*wild, new, unpredictable life*

As the sunlight floods into my room, the cool breeze blowing the curtain into my face, the scary white pigeon comes and coos near the railing and the sight of the little green plant swaying in the wind, defying everything and growing through the cracks in the concrete makes me smile.

The five-ten minute walk to college is pretty exciting itself.  My roomies talk about assignments and field work and I smile as I hear a familiar song, and see the municipal worker humming to herself as she sweeps, next to her a little boy waits for his school bus, face powdered a tiny hanky pinned to his shirt. The smell of incense overpowers me as we pass the temple, at the signal we wait to cross the road, trucks and buses stop dangerously close and their exhaust fumes travel through my respiratory tract.

A cacophony of bird calls greets me as I walk into campus every morning. I’d normally grumble if I have to wake up early and walk in the rain. But it’s beautiful, the keechad, the puddles of water, the leaf litter, the little rivulets of muddy water that crisscross and form patterns on the black tar.

As I approach the mess for breakfast I can smell the poha, and hear the chattering monkeys, the little ones playing and swinging on the rusty iron ladder, eating the fallen purple fruit on the ground. And my friend, the mynah, hops and runs, trying to outrun the worms, pecks at them and fly away to gobble it in peace.

Today I went for my first institutional visit and also travelled in the famous red BEST buses. As we crossed the Vashi creek, I could see little boats and fishing nets, my vision suddenly obscured by a train on the parallel bridge! Uncles going to work with their colourful unmbrellas,  aunties with flowers in their hair, the tinkle of the bell that signals the bus stops...

I’m learning so much both in and outside the classroom. The pink blossoms that form a beautiful bed outside the classroom window, the koel’s call, the line of ants near the window, the campus dogs PJ talks to in Tamil, they add colour to my canvas. 

mumbai mirror work

Whenever someone says “Mumbai”, the first thing I think about it is the chatpata bhel puri, the colourful Falooda and the rain. It’s the city where my Mother grew up; it’s also where I was born. I remember the summer vacations in Bombay, when my only agenda was to gorge on pav bhaji and go to Essel World (their butter popcorn is SO delicious!).

Now, I’m here to study, to do my Masters for the next two years and my basic agenda hasn’t changed much!

For the first time I’m away from home, away from the two people that mean the most to me in the whole wide world! And, I’m really glad that I’ve come to a place like Mumbai..the city is so welcoming and there are so many people for whom the city is home for at least some part of their lives..that one does not feel like an outsider. I’ve been here more than a week and I haven’t felt alone or homesick. Maybe it’s the new course, new life ka josh but I’d like to think that it’s the city and its people that are so endearing.

I’m in love with the Tata Institute campus; it takes me back a decade to Dehradun..the magpie robins navigating the palm fronds, the mynah that loves to run and hop on the driveway and realizes it’s better at flying, the black and blue butterfly that rests on a tree stump, a pair of mating frogs, a huge snail, the water droplets on the green grass and the leaf litter that carpets the tarmac...like my roommate P says, it’s a mini rainforest!

This weekend I went exploring with my friends, sat in a local train after a very long time, it was SO exciting; the crowd, the wooden seats, the paan stains, the smell of sweat, the sound of the train picking up speed, checking the little booklet for the next stop, the smell of samosa and chai, a train journey always heightens my senses. There is an explosion of sounds and smells and colours and I wouldn’t want to miss a thing!

We got off at Victoria Terminus, (that makes an appearance in every Bollywood movie shot in Mumbai) which is so typically British with the Union Jack carved in stone in the ceiling, the two lions guarding the entrance, it’s a majestic structure and somehow symbolic of everything Mumbai is.

We then took a bus to Gateway of India through small cobbled streets and wide tar roads, past the Reserve Bank of India and a pigeon coop to arrive at a place lined with Banyan trees with roots that look like school girl plaits and a line of Horse drawn carriages that take you along Marine Drive.  Little bubbles floated into vision as I looked at the Taj Hotel and the Gateway.  The smell of roasting bhutta, pink candy floss, chana and churmur chaat walas assaulted my senses as I tried to navigate amongst the what looked like the entire population of Mumbai that had ventured out for a fun Sunday. Next was Colaba, with the posh International brands and the roadside jewellery shop, old grandfather clocks and the kholapuris with their characteristic smell. All the smelling made us hungry and we freaked out on brownies and cheesecake at Theobroma cafe/bakery.

We then took a taxi to marine drive, with the wind in our hair and Praveen singing in the background! Just sitting and watching the Arabian Sea, the sunset, the crabs trying to escape the waves and clambering onto the slippery rocks was peaceful! There were people all around us, sitting shoulder to shoulder, one stranger to another, staring at the water, at the hazy buildings in the distance, asking questions and seeking answers...it is perhaps the water, so indefinable itself, that connects everyone who stops by.

The city is like the embroidered red ghagra-choli the little girl at the traffic signal was wearing, and I cannot wait for the mirror work to dazzle me!

Till next weekend!

Ghaas-Phoos

When you are a vegetarian in India you don’t fully realise what the hullabaloo about vegetarianism and turning vegan (fashion statements?!) in the West is about, especially, if you are a tolerant vegetarian and someone who has few reservations about picking from your friend’s chicken sandwich.

I mean, if you go to Goa, you can’t come back without tasting the seafood, right?! :P

(Don’t miss the golden fried prawns!)

But, I’ve come across few tolerant non-veggies…what do they have to tolerate, you ask?

Well, for starters: stop thinking vegetarians starve or that they’re missing out on “life”. When you’re a meat eater you often overlook the wonders that the plant kingdom has to offer!

And, vegetarian food in India is colourful, vibrant and delicious. 

We were talking about all the things that we love about India in class and I said, “FOOD” (yeah, yeah, I was thinking of yummy parathas and lassi, if you must know!)

My friend turned around and said, ‘Food? But, you’re vegetarian!’

OUCH? I can understand where she’s coming from though…she’s from Meghalaya and there are limited options for vegetarians in that part of the country.

It irks me every time people look down upon vegetarians. What is on your plate is a personal matter, whether it’s a lifestyle choice or just the way you’ve been brought up.

The web of different attitudes and values about food is intricate but both Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians must co-exist. After all, it’s about balance in the food chain! 

And, ah, if you have any doubts about what herbivorous Homo sapiens eat (and enjoy), come home, my mother will banish all those doubts when she places 12 different dishes with *ghaas-phoos*, masala and a little magic from different corners of the country on the table!