Eat, Pray, Love

EAT



For those who've known me, for an hour, a day, months, years or a lifetime, would probably smile and think to themselves, "Typical" or "why am I not surprised?"

Over the years, I've earned the title of a 'hog'. In school, in college and at work. Most of my time is spent in either eating, talking about what I want to eat, or thinking about what I could eat.

I cant explain my obsession about food. I'm always hungry. even after I've just finished a meal, I'm already thinking about the next meal.

I've been accused of converting non-eaters into hogs. And they've told me, sometimes seriously, sometimes jokingly, that they need to stop spending time with me because I'm making them put on weight while I continue to stay skinny as ever.

There's something about food that calms me down. If I'm sad, or angry or lonely or busy- food makes me feel better. Almost always.

But what you should also know is that I hate eating by my self. Food gives me a joy I cant explain and I have to share it with someone. Simply talking about it doesn't help. The other person needs to experience it and feel the bliss too.

When I cut into a slice of blueberry cheesecake, watch the spoon sink into its mushy core, pause for a brief moment at the crust, hear a soft click as the spoon cuts through the crunchy base and hits the plate, when I put the spoon into my mouth, feel the cheesy, creamy cake slide and roll around my tongue and melt away, bite into the tiny blue berries as their juices burst in my mouth and feel the crumbly crust leave a tingly texture on my tongue..... that's pure satisfaction. That cant be shared with anyone until he/she feels it too.

While most people eat to live, I, for one, live to eat.


PRAY




I'm not a very religious person, even though I come from a family who is. And I'm not sure if I'm too spiritual either.

I've never been able to explain to people what my thoughts about God are. But then, I dont think religion is something that needs to be explained to others. Its your won personal thing.

I also think prayers have nothing to do with religion.

I dont know how to pray. I've been taught, obviously. But over the years I've somehow lost the line that differentiates 'praying' from simply 'talking' to someone you believe in; God or otherwise.

Most of the times I feel like I'm simply talking, and to me that's praying.

I'm not going to dwell too much on how I pray because this isn't about that.

I dont know if I believe in the power of prayer. And I also dont believe that if you honestly want something, real bad, and you pray for it from the bottom of your heart, you'll get it. That just means that all the times I haven't got what I asked for, I haven't really wanted it badly enough.

That's not true.

I just think, even though its hard for me to admit, that you get what you need, not what you want.

Some nights back, I was feeling terribly low and lonely, and I lay in bed, crying, wanting so much, to be with someone who'd make the loneliness disappear. That hadn't happened in a very long time and I wished that for one night, for even a moment, someone would wipe my tears away. I 'prayed' for that moment; from the bottom of my heart.

And after all the times when I've thought God doesn't care about what I want, He gave this to me. He gave me someone who, for that moment, said something so simple, yet more than I could have asked for. "You have me."

When my grandfather was sick and people told me he didn't have much time left, I prayed. Harder than I'd ever prayed for anything in my entire life. For him to get better.

My cousin was expecting a baby and he'd be born anytime. And I wanted my grandfather to be around to see the baby, who'd be the first great grand child of our family.

I prayed, every night, every day, for a chance to let my grandfather see him ( my cousin had a baby boy eventually).

The night before my grandfather passed away, I was filled with something that could only be called 'enlightenment'.

Everyone told me my grandfather was in pain and he was suffering every moment that he was alive. He wanted to let go. But I couldn't stand the thought. It just made me pray harder for him to get better. Even when the doctors said there wasn't anything they could do.

But that night, I thought to myself, that my grandfather, even though I love him so much, had to released. I couldn't hold on to something that only brought pain and suffering. I had to stop being selfish. I had to let go. And I did. I prayed, for my grandfather one last time, to give him what he wants.

And my grandfather passed away that night. And he, and I, were finally at peace.


LOVE



There's nothing I can say about Love that hasn't already been said before.

Some time back, I was asked to define 'love' on a social networking site. And I replied with, "Am I qualified to define love?"

Everyone has a different perception of love, and there can be no fixed definition for it.

When I think of love, its something very simple: Love is when you're happy being with someone, anyone, who lets you be yourself.

I wont add that the person should be just as happy. Because I believe love is selfish.

Have I been in love?

So Many Times.

