As sun sets, melody rings out of Carter Road

Songs in at least four different languages — but mostly dominated by Bollywood numbers — ring out amidst the unceasing movement of runners and walkers, especially on breezy summer nights. (File)

While joggers, dogs and dog walkers are often seen at the seafront on Bandra’s Carter Road, the promenade transforms itself to a live music venue after the sun sets on the rocky beach. “Earlier, we used to play music everyday. But with time, we have all become busy and limited ourselves to playing on the weekends,” says Naresh Ruke, a 24-year-old resident of Khar West who is a sales executive with Indiabulls.

Ruke is one among the local people, tourists and amateur musicians who jam on a set of circular steps in the middle of the promenade where visitors rest. Most sessions begin post-dinner, at times with a guitarist and singer duo — and at times their friends — before quickly turning to a large group of singers. Songs in at least four different languages — but mostly dominated by Bollywood numbers — ring out amidst the unceasing movement of runners and walkers, especially on breezy summer nights.

Ruke and his friends have been regulars on weekends for at least a year now. A group of four to five, with Ruke on the guitar and another person playing Congo drums, mostly sing Hindi film songs – frequently repeating hits like gulabi aankhein and mere saamne waali khidki mein. Another member of Ruke’s group also raps.

Chance encounters while walking across the promenade are what prompted Vishal Sengupta to start playing guitar by the sea. “I studied in a college nearby and after finishing classes, I would see a group playing on Carter Road. I started playing with them,” says Sengupta (30), a sales executive from the city who is currently working in Dubai. Now, Sengupta heads to Carter Road with his guitar and friends whenever he visits Mumbai.

The number of people singing around Sengupta — who lists Kishore Kumar, KK and Sonu Nigam among his favourites —would often swell up to 100. He attributes this to Mumbai being an “extremely open and accepting city”. “We used to start at 8.30 pm and go on for hours and hours together. There was this one time when we did not realise that we had been playing for about six hours at a stretch,” says Sengupta. He recalls the time when an elderly couple requested for a song. “The couple looked into each others’ eyes and we could see how much they loved each other,” he says.