Under my umbrella

As the monsoon showers begin to make their presence felt, most Mumbaikars have begun their annual search for umbrellas. While some may find what they need at home, many take to the streets to find the perfect umbrella — one that will last them through the torrential rain that is bound to come in a few days’ time. While street vendors have their own clientele, those looking for some quality local goods can also make their way to the chatri bazaar near Marine Lines. A ten-minute walk from the station takes one to Princess Street, which is lined with shops that offer umbrellas of all shapes and sizes. Along with the regular black two-fold umbrellas for the more stoic souls, there are plenty for those looking for a bit of an adventure.

Perhaps the oldest and definitely the most well known shops in the locality is Stag Umbrellas by Ebrahim Currim and Sons. The shop, with its extensive collection of over 100 different varieties of umbrellas, has been around since the 1860s. Umbrellas of a rainbow of shapes and colours line every available surface of the large hall — piled on display tables, hung on hooks and stuffed into buckets. “The shop is now run by the original owners great grandson, Zameel Currim,” says Hyder Lakhani, the sales manager of the store. He adds, “We try to come up with new varieties each year, so that we can keep up with the competition there is in the market today.”

A Madonna umbrella

Another shop that has been around for over 50 years is Asian Umbrellas. Though a much smaller establishment, the shop boasts over 4,000 umbrellas at any given time. “We also customise umbrellas if we are given a few days’ advance notice. We have a number of corporate clients who buy our products in bulk,” says Deepak R. Bhagnari, the owner of the shop, whose father first began the business in the 1950s.

A third old faithful of the umbrella bazaar is Sun Umbrellas. Teeming with people who come in to take their pick, the shop hires temporary workers every monsoon to keep up with the crowd. Harsha Purohit, who has taken up a summer job at the shop post her graduation, says, “Three or four of us are hired on each year to help out. We just got a shipment of new umbrellas today with really interesting designs. Some have Warli art print, some have cartoons drawn on them of what the Mumbai monsoons really means, ones with yoga poses and a number of other varieties.”

While most of the shops that line the street have four walls, Usha Umbrellas, which consists of two wooden shacks on the outside of an mill, has an equally extensive collection. “We have umbrellas that have fans on the main rod. We also have a bunch of umbrellas for kids. Some light up, and others are magic umbrellas that have blank spaces which colour up when water falls on them,” he elaborates, while showing off his collection with a flourish.

Though a bit of a hassle to get to, with no obvious markers or maps, the Chatri Bazaar is definitely worth the visit, if only to get lost in the circus of
umbrellas.