We recently embarked upon a journey with the Honda Jazz. Our mission was to enrich our souls with visits to the sea side, and rejuvenate our spirits with some rhythmic jazz tunes
Story: Harket Suchde
Photography: Aditya Dhiwar
What do Roy Eldridge, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Japanese car-makers Honda have in common? They have all been creators of jazz. The genre of music for the former, and the car for the last one. So we thought, why not take the car with the name inspired by the music and go explore both, the car and the music. So we started off in Mumbai’s Marine Drive and the Pizza By The Bay Restaurant – formerly known as Jazz By The Bay, and a live venue of some renown. Our plan was to see what the Queen’s Necklace looked like from the other side of the bay, and so we headed to Alibag.
After terrible roads along the old Mumbai-Goa highway were successfully conquered by the Jazz, we made it to Alibag Beach and checked out the Kolaba Fort. This island fortress is just a kilometre or two away from the beach, and is steeped in Maratha history. It was built by Shivaji Maharaj in the 1600s and was a major naval stronghold under his rule. We also checked out Kihim Beach and the dual isle-strongholds of Khanderi Fort and Undheri Fort, so close to each other yet on the opposite sides of the Maratha-Siddi war. Lastly, we also got a chance to catch a glimpse of Mumbai’s bayside from the port town of Mandwa and its jetty. Her lights twinkling in the distance, looking peaceful and serene, belying the ever-hasty, implacable people that call her ‘home.’
Then it was back on the road to Pune, for we had a gig to catch. How can a story about Jazz not have a jazz performance in it? So we went to the very essence of Pune’s jazz culture movement – the legendary Shisha Jazz Café for a show.
The 4 Believers were strutting their stuff on stage, weaving soulful, technical, exquisite magic with their instruments leaving the crowds in raptures. A fairytale end to a journey that was all about the fun, and was greatly accentuated by the verve, swing and convenience of the Honda Jazz.