I've often admitted to myself, it doesn't take much to make me happy. Someone once termed it as being 'low maintenance'. I would have agreed to it had I not known better. Wanting the simple things in life is anything but LOW maintenance. Wanting to get the smallest things, which most people take for granted, is more difficult than having someone name a star after you.

Love, to me, is anything that makes me smile, or cry, in full honesty and sincerity.

I've been hurt by some of my closest friends. I've even cried for them. But it has been real. And I know the reason I shed tears for them is because of the love we once shared.

A month or so back, I was out with some of my colleagues, and after a couple of drinks, I remember laughing alot. And I remember I hugged my friend and cried for several long minutes because she would be leaving soon. I've known her only for three months, but I'll miss her. And to me, that's love.

A person, with whom I've not been on talking terms with for over a year, with whom I've fought on several occasions, shakes my hand when we meet several months later, that's love.

My immediate boss pretends to be busy just so my boss would take a look at my work and know I've been getting better, that's love.

Love may have been last on my list, but in life, it isn't necessarily so...

Letter to my Grandfather

Note:- A letter that never reached, nor got completed in time. Love you papa. May your soul rest in peace...


Dear Papa,

This letter is 23 years late. I wish I had written this much earlier. If I could've I would have written this letter even before knowing you. Because even then, you'd be the amazing person you still are.

I may not have much time to get this to you. Everyone tells me that you're missing Nana too much and you want to see her as soon as possible. Much as I hate to see you go, I'm glad in a way because I know that Nana has missed you just as much. And seeing her would make you happy. And you deserve this happiness more than anyone else I know. So I hope I'm not being selfish in letting you go.

I'm not sure how to tell you of what's in my heart Papa, because there's just so much.

Maybe I'll start by thanking you. For endless things.For dada and mama. For all my uncles and aunties. For all my cousins. For the best example of what a marriage should be like. For keeping this family together. For every summer holiday. For all those Christmases we've spent in Goa.For my first holy communion. For the stories. For the gifts. For the games we played as little children. For the chocolates and ice-cream treats. For the scoldings and punishments because it has made us better human beings. For all the prayers, rosaries, Holy hours and chapel rosaries. Every good thing that has come our way has come because of your and Nana's prayers.

When we went to Dohad for the first time, Dada, A. Sandra, A.Lalu, U.Leo and A.Brenda told us so many stories and incidents of your times there. And I always wished I'd been there to experience all the fun times you'll had.

I'm still finding the right words to say.. To tell you how much i, and everyone else, loves you.. I hope i get a chance to tell you..

Finding Friends

So my roommate left almost a week ago and I've been living on my own for all this time. The nights are ok, but when I wake up in the morning to an empty room, it can get pretty lonely especially when I have the entire day to kill and nothing much to do. I had thought I'd do alot of things to fill my day. But so far I haven't gotten around to doing any of the things I had planned.

So I spend my day laying in bed, watching FRIENDS and speaking to no one.

Just when I thought that the silence and boredom would kill me, I found company in someone who could very easily have been left by herself or ignored.

Every morning, at about 11, the maid comes to clean the house. When I tell people that my maid is a 12 year old girl (I'm making a guess about her age)they shoot an accusing look at me and mouth 'child labour'. Now, I feel bad about the situation, but somehow right now I feel like there isn't something I can do to stop my landlady from sending the girl to my place.

Anyway, I have a few things I think I can do now that I think about it, but it'll take some time.

So anyway, her name is Sarika and she stays with her family in Vadaj. The first time she spoke to me was when she came up to give me a bottle of cold water that the landlady had sent. I smiled at her and said "thank you", and she replied with a "Welcome" and the brightest smiles I'd ever seen.

She came up to swab the rooms and sensing that I may like some company, she began talking to me.Maybe she didn't really know what to talk to me, or maybe it was what she wanted to say, but she began to tell me about the landlady. She seemed excited to tell me different stories of the people who had lived in the house before I came. She laughed at certain instances and I joined in. She in her excellent super fast Gujarati, me in my absolutely poor and broken Gujarati-Hindi-English sentences, made quite a hilarious pair. I barely understood everything she was telling me, but I knew she thoroughly enjoyed talking to me.

