Madonna in Mumbai meets slum-dwellers, lunches on vadas

Mumbai, Jan 8 (IANS) Pop superstar Madonna slipped in here Tuesday afternoon with her family - quite 'like a prayer' come true for her many fans here - and spent the day visiting a slum and taking in some authentic south Indian food.

Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie reached Mumbai from Udaipur by a chartered Taj Air flight, operated by the Taj Group of Hotels. It landed at 11.30 a.m.

The family, and their Israeli private security group, sped off in a golden Innova straight to the Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, opposite the Gateway of India.

Shortly after checking in and refreshing themselves, the family went to the nearby Colaba slums. Madonna spent sometime with slum-dwellers - 'she just wanted to see what a slum looked like', an eyewitness told IANS.

Soon after that, the family went to the Hotel Saurabh, a class II south Indian vegetarian speciality eatery for a quick lunch, around 2.30 p.m.

Accompanied by filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie and Australia-born British author Gregory David Robert, who wrote 'Shantaram', the celebs opted for Udupi food.

The excited proprietor of the hotel, S.M. Shetty, told IANS that the VVIP patrons savoured the house speciality of idli-vada sambhar, half a masala dosa, and sev puri. She also tasted a bit of jeera fried rice with sambhar.

She topped it off with a hot steaming cup of masala tea. They left after almost an hour for the hotel to get some well-deserved rest.

When asked what was the bill, Shetty proudly said that it had been his 'honour and privilege to serve his distinguished international celeb patrons'.

Madonna, 49, is expected to be in Mumbai for the next three days, according to hotel sources. However, on the record, a hotel spokesperson said: 'Its all speculation.'

Madonna seemed to be following in the footsteps of British pop singer Natasha Bedingfield, who during her surprise visit to Mumbai in November 2006 had spent two days in a slum in Kandivli, northwest Mumbai.

Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie reached Mumbai from Udaipur by a chartered Taj Air flight, operated by the Taj Group of Hotels. It landed at 11.30 a.m.

The family, and their Israeli private security group, sped off in a golden Innova straight to the Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, opposite the Gateway of India.

Shortly after checking in and refreshing themselves, the family went to the nearby Colaba slums. Madonna spent sometime with slum-dwellers - 'she just wanted to see what a slum looked like', an eyewitness told IANS.

Soon after that, the family went to the Hotel Saurabh, a class II south Indian vegetarian speciality eatery for a quick lunch, around 2.30 p.m.

Accompanied by filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie and Australia-born British author Gregory David Robert, who wrote 'Shantaram', the celebs opted for Udupi food.

The excited proprietor of the hotel, S.M. Shetty, told IANS that the VVIP patrons savoured the house speciality of idli-vada sambhar, half a masala dosa, and sev puri. She also tasted a bit of jeera fried rice with sambhar.

She topped it off with a hot steaming cup of masala tea. They left after almost an hour for the hotel to get some well-deserved rest.

When asked what was the bill, Shetty proudly said that it had been his 'honour and privilege to serve his distinguished international celeb patrons'.

Madonna, 49, is expected to be in Mumbai for the next three days, according to hotel sources. However, on the record, a hotel spokesperson said: 'Its all speculation.'

Madonna seemed to be following in the footsteps of British pop singer Natasha Bedingfield, who during her surprise visit to Mumbai in November 2006 had spent two days in a slum in Kandivli, northwest Mumbai.