Dog Spas, Tattoo Shops...What's Next

This was published on 19 Oct 2012 in the Mumbai Mirror and on my site www.manfrommatunga.com.

Here is the archive link.

https://web.archive.org/web/20181014195806/http://manfrommatunga.com/?p=360

King’s Circle has more than 5 salons…but no spa. You can get shampoos and haircuts and manicures and pedicures, but no ‘spa experience”. And since we are a “middle-class” locality, we don’t even have one of those “ladies” parlors in one of the “quiet” streets.

And yet…your dogs and cats…can get a spa experience…in Matunga! Seriously! The dog spa is called “Oh my Dog” and it must signal something when those of the wolf and cat families can get pampered in Matunga, while we humans need to travel across suburbs to get our muscles and sinews soaked and pummeled in the “right” atmosphere.

There was a time when no one really kept pets in Matunga. The Tamils and Gujjus both don’t traditionally encourage dogs and cats at home. Growing up as well, the only ones who had pets in their houses were my Maharashtrian friends outside Matunga. And like most Gujjus, I can just about handle them in friends’ houses…as long as they are at a good arm’s length.

But then, dog and cat lovers, my friends included, don’t really think with their heads when it comes to their pets. I can never forget an argument I got into with an animal lover friend of mine when we were both much, much younger. Testily, I asked Sangeeta. “If a man and a dog were injured by a car and waiting for help in the middle of the road, who would you help first?” She said, “Obviously the dog”. I argued with her no end but couldn’t win the fight, irrespective of the logic I used. Pet-lovers (like all lovers) tend to think only with their hearts. And clearly the person who has started this dog spa must be of the same ilk.

And so…in staid, pet-neutral Matunga…we have a dog spa…before a human spa.

And to add to that…a tattoo place as well!

I don’t get it!

The ATMs and ice-cream parlors now outnumber the idli-dosa joints. This I understand!  A Subway has just opened, but you still can’t get other branded fast-food like McDonald’s. This also, I understand! And except for one Levi’s showroom, there is no other big brand, shopping outlet as well. Which also I understand given that we are not a premium suburb!

But in conservative Matunga, where girls going to discos still cover their mini-skirts while leaving the area, we now have a place to get permanent tattoos done. Wow!

“Oh my Dog” and “Leo Tattoos” signal a paradigm shift. While we know that the suburb is undergoing a quiet change, the Tamils being replaced by Gujjus and Kutchhis, the 2 and 3 storey buildings giving way to high-rises, the Jains slowly beginning to outnumber other religions, there is clearly another shift happening that I can see around me, but am unable to explain, since I don’t do either pets or tattoos.

Whatever it is…can only be good. While it is heartening to hear the Koolar owner, in his retro-Irani restaurant, early in the morning, still mouthing bad-words at everyone around, from his waiters, to suppliers and customers, it is also nice to see stuff coming up in our area that is different and creates a buzz. Now if we can just have one high-end, fine-dining restaurant with outdoor seating (Varun are you reading this?), one compact lounge bar and pub for middle-aged Matungaiites and an organic food shop, along with a “human” spa…the Circle would be kind-of complete.

It’s interesting to see the Circle slowly becoming one big outdoor mall. All that is really missing is the central air-conditioning!