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!