The next day when a robbery took place near my place, she took it upon herself to warn me about earlier thefts and mishaps in the area. She told me to keep the doors locked and be careful when I came home alone at night.

Today when she woke me up from my sleep at nearly noon time, I asked her if she went to school. With a mix of a sheepish yet adamant look, she told me that she'd studied till 6th std, but had quit after that. I asked her why. From what I understood, she'd loved to study, and her two younger sisters were at school too. But her grandmother never encouraged her to continue studying. Being the eldest, Sarika was expected to work and help her mother. She didn't have a father( or grandfather, I didn't really understand) and when I asked her how he died, she told me she didn't know. But her grandmother never let her do her homework and that made things difficult for her at school. Finally she got fed up with all the trouble she was getting in at home and at school and decided to give up studying all together. I asked her if she has plans to study again, and she said she wasn't sure.

She then told me about an incident that made me so furious but yet again, I didn't know what to do. I don't even know if I should be writing about this here, but maybe someone reading this has any ideas of something I could do to.

She told me that she loved earrings and bangles and one day she went to a shop near her place to buy a pair of earrings. The shopkeeper showed her a pair she loved and told her it was for Rs 15. Sarika didn't have that much money and asked him to give it for less. The shopkeeper, instead of giving her the earrings, put them on for her and told her that she didn't need to pay for them, and then started acting funny with her. Shocked, Sarika threw the earrings back at him and ran from there. She told me that she thinks he was drunk, because he stank and his eyes were all red. I asked her if she told anyone of what had happened, and she said that she did tell her maasi but no one wanted to do anything about it in case he came after them at night.

I sat there and listened to her talk about the incident in such an easy manner, but I knew that it would have been anything but easy for her.

Not sure of what to say to her, and my poor Gujarati posing as a huge barrier especially when I was at a loss for words, I simply asked her how old she was. She looked at me for a while, and then said, " khabbar nai" (I don't know) Calculating her age from the fact that she had left school just months ago and she had been in the sixth std, I assume she's 12.

That's way too young to experience the things she has, and the things she hasn't told me...

May be I seem selfish in thinking that I've finally found someone to talk to in that empty house, but I'd also like to think that she'd found someone to talk to as well. May be that isn't so bad.

New Beginnings

It's been a long long time. And I still have nothing really to talk about. I would have liked to say that with the beginning of a new phase of my life, everything's changed, everything's different. But it isn't so. Not at this very moment, that is. Maybe in time I'll be able to say that.

For those wondering what this new phase is, well, I have begun the 'working' phase. Now I'm a '23 year old working woman' and I'm not really sure if I like the sound of it.

I've started working at The Times of India in Ahmedabad as a copy editor cum news correspondent. Which means that I have, once again, shifted base to the city that I had come to love once upon a time.

Ok, so in this regard I would say that thing have changed. Because when I was here two years back, everything was different. I knew so many people and it made me want to stay here forever. But now it like staring over. And let me tell you that it's really not fun. I dont make friends as easily as I would like. I'm quiet as a mouse and shy as a...well..whatever creature is really shy..and that is so uncharacteristic of me..I'm living with a new person after staying with my family for 2 years since I was here.. I dont quite know how to describe what I'm feeling right now...so I'm not going to try.

As of now, I haven't done much at work. I started on the 8th and on the first 2 days, besides filling up forms and things I edited a few stories. Last night I sat with one of my colleagues to watch as she made page 6 and page 2. That was fun. A better word would be exhilarating. To watch the next day's newspaper being created right before my eyes was surreal. Like my friend said, I make tomorrow's headlines. I made one last night, and the feeling was great. As time goes on, I'll be making many many more. And maybe then I'll have lots more to write..


PS: never believe me when I say "I have nothing to say"

Mumbai through my lense- II

This is the National Center of Performing Arts, NCPA, where I met Cyrus Bharucha.











Mumbai at night looks like this...a blur of lights, sounds and activity....














Mumbai's life line- the local trains..it was one of the very few times when it was empty..10:00 pm on our way to dinner at Andheri..The trains make up for one of the most important elements of Mumbai and I spent a minimum of 3 hours on it daily.. Miss it now? Not so sure...













Crazy bus ride from Belapur to Bandra.. at 11:30 pm the bus driver thought he was flying an airplane..not sure how many people, fruits, babies, bags fell during that ride...













