A few days back, while I was moving out of my room, a little hurried, I slipped on the stairs of third floor in my apartment and landed right in front of our neighbouring aunty, who was coming upstairs. She immediately came running forward, trying to pick me up and gave what she is best at giving, advice, of course: “Beta, aaj kal zara sambhal ke chalaa karo.”
Me: “Thank u, aunty. Per aaj kal hi kyon…aaj kal kuch special hai kya”
Aunty: Arre September ka mahina hai na..9wa mahina hai..isliye…giving a sheepish smile.
Me: After a minute of scratching my head on what she meant. Ooeee…maa!! Ji ..main khayal rakhungi..oops!! i mean rakhunga..munne ko kahin chhot na lag jaye ;)
And this is not all…a few days back a friend SMSed me:
Jara sambhal ke chalna,
Jyada bhari cheez nahi uthana,
Apna khayal rakhna,
Khana thik se khana,
Kyunki 9 wa mahina chalu huva hai na..
:)
And yesterday, while I was chatting with a friend from Delhi, this is how the chat went on…
1:07 PM shruti: hi Krishna
hru?
1:08 PM me: hi shruti!
am fine. :)
how abt u?
shruti: i am good too
1:09 PM so where are u these days?
me: here in mumbai
shruti: how long have u been there now?
:D
1:11 PM me: 9wa mahina chal raha hai..
;)
shruti: hahaha
so when are u delivering ;)
1:12 PM i mean when is the due date?
for the final delivery??
1:14 PM me: bas kabhi bhi..
shruti: arre wah...
do share the outcome with me..whenever it happens
1:15 PM me: yeah...yeah..khushkhabri zaldi hi sunne ko milegi
So here I am. It’s been 9 months since my postal address changed. If not exactly a roller coster ride, these nine months - living independently in a city as strange and surreal as Bombay, for a guy who has never been away from his family all through his life - have been adventurous enough.
Living with a roommate, I have learnt the importance of compatibility between two people if they plan to live together for life. Compromising on a few things, ignoring things you dislike about your partner, listening to all his bakwaas, and giving him a shoulder to cry on when a girl - jis per uska dil aaya tha - tells him that she thought of him merely as a caring brother. And then I think what will happen when I marry? Am I going to get someone who thinks on the same wavelength as I do, who will be as caring as I am, who will be smart, determined, understanding, good-humoured, and mature enough to handle life’s difficulties when things are not going our way? After all, I have to live with that person all my life. And it would be difficult for us to live happily, if our thinking doesn’t match. I mean, I am not asking for a perfect match, but someone who, even with all her imperfections, is good enough to make me exclaim sometimes “You are perfect for me. If God gave me a wish, I would wish you all my life.”
And that is why I think a mix of Shahana Goswami’s character, Debbie and Prachi Desai’s character, Saakshi in Rock On would be perfect for me.
Btw, I recently saw Rock On and loved every bit of it. If you haven’t yet seen it. Just do it!! Nike style :)) The best thing about the movie is that it ends on a feel-good note and leaves me humming “Hai ye waqt ka ishaara, har lamha pukara..yun hi dekhta hai kya tu, zindagi milegi na dubaara…Rock On!!”
Btw, I am yet to find a reason why the movie’s title contains two exclamation marks. If you know, do tell me.
Before logging off…just wanna say to all my blogger friends “Ye tumhari meri baatein hamesha yun hi chalti rahein..ye hamari mulaakatein hamesha yun hi chalti rahein…beete yun hi apne saare din raat…baaton se nikalti rahe nai baat…phir wahi baatein leke blog koi hum likhein..”
:))
Showing posts with label Mumbai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mumbai. Show all posts
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
This is Mumbai my dear, but don't fear; Just cheer, come to Mumbai every year!
Close to 7 months and I am still exploring Mumbai. The city has made me more observant of my surroundings. Initially, when I came here, I found fault in everything that belonged to Mumbai...its constant, unrelenting humid weather...the crowded places...the narrow, teetering-tattering roads. Everywhere I saw, I could find negativity. But the perspective is changing, slowly, but surely. I have began to start liking the city.
It's a unique city, unlike others. I am totally awed by the number of people residing. It's maddening. Mumbai is crowded to extreme. It's the most densely populated city in the world and in some parts of Mumbai, especially the western and central Mumbai, almost a million people are jostling for space in a square kilometre area. The city resembles like an insect colony. There is no personal space for an individual in Mumbai. The moment you come out of your 2-room flat - the only space that you can call personal in the whole of Mumbai - you just can't avoid getting touched here and there. there are a million people touching you, brushing past you, rubbing shoulder to shoulder, legs to legs, hands to hands, and bums to bums in local trains. There are so many people on the roads, on railway station, in local trains, in buses, even in the lift - the swarm of crowd is intimidating, to say the least. This is a city where you can reach your destination riding a cycle earlier than a car. Car makers in bbay never advertise the 160- or 180-km ph speeds that their car can reach. Because the speed is of no use here on Bbay's roads. So while you can admire the plush interiors of your newly bought Merc or BMW, it will not take you to your office on time. It is no better than a Maruti 800, which is crawling adjacent to you in the huge traffic on narrow roads, which look like a galli in your mohalla. Buying a car is a sin in Bbay..and the bigger sin is driving one. So even if you can afford one, drop the idea. Better travel in a local.
