I Flew Over The Arabian Sea To Land On Another Ocean Called ‘Mumbai’

The Salty Sea Water Was Shimmering In The Sunlight. 

From Above It Looked Like A Huge Water Bed Tempting Me To Take A Walk On It.  From An Altitude Of 31000 Feet I Saw Tiny Ships & Vessels Floating On This Vast Mass Of Volatile Yet Calm Water.

The Sight Of The Deep Blue Sea From The Clouded Blue Sky.

What A Breathtaking Sight Of ‘God’s Work’!

Childlike, I Wanted To Pick Up These Boats In My Pinch & Place Them Wherever I Felt.

I Flew Over The Arabian Sea To Land On Another Ocean Called ‘Mumbai’; An Ocean Of Fun, Opportunities & Struggle. Since The Time I Have Relocated, I Am Feeling Fun Starved. This Is Quite Unexpected, As Factually I Am Not A Party Animal. But Succinctly Speaking I Don’t Want To Miss Any Opportunity To Unwind Myself.

Well….Here Or There ‘Life After A While Becomes A Drag’. My Experience Says, “Don’t Make Any Drastic Attempts To Change Your Life Or As A Matter Of Fact Change Others. It Is Far Too Tedious A Job. Let Them Be The Way They Are. Instead Do Some Self Makeover. If You Feel Flustered & Fed Up. Give Your Eyes A New Sight, Give A New Smell To Your Nose, You Could Savour New Food Or Make Your Ears Listen To New Clatter Or Resonance. Divert Your Mind From The Regular.

When You Will Get Back To The Same Old Usual Business You Will Endear ‘The Normal’ More. And If You Can’t Do Any Of The Above, Simply Go To The Salon & Have A Haircut. Change The Appearance Of The Face In The Mirror.”

Going By This Mantra I Had Me, Mumbai & One Evening In My Hand Till I Had The Luxury Of Having My Next Break.

           

The Synonm Of Desicion Is Inevitable.

I Was Determined. So The Party Began.

With Absolutely No Clue About The Topography Of Mumbai We Sat In An Auto After My Excitment Filled Desire Of ‘First Time Drive In Black-Yellow Taxi‘  Was Quashed By An Equally Insipid Driver. My Friend Put His Sony (Or Was It A Samsung) Gadget To Use- ‘Google Maps‘. It Read We Were 1.5 Miles Away From The Destination Which Tantamounts To 4 Minutes Ride. The World Giant ‘Google‘ Has No Knowledge About Indian Traffic. It Needs To Introduce Day Timeline To It’s Findings. Nevertheless We Challenged The Auto Driver With Google‘s Claim & Manged To Reach In Approximately 20-25 Minutes – Not Bad!

Pubs  Are So Deceptive. It‘s Ambience Makes All Present Not Only Appear More Cooler But More Richer Too. And What‘s With Loud Music, The Liquid & The Mindless Talk!  It Always Works! We Sipped & Munched Masala Peanuts, Fries & Cheese Toast While Awaiting Others. The Idea Was Not Pub-ing, It Was Drumming. Gradually The Crowd Gathered & All Took Thier Positions In The Circle With Their Respective Drum. It Looked Nothing Less Than  A SceneFrom The Movie ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna‘(Minus The Smoke) - All Vagabonds Lost In Making Music.... With Nothing Better To Do In Life Than Drumming & Infrequently Screaming. Ocassionaly I Would Exchang Smile & Stop To Give Rest To The Sore Nerves Of My Palm. I Aped The Veterans When My Rhythm Got Dearailed. The Decibels Coupled With Loud Screams Would Touch The Sky & Gradually Die Out Only To Get More Louder In The Next Beat. We Made Music For One Hour & As We Got Into The Groove We Sang African Tunes.

This Experience Left Us Exhilarated & Exhausted.

Energised In Mind But Devoid Of Bodily Energy!

It Was Time For Mid Night Eat; And It Ought To Be Different!!

We Picked Bade Miyan!

To Me It Was Just  A Famous Road Side Eatery; But To My Friend Even The Thought Of Going There Worked As An ‘Appetizer‘. We Got Into A Taxi, Smelling Full Of Human Sweat And Got On To The Destination Food. The Place Welcomed Us With Pungent Smell Of Cooked Steak & Heavy Barbecue Smoke. Waiters Running Helter-Skelter With Their Badges On To Serve The Starving Customers. People Ordering Food Inside Their Automobiles, BMW’s & Mercs, Many Converting The Bonnet Of Their Car Into A Dinning Table & Few Managed To Get A Chair & Table. The Food Lived Up To It’s Hyped Expectation, Especially The Roti- So Hot & Soft. My Friend Made Savouring Noises Till The Last Bite Of His Meal. Desire Of Munching Best Non-Veg Food Satiated.

On The Way Back We Passed Marine Drive & It Goes Without Saying I Had To Take A Walk & Feel The Midnight Sea Breeze. Alas, There Was No Breeze. The Wild Sea Barricaded By Beautiful & Well Crafted Stones. I Love These Stones- They Make The Whole Thing Look So Tidy & Organized. It Was An Envious Sight- People Relaxing Under The Starry Sky Lying On The Platform & Listening To Their Favourite Music- Some Were Also On Health Walk. Oh God, What A Luxury!!! On A Thursday Night I Found It All Brightly Lit & Quite Crowded. I Wondered Dont These People Have To Catch Up Some Sleep And Struggle In Trains To Go To Work Tomorrow?

 My Friend Remained Glued To The Phone Speaking To His Wife(How Cute!), And I Ambled For Sometime Thinking About The City & It’s Bizarre Pace. Feeling Jealous Of Passers-By Who Seemed To Have Adapted It’s Pace To Leverage This Strategic Indian City Of Mumbai.

Now Came The Last Leg Of Fun. How Could I Come Back Home Without Having A Drive On The Worli-Bandra Sea Link. India’s Shinning Example Of Modern Development-Mumbai’s Makeover. And That Too Around Mid-Night. WOW!

My Expectation Of The Bridge Being Lit-Up & Adorned Was However Dashed. Yet The Whole Drive Thing Was Such A Filmy Experience! We In Santro Or Something (Taxi) Racing Along With Jaguars, BMW’s & Mercs Of The World. Perhaps The Best Time To Put This Hit & Run Killers To Use. They Roared Pass Us Leaving Us Guessing The Coffer Status Of The Owners. I Starred At The Symbol Of Big Cat As Far As I Could. After All I Was Seeing One For The First Time. On The Sides Of The Bridge, I Could See The Black Sea Water Peeping Through The Holes Of Concrete Railings. It Looked Arrogant & Deadly. Me Too .....Not To Be Hit By Those Big Names, I Carefully Peeped Outside The Glass Window To Feel The Speedy Breeze & Gazed Above At India’s Marvel. Indeed An Exotic Sight Of Development.

The Distance Of Around 5 Kms Didnt Take Long To Complete; It AlsoEnded My Selective Mumbai Darshan.

I Have Always Travelled In Mumbai In AC Cabs, This Time Around I Preferred An Auto And A Taxi. And That Made The Difference. The Former Was Touring, The Latter Is Travelling.

To Know The City As It Is Your Eyes Must Be Coordinated With Your Nose, Ears & Mouth.

I Have Liked Mumbai For The First Time & I Now Understand Why Those Who Live Here Cant Live Anywhere Else Despite It’s Odds.