GARAGE GULLY

"The most vital requirement for a garage is space!" exclaims Ramesh Kumar, owner of RK Garage. Once upon a time, in a suburb of Bombay called Juhu, there was a creek. There were also poor car mechanics, operating from the pavement. They were unwilling to leave the booming area, yet unable to service a car beyond small repairs. Eureka happened. The creek was filled up, and a few garages established… with more to follow.

Drive in today off Juhu Tara Road to Mumbai's Sakharam Bua Patil Marg re-dubbed 'garage street' because of more that 20 garages and auto parts shops present. The lane also houses some erstwhile dance bars (out of them Lakshwadeep, one of the suburbs finest), which have now resorted to 'girl bands' to survive the ban. The garages stand vibrant proof to Kumar's ranting on the importance of space, as thriving businesses – extending their services to the common man's Maruti 800, as well as Hrithik Roshan's Jaguar.

The street boasts every kind of auto accessory and service. "We specialise in electrical systems – from the bonnet insides to the music deck," declares Kumar who started here in 1983, to acquire his "garage space bit by bit". Raymond D' Souza, who boasts the ability to provide "A to Z service", has gone for another investment – machinery. "Scanners, pipe bending machines for exhaust pipes, mechanical tire changers, compressors, gas welders… you have to be up to date in today's world," says D' Souza who has among his regulars Sushmita Sen's Lexus, Lancer and Mazda. D' Souza, whose Frank Auto Works played a significant part of the car re-modelling fad, remembers three of his favourite projects: "We'd turned a fibre glass Dolphin into a convertible, and also done great work with a Bentley and a Chevrolet." On the other end, Anil Pardesi, manager at R B 'Gyaraj' (that's how 'garage' stands spelt in Hindi) cites his most interesting re-fashioning being, "Creating a bar counter inside a Swift!"

Every world has a maverick. Shyamlal Bhalla, at 65 is Garage Street's only Ustaad. Declaredly the first one to have helped fill the creek with land and built a garage to shift his pavement service to, he exhorts mechanics at large. "90 percent of them are beimaan! They dream of becoming crorepatis time se pehle!" exhorts the stalwart bilingually. He specializes in accident jobs: "If you try to in 20 by 10 feet of space, provide every service, you end up dobi ka kutta, neither of home, nor ghaat!" Workers who flock to his garage swear by the fact that those who trained under him, are today working "everywhere from Dubai to Malaysia". Such diverse nationality is reflected in his garage. Behind a vintage Jaguar, stands lined a Maurice and a Mini Cooper, even as a 1932 Chevrolet exits the enclosure. His list of loyals includes names like Hrithik Roshan and Jackie Shroff. "Oh! Hrithik to mera beta hai," he dismisses. "As for the rest of tinseltown, they've been very good to me, but I don't cater much to them now." Why? "Aaj kal kisi cheez ka kadar nahin hai! Earlier owners used to care for cars themselves. Today, it's drivers who try to make a commission on the side. I refuse to pay anyone a paisa!"

Today, however the problem of land that these mechanics set out confronting, comes full circle. The BMC has decided to widen the road, hence necessarily relocating these businesses on "collector's land" elsewhere. "But will the other location be as central?" wonders Pratap Punjabi, who runs his tyre and battery service on the lane. Bhalla, characteristically, comes full throttle: "Even if they broaden the road to 80 feet, we can keep our garages. Why do they need a 120 feet wide road? They can't be planning a highway!" True, Mr Bhalla, par aaj