The Bandra-Worli sea link that I could see from my dad's uncle's place. An amazing sight..













Me at the Lakme Fashion Week...one of the hundreds of pictures my colleague and me took during the break time.












The Taj Palace Hotel at Colaba...a magnificent piece of architecture...completely blows your mind...
















Me at the Gate Way of India and the Mumbai Marina in the background...














My friend and me at dinner in Andheri, near her office at Aaj Tak











At the same place, same day...with chicken, fish and vodka..













With my superhero- Spidey! at Belapur.























MAD OVER DONUTS :- the best place on earth.recommendations-the dark knight and hazzle dazzle.













At Pop Tates/ Jughead's with Long Islands, Black Russian and Chocolate shake...crazy pasta and steaks...










All in all: Loved being there with my friends <3 :) <3

Mumbai through my lense- I

this is the view from our 10th floor apartment in Mumbai. The blue and white striped building top that you can see straight ahead near the electricity tower is the Times of India building that glows in the night.





This is Sanjeev Kapoor, the well known chef, and me, at Kuoni Holiday's report unveiling. The pic is not very clear as you can see. but it was taken on the sly, from way back, since we were kind of shy to ask him for a pic.





This is the Mumbai skyline. On one of the days I went for a walk during work hours. This is just two minutes away from my office. Lucky me..to be so close to this beautiful view..








The balloon man outside Trident Hotel, Nariman Point. He was nice enough to pose for me a little while later :)








Two kids enjoying their curd in front of the Mumbai skyline. I forgot their names now, but one of them was Rudraksh. The one on the right.









This lil' kid was with his mom at marine lines. She told me he was really camera shy, but otherwise talked alot. It was nice talking to her. She told me that she was in Mumbai since forever and she loved it here. She asked me where I was from and whether I liked Mumbai or not. I told her the truth...






A common sight at the marine drive...but it was somehow beautiful to see these two...















My office building at Nariman Point.













Jolly Maker Chambers II, where I spent 4 weeks and had a great time...

Blessings from the poor

This is something that happened quite some time back, when I was still in Mumbai for my internship. I’d forgotten to write it in all those busy weeks.

After a terribly hectic day at work, I was on my way to Olive Kitchen and Bar at Mahalaxmi for Tommy Hilfiger’s new footwear launch. I got off at Mahalaxmi station and asked one of the vendors which side to get off (I can’t remember now if I wanted to go the west or east side, but let’s assume it was the East).

I got onto the road and waited for a cab. I was already very late for the launch and there wasn’t a taxi in sight. I decided to start walking hoping I would get one soon. It seemed as though I had been walking for about half an hour and I still wasn’t anywhere close to Olive or finding a cab.

I finally asked a shopkeeper where I’d get a taxi to go to Olive. He asked me which side it was and I said “East.” He smiled sympathetically and told me that this was the West side.

I groaned in utter frustration on the inside and desperately asked him how to get to the other side. He pointed to a taxi stand across a busy street and told me that the cab would take me wherever I wanted to go.

I thanked him and after what seemed like another 10 minutes, crossed the road, stopped a cab, asked him to take me to Olive and closed the door hurriedly behind me.

Just before the driver could take off, an old man came to my window and knocked. I looked at him with impatience at first since I really needed to get to the launch. I couldn’t understand what the man was saying so I rolled down my window and asked him what he wanted. He told me that he needed to get to this particular place and he didn’t have any money.

At first I wasn’t sure what to say or do. The old man was dressed pretty shabbily and looked like what one might term as a beggar. Having been in Mumbai for almost a month now, I had begun to look at these characters with suspicion after having heard terrible stories about their cheating tactics.

I asked the man where he wanted to go and it turned out that it was quite close to the Race Course where I wanted to get off. I asked the cab driver if he could take the old man. I would pay the entire fare, that wasn’t a problem. The driver told me that it was my decision and if I wanted then he would take the old man in.

I didn’t really have a lot of time to think and so I let the old man get into the front seat.