Talking of locals, Mumbai local ka 'suffer' bhi chakha hai maine. I find the crowd at Dadar station very intimidating. This is one station in the whole of Mumbai, where getting into and off the train is close to a life changing experience.
When you walk on the platform, you must be careful. Always keep your eyes straight. The moment you look sideways, you will get bumped into someone coming in front of you. And you are highly prone to such accidents if a pretty girl is passing just beside you and decide to have glimpse of her, admire her beauty. The crowd punishes you for bird watching. Someone might trample over your foot, bump hard his shoulders onto yours. And you will be just left cursing them under your breath. So people never indulge in extracurricular activities of your eyes when on Dadar station.
Riding here is not for weaklings. You need a heart of steel and the body too, coz you hv to be prepared to get bruised and battered once you take the ride. There are such a huge swarm of commuters around you, if you are not used to it, you get a heart-attack. Deluged in a torrent of people, the damned commuter just flows with the crowd. During peak hours in Mumbai, 15 pairs of legs vie for a 1 sq. metre space inside the locals. A carriage made for 200 people carries more than 600 commuters at one go. I just find it strange how locals have become a lifeline for people here who are used to riding on their tows, hanging from the doors. And I wonder how would they react, if something like Delhi metro is started here. One thing is for sure, logon ko train ke gates per latakne ka mauka nahi milega, coz in metros gates close automatically naa.
Taking a cue from an e-mail forward:
This is Mumbai my dear, but don't fear,
just cheer, come to Mumbai every year!
It's a unique city, unlike others. I am totally awed by the number of people residing. It's maddening. Mumbai is crowded to extreme. It's the most densely populated city in the world and in some parts of Mumbai, especially the western and central Mumbai, almost a million people are jostling for space in a square kilometre area. The city resembles like an insect colony. There is no personal space for an individual in Mumbai. The moment you come out of your 2-room flat - the only space that you can call personal in the whole of Mumbai - you just can't avoid getting touched here and there. there are a million people touching you, brushing past you, rubbing shoulder to shoulder, legs to legs, hands to hands, and bums to bums in local trains. There are so many people on the roads, on railway station, in local trains, in buses, even in the lift - the swarm of crowd is intimidating, to say the least. This is a city where you can reach your destination riding a cycle earlier than a car. Car makers in bbay never advertise the 160- or 180-km ph speeds that their car can reach. Because the speed is of no use here on Bbay's roads. So while you can admire the plush interiors of your newly bought Merc or BMW, it will not take you to your office on time. It is no better than a Maruti 800, which is crawling adjacent to you in the huge traffic on narrow roads, which look like a galli in your mohalla. Buying a car is a sin in Bbay..and the bigger sin is driving one. So even if you can afford one, drop the idea. Better travel in a local.
Talking of locals, Mumbai local ka 'suffer' bhi chakha hai maine. I find the crowd at Dadar station very intimidating. This is one station in the whole of Mumbai, where getting into and off the train is close to a life changing experience.
When you walk on the platform, you must be careful. Always keep your eyes straight. The moment you look sideways, you will get bumped into someone coming in front of you. And you are highly prone to such accidents if a pretty girl is passing just beside you and decide to have glimpse of her, admire her beauty. The crowd punishes you for bird watching. Someone might trample over your foot, bump hard his shoulders onto yours. And you will be just left cursing them under your breath. So people never indulge in extracurricular activities of your eyes when on Dadar station.
Riding here is not for weaklings. You need a heart of steel and the body too, coz you hv to be prepared to get bruised and battered once you take the ride. There are such a huge swarm of commuters around you, if you are not used to it, you get a heart-attack. Deluged in a torrent of people, the damned commuter just flows with the crowd. During peak hours in Mumbai, 15 pairs of legs vie for a 1 sq. metre space inside the locals. A carriage made for 200 people carries more than 600 commuters at one go. I just find it strange how locals have become a lifeline for people here who are used to riding on their tows, hanging from the doors. And I wonder how would they react, if something like Delhi metro is started here. One thing is for sure, logon ko train ke gates per latakne ka mauka nahi milega, coz in metros gates close automatically naa.
Taking a cue from an e-mail forward:
This is Mumbai my dear, but don't fear,
just cheer, come to Mumbai every year!
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