Baida Roti comes fresh out of the tawa. Nandu will stretch and yawn, wolf it down, then fall asleep again… until lunchtime. Sometimes we wonder, is he sleeping? Or is this food coma?
Sassoon Docks, one of the city's oldest harbours, is the largest wholesale fish market in Mumbai. It is also one of the very few Mumbai docks open to the public. With over 20 tonnes of catch brought each day by more than 1,500 boats, this 144-year-old dock is the ideal place for both heritage and food.