Once inside, I was a little scared to be honest. What if this was some sort of an arranged thing? What if the old man and the cab driver were some kidnappers or something and this was a planned way of looting me? (Yes. I’d watched too many movies to believe this was possible)
I sat nervously in the back seat, praying. But then a voice inside my head told me that being in Mumbai had made me too cynical and pessimistic. “See this as an opportunity to help someone for a change,” the voice told me. And then, unbelievably enough, I did relax.

The entire way the old man kept turning at the back with his hands joined and thanked me over and over for letting a poor man like him ride with me. He told me that he urgently had to get to this place and he had no money. No one was ready to take him. He had a huge family to look after and they had barely enough money to eat one meal a day.

I didn’t really know what to say to all of this. I kept silent, but listened to his story. Every time he joined his hands to thank me, involuntarily I would join my hands too, telling him that it wasn’t a big deal, and it was my duty to help him.

He got off at Race Course and before the driver sped off the old man blessed me from outside.

Something strange was happening inside me and I felt sort of good that I had given myself a chance to be of some help to a needy person.

I reached Olive in about 2 minutes after that. I got out of the cab and told the driver that I’d just make sure this was the place since he too wasn’t very sure about it. He told me he’d wait and I went to ask the security guard at the gate.

While I was gone, there was an elderly couple on their way back from the Amateurs’ Riding Club, waiting to take the cab.

I got back and took out my purse to pay the driver while the couple got in. I handed the driver a 100 rupee note since I had no change. The driver told me that the fare was 16 rupees and he too didn’t have any change.

I stood there for a while wondering what to do. I went to a few nearby people to ask them if they had change for 100 rupees, but none of them did.

I went back to the driver in desperation and told him that I really didn’t have anything other than a 500 rupee note.

At this point, the man in the back seat asked me how much I needed to pay. I told him that it was 16 rupees. He told me that he’d pay the fare. I looked at him sheepishly and told him that I didn’t have any money to give him in exchange. The man woman smiled at me and said that I needn’t worry. They would pay it for me. It wasn’t much and anyway they too didn’t have change to give the driver.

I stood there dumbfounded and utterly grateful to the kind couple for helping me out that night. I thanked them and they left with a smile.

It was a strange incidence. I had always heard that good things happen to good people and that if you help someone in need their blessings really do come true. But it had happened to me the first time or atleast this obviously and this quickly.

I whispered a soft ‘thank you’ to God for this incident and made my way inside Olive.

LIVE from Mumbai X

Undated, but somewhere last week

53 Jolly Maker Chamber II

Nariman Point

Mumbai

(NOTE: I’ve begun this post so many times over the past week and I’ve never finished it. Now the dates are all mixed up and I can’t remember what happened when so I’m just putting it down as I remember it. I hope this doesn’t read as confusing as I am right now)

It’s been a crazy few days. You’ll know since you haven’t heard from me in a while. The last time I’d disappeared was because I had nothing to write. But this time it’s the complete opposite. I have tons to write but I’ve had no time at all. You might not believe me, but I have been terribly busy because this week at work it was production week and since Monday it’s been insane. The phone’s been ringing off the hook and the Delhi office has had us on our toes the whole time. When I was writing for Simply Gujarati, it was similar. And that used to frazzle me to no end. It’s the same here. But maybe I’m used to it. But actually no. Every time my phone or the office phone rings, we all hope it isn’t Delhi I’m sure that they are in as much hurry or tension as we are. Doesn’t that happen everywhere? You have someone superior to you who’s sitting on your head with deadlines. That person has his/her own boss and so on. So I guess it’s not entirely their fault. But still. Its extremely stressful.

So let me begin by telling you what all happened yesterday because that’s fresh in my memory.

The morning began in absolute chaos as phone calls kept pouring in from Delhi. They had a lot of queries about the stories we’d sent. Many changes had to be made. I was given a particular format to follow and I did that and wrote my story and then later they told me that I have to write it in a different format. I was really tensed that they might either reject my story or I might not be able to get it done in time. Also, I had sent in a dozen pics for this one story and all of them were rejected. So I had to arrange for a photo-shoot for that story. Plus one of the designers I was writing on, I was told to do a photo-shoot for her too. Timings were not working out and I was losing my mind with the demands of people around me.

Once one photo-shoot was arranged and the photographer went off to handle it, I breathed a sigh of relief. But only for a few moments. I got back to editing my story while still sorting out Delhi’s issues.

In the evening at about quarter to five, my friend called up to say that she was at the launch of a new Planet M store in Churchgate and the cast and crew of the new movie FALTU was to be there. I needed to take a break and so I went and asked my boss if I could go for the launch and he said I could.

I reached there and was so glad that I finally knew someone at an event and I wouldn’t have to stand by myself.

We waited for the store to be launched and for the guests to come. But celebrities being celebrities, they came past six. By then Delhi had begun calling me again, asking me questions about the story and details regarding the photo-shoot.

Finally the ‘stars’ arrived and in walked Jackky Bhagnani with his father and his co-star Pooja Gupta, Remo D’souza and Salman (Yana Gupta’s choreographer on Jhalak Dikhlaja ) I took one look at them, grabbed the press release and ran back to office to take care of the mess that awaited me.

After a hectic couple of hours I finally left for the launch of Tommy Hilfiger Spring Summer Footwear Collection at Olive in Mahalaxmi. Taking directions from my friend and colleague, I reached the place at about 9 pm.

I entered Olive and I didn’t know a soul. I walked around like a ghost for a few minutes before I remembered that I did know someone. The PR guy who’d called me about the launch. I met him and he took me to talk to all the biggies of TH. For a moment I was stunned. More like had a nervous breakdown (for a couple of seconds). I’d never heard of any of the guys out there. I hadn’t had the time to research on the brand or the people associated with it. I didn’t want to say no because that would have been foolish and really immature and unprofessional. Nor did I want to talk to them and sound like a complete ignoramus. I didn’t really have the time to contemplate and the next thing I knew I was talking to the CEO of TH India. I somehow managed to come up with a few questions about the new line, the theme, the need to expand the line, what is it’s target audience, what’s different about this particular line, its inspiration etc. I was terribly nervous as you can possibly imagine. But I made it through.

I’d just about finished than the PR person introduced me to the COO and there I went again. But this time I was better. I handled myself in a much more mature manner and yet again finished smoothly.

And once done talking to the COO I was taken to meet the Chairman, the big boss of TH India and I couldn’t believe my luck. Good luck or bad luck, I have no idea, but there I was chatting to him as though I’d known him for ages. I was really proud of myself. He spoke to me about a lot of things about the brand and I came up with new questions from the things he told me.

It all ended well and I finally made my way to the bar and ordered for a glass of orange juice (I’m not making it up). While I was sitting there and nibbling on prawn starters, I heard some reporters and camera persons call out, “Karan one question please! Karan face this side! Karan this! Karan that!” I turned around and there was Karan Johar, speaking to the reporters and posing for pictures. I was quite excited to see him, and tried to take a pic. Got a hazy one. After him came Shahzaan Padamsee, Puneet Malhotra, Tarun Mansukhani and Ritwik Bhatacharya. It was all new for me, seeing all these celebrities and have everyone around be all chilled out about it as though it wasn’t anything new. Which it wasn’t. Not for them.

It was half past ten by then so I decided to go home. Besides, I was starving. I told the PR guy that I was leaving and he walked me out and handed me a paper bag with Tommy Hilfiger printed across the front. I didn’t peep in at that moment, but smiled and said thank you. It was only when I was in the rickshaw on the way to the station that I looked inside the bag and I found a pair of TH chappals, in pink and black and exactly my size! I was thrilled. I immediately called up my friend and told her about it because we had been talking about it just that day.
So that was my day of celebrity watching, if you want to call it.

And since I’m talking about celebrities, then let me also tell you about this event I went to a day or two before the TH launch. It was a wine tasting event at Sea Princess Hotel in Juhu where four wines of Kimaya brand were being unveiled. There too I sat alone since I didn’t know anyone, but got around to chatting with the PR of that event. We exchanged numbers and she told me she’ll call me about the listings in our magazine. At that event, I saw a couple of actors/ actresses I’ve seen on TV but don’t know their names. I saw Shahzaan Padamsee there too. I’d had three glasses of wine on an empty stomach and was feeling quite light headed at the end of it. So I left early from there and went home for dinner.

On Saturday night we girls went to Jughead’s (Malad west) for dinner and had a fabulous time. The India- South Africa cricket match was almost over and it was a close one. The entire place was alive; cheering for both the teams and it was awesome! We’d had great dinner and later went for a walk to MindSpace and sat outside Barista for a while.

Yesterday, Sunday, we didn’t do much because two of my friends were working since they’d had a holiday on Saturday. Three of us went out for dinner to Andheri to this non-veg place that’s near one of my friend’s office (Aaj Tak).

So that’s all that has happened over last week. I wish I’d written sooner because I had a lot of things to say about those socialite parties. Maybe I’ll write about it later.

I’m waiting for the magazine issue to be out soon since it carries two of my stories. Will post it on FB.

--

LIVE from Mumbai IX

6th / 7th March, 2011
Prathmesh Avenue
Malad East
Mumbai

Ok. So I’ve been missing over the weekend. But that’s because I haven’t been at home. Where have I been? With my family. Let me start from the beginning of Saturday.

So Saturday was my weekly off. I woke up at 8:20 am because one of my friends was leaving for work in some time. So I got up and we talked while she had her breakfast. Meanwhile, another friend woke up as well and we talked about the previous day’s events. (I’d gone out with a friend for dinner and had had an amazing time) I told them about that and they told me about all their stories.

After my friend left for work, we didn’t go back to sleep. Don’t ask me why. After going to sleep at 1 the previous night, I was surprisingly bright eyed and chirpy. So anyway, we thought of what to do for the rest of the day. My friend had received a mail about a job opportunity at NCPA (that’s the National Centre for Performing Arts). I told her that the place was right next to my office and if she wanted to check the place out, we could go. Anyway we had nothing better planned for the day, so she agreed. We decided to have lunch there at Subway (yes, we’re Subway fans and she’d been longing for a Sub since a while now).

After lazing around for a while, we finally went for our baths, had our breakfast and when we finally left it was 12 noon.

We reached Churchgate at about 1:15 and went the usual route. We went to Subway first because we were really hungry and couldn’t wait until her work at NCPA was done. So we went to CR2 and stood in line to place our order. It was Saturday and the Sub of the day was Tuna. I’m not a fan of fish and especially tuna. So I ordered for roast chicken instead and my friend took the tuna. We also took a bottle of cold drink and contemplated where to sit and eat because that was just a take-away joint.

I then realized that we were right next to the sea-line and we could sit at the stretch of paved road that bordered the sea. So we took our lunch there and found a spot to sit in the shade. It was like our little picnic. It was beautiful. The sight, the weather, the food and our conversation.

We didn’t want to leave from there. We were content sitting there like that forever. We wished we didn’t have to work. We wished we could eat all we wanted whenever and whatever we wanted. We then talked about how food was the best thing in life and how selfless and un-judgmental it was. How it never expected anything in return, how it never fought with you or betrayed you or how it didn’t matter who was eating it. It didn’t matter whether a girl or guy was eating, whether it was a beautiful or ugly person or whether he was rich or poor. Nothing could get better than food and better than the satisfaction that food gave you. Every other satisfaction had conditions attached to it. But not food.

We finally left feeling really good about everything. We reached NCPA at about 2:30 pm. We walked around the grounds to get to the reception only to find that being Saturday, the office was closed. In a way we felt silly, and anyone in our place would have thought it had been a waste of a day, travelling all the way from Malad to Nariman Point only to have lunch. But we didn’t regret it. We’d had fun and so it was worth it.

We then left for home back to Malad because I was meeting my friend again. And besides I was supposed to leave for Mulund by 4pm to go to my cousin’s place and later meet my parents who were to come today morning.

We reached home and my friend was already there. We were there for another 2 hours before my cousin called to tell me that they’ll pick me up from Andheri station.
I left for Andheri and was there in 15 minutes. I went and stood at the place I was to meet my cousin and my uncle and aunty who’d also come from Goa that morning. After a lot of confusion and pranks and long phone-calls, I finally met them and we headed for Mulund by cab. It took us about an hour or so to get to Nirmal Lifestyle (Mulund) and there we met my cousin. After shopping for about 45 minutes we had dinner there and I absolutely loved it! (I still say there’s no better thing in life than food)

We went back home and got ready to sleep since we had to wake up early the next morning. My mum and dad were coming at about 5:30 am.

I’m not sure how long I was awake or when morning came but when I opened my eyes, my parents were sitting in the living room yapping with everyone.

We had a great time together. Mum had packed a huge bag of food for me and I was thrilled. After coffee we got ready to go to church for the 8:15am mass. When we reached St Pius Church, we discovered that the mass had begun at 8 and we were late for it. So we decided to go for the 9:15 one and went for breakfast to a nearby restaurant.

The church was celebrating women’s day that day and after mass, many women of the congregation put up eatery stalls outside. We packed a lot of food from there and my cousin got all of us (meaning the women in the family) flowers.

Later in the evening, we went to visit my dad’s uncle who stays in Mahim with his family. It’s a family apartment called Star of the Sea and the uncle’s kids all live in the same building, one above the other.

We first went to meet my dad’s uncle who is now a frail old man of about 90 or so and walks with the help of a walker. The daughter who lives with him is married to a guy who makes centre pieces and sets for events like weddings, concerts and the recent ICC World Cup 2011 opening ceremony. We sat in the living room and the sight from where I was couldn’t have got any better. The doors to the living room opened out right at the sea. And right there in front of your eyes was the magnificent Bandra-Worli Sea link.

I went outside into the backyard and just stood there in amazement. The beach was right there, and the sea was incredibly calm and still. There was a withering tree at one corner that had not a single leaf on it, and the sun came streaming through the barren branches.

As we went a floor higher to meet the rest of my dad’s cousins, the view just got better. And finally at about 6pm when we reached the 3rd floor, the view took my breath away. The Mumbai skyline, the sea link, the sea shore, the people, and the setting sun that cast an almost pinkish hue over the skies- I could’ve stayed there forever. I could hear loud music (Devil Woman by Cliff Richard) playing from below me, and I got to know it was the uncle whom we met at the ground floor.

What I also realized after being at my dad’s cousins’ place was that I was the 6th person in my entire family (immediate and extended combined) who was in the line of journalism. Not such a different or extraordinary choice of career, is it now?
After all the visiting was done, my parents and my aunt came to see me off at Mahim station and I saw the anxious looks on their faces as the train pulled out of the station and they waved till I was out of sight. I think they think I’m really brave and have finally grown up.

For dinner we went to our landlord’s place (who’s also a friend of one of my friends who lives with me). Had a delicious and filing meal of Guajarati cuisine.
Well, that’s how my weekend was. Nothing like last weeks shopping spree, but lovely all the same.

LIVE from Mumbai VIII

4th March 4, 2011
Nariman Point
Mumbai


I know I know. I haven’t written in a long time. After the last time I wrote, nothing great happened. I wasn’t inspired enough to write and I didn’t want to write a post simply for the sake of writing, and waste my time and your’s (if you’ve been reading, that is).

Yesterday I wanted to write because I’d had a good day. But then I got too busy. Which I loved, by the way. The past week, I didn’t have much to do. All I was doing was collecting story ideas from things around me. Reading the papers, looking for stuff on the internet as to what all is new in the entertainment line, updating the listings page (that’s the event calendar in the city supplement) etc. All that wasn’t fun at all. I wasn’t even sent on any more press conferences so I could write about new places and about the people I met.

My boss says that in journalism, it’s more important to generate ideas and get them approved than writing a story. Writing anyone can do (I so wanted to disagree with him, partly because not Everyone can write, and I’m the writer, that’s all I am. I got nothing else but my writing skills). But I didn’t argue. I nodded along. He says that I shouldn’t wait for story ideas to be approved. I should just keep looking for more and more ideas and think of how I can make them work in a way that’ll add new light and perspective to it. I’m not saying that all that isn’t important. It’s just that talking to people and finally getting down to writing is what’s better for me. So the past week wasn’t all that interesting.

But yesterday I finally got to work the way I know it and love it. I started working on 3 stories. I won’t tell you yet what they are about. Maybe if and when they’re out in print.

I called up a dozen people with regards to the stories, got good responses from a few, not so needed responses from the rest. But one story turned out to be particularly interesting because when I’d started out, I had just one name. Then it went up to 10, and then to four. I’m hoping that by the time the stories done, I have atleast three if not more.

I then called this sportsperson whose kids I’m interviewing. He was really nice to me. Spoke politely and