On a hot, summer day in Mumbai you can’t see forever. In fact you can hardly see at all because of the glare and because of the pollution hovering over the city. Yet, summer has to be the best season to be in Mumbai.

This morning I woke up early to do my yoga. I’ve signed up for a three-month class with Saurabh Bothra, the latest online guru. He started during COVID and has picked up so much steam that almost everyone I know is following him. This isn’t really surprising because all his followers are encouraged to invite a friend, especially for the free classes he holds every now and then. Of course, purists scoff at his yoga because the actual poses are only for the last twenty minutes or so. But whatever it is, he has become very popular.

I start out early in the morning, almost at daybreak, because that is the best time to do any form of exercise. Mumbai has become beastly hot, and by midday, the sun is blazing and sweat is pouring out of every pore, even indoors. Air conditioning is an obvious option, but I prefer fresh air. Perversely, though, the wind tends to drop, and I have to resort to the lethargic movements of the ceiling fan.

escaping the heat

It is no wonder the city empties out as soon as the last pen is put down after the last school exam. Two months of holiday seem blissful for the children and their parents. Traditionally, children are packed off to their grandparents during the summer, leaving the parents with some well-deserved ‘we’ time. Dropping the children off at various after-school classes is time-consuming and draining, particularly in this hot weather, so everyone is thrilled to have this time off.

ways to enjoy a mumbai summer

And even though I’ve graduated into grandmother hood and will be hosting my grandchildren for some of the summer, I plan on several ways to beat the heat.

• Begin my day before daybreak and finish off my exercises.
• take the kids to the club to cool off in the pool.
• fill my freezer with homemade ice-cream
• fill my fridge with simple homemade drinks
• take the kids for a movie once in a while so that they can cool off in the theatre
• take the kids to the newest walkway in town the Malabar Hill suspended walkway.
• If possible, go on a boat ride in Mumbai harbour.
• make a few jars of pickles to gift to friends and family
• have salad lunches
• take a long, lazy siesta with a good book or a real shut-eye.
• spend a vacation at a beachside hotel
• plan a whole day visit to one of my favourite malls: Phoenix, Jio

What do you plan to do this summer?

Ciao