A ticket to the past: When buses of Bombay were truly the BEST
This piece reflects on the history of Mumbai's bus system, contrasting the orderly, scenic experiences of the past with the current state of public transit. It highlights the cultural significance of the iconic No. 123 bus route.
Why it matters
It captures the intersection of urban development and cultural nostalgia in a rapidly changing metropolitan environment.
In Chhoti Si Baat (1976), Basu Chatterjee's classic ode to Bombay office romance, Amol Palekar's character, Arun, practices a ritual that feels like a myth in modern Mumbai: he waits in an orderly queue at a bus stop.Today, those polite queues have dissolved into chaotic scrums, commuter etiquette is an endangered species, and the iconic red-and-silver fleet is a shadow of its former self. But there was a time when riding the bus wasn't a battle -- it was a pleasure.The legendary No. 123, which ran from RC Church to Tardeo, down the sweeping arc of Marine Drive, holds a special place in city historian Deepak Rao's memory."I'd travel the full route to meet a friend in Tardeo," Rao recalls.
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