SWEDISH TOURIST 'HANNES' CYCLING IN MUMBAI

Hannes Erikson Ahlstrom, a student of journalism recently visited India to study the cycling culture of Mumbai. He traveled from Sweden to Mumbai for couple of weeks in September 2024. I had an opportunity to interact with him and take him around to a few places.

Hannes was keen to meet the local cyclist in the city and learn about cities struggling cycling culture. He was looking for a lot of information and stories of how people continue to cycle in the city despite several challenges. So, I planned to spend some time with him and organised a few rides. Because, I felt just verbally interviewing cyclist won’t give him a complete perspective. There has to be some action. Riding in the city and feeling the road conditions, traffic etc., will give him a fair idea of the challenges the cycling community faces every day. And he agreed to my suggestions.

Birthday Ride:

It was the birthday of Ravi Agarwal, a south Mumbai based cyclist. He invited many cyclists for a birthday ride and breakfast. I though this is a good opportunity to introduce Hannes to the cycling community. I rented a bicycle for Hannes a day before and next day morning we started riding at around 6am. It was drizzling but we made our way to the venue. Initially, Hannes was slightly uncomfortable on the road but I asked him to stay behind and keep following me. With less traffic on Sunday morning, we reached safely. First reaction – Hannes smiled that he cycled for the first time in the megacity.

At the venue, Hannes was delighted to see a crowd of 70-80 riders and met them for an interview. I am sure he must have got all the answers to his questions as I left him alone for a brief period. It was a relaxed morning with plenty of conversations as we sat on a round table savoring on south Indian breakfast. We celebrated Ravi’s birthday with a cake cutting ceremony and took a lot of pictures.

Then we started the return journey back home. We were fully drenched as it continued to rain. Vehicular movement increased so we pedaled slowly. We took a coffee break at Breve Café in Bandra to keep us warm. Opposite to the café, there is a bike studio called as ‘Bike Gallery’. We went inside and the store manager gave us a brief tour of the bikes, brands, merchandise, accessories and their community buiding initiatives. The premium bike shop experience gave a whole new perspective to Hannes.

Hannes and I returned to my house. Hannes said “This is the craziest thing I have ever done in my life” and we laughed.

Dabbawalla Tour:

Mumbai is known for its two famous lifelines – Local trains and the Dabbawalla’s – lunch box service delivered using bicycles and trains. And the visit to Mumbai for a tourist would be incomplete without meeting the Dabbawalla community. Hannes had done his online research and he expressed his wish to meet the Dabbawalla’s. How could I refuse? I arranged a tour for him on a Saturday.

The meeting point was Bandra station where I introduced Shankar – ‘the Dabbawalla’ with Hannes. And the tour began as we crossed the bridge to reach the eastern side of the station. We walked our way and visited four different houses in residential buildings. Shankar has fixed clients from whom he picks-up lunch boxes. People welcomed us and explained all that Hannes wanted to know. Next, we returned to the Bandra station where Shankar teamed-up with the other Dabbawallas and sorted the lunch boxes as per the assigned area. Shankar carried his lunch boxes and we followed him inside a luggage compartment of the local train. We reached Churchgate station and went to the Railway Headquarters Building. That’s where all the Dabbawalla’s assemble and do the final sorting. And that’s also the location where many foreigners come to meet the Dabbawalla’s and click photos with them.

The last leg of the tour started as we followed Shankar on foot and went to various offices in Fort area to deliver the lunch boxes. These visits were valuable for Hannes as he got a chance to meet real clients and gather insights about the Dabbawalla service. We spent half a day walking, talking and observing the hardships and challenges the Dabbawalla face. We thanked Shankar for making us a part of his Day-in-life. Hannes and I had lunch at a restaurant in Colaba. Thereafter, we did some street shopping and took the northbound train and retuned home.

Heritage Tour:

After spending a week, Hannes was satisfied with his meetings and had collected enough information about cyclists in Mumbai. Since he had a few more days left to spend in the city, we decided to do some touristy things. Hannes, Ravi and I teamed-up and went for a heritage tour of South Mumbai on a public holiday. Streets were calm and the weather was good. We visited a few landmarks and ended our ride with a nice breakfast at ‘Anna Idli’ in Horniman circle. You can watch this video about our tour and see what Hannes had to say about it.

I had a great time hosting Hannes and even more happy that he is going to write about the cities cycling culture. “This is the best way to explore Mumbai”, Hannes told me.

Even though I am not a guide, but I did my best to arrange a few tours for Hannes.

If you are a foreigner planning to visit Mumbai and looking for sustainable ways of getting around, using a bicycle will be a great option. I can help you with a private tour along with a bicycle and assist you with my local knowledge. Write to me pedalandtringtring@gmail.com to check availability since I am a cycling content creator and have a busy schedule. Let’s promote Cycle Tourism together!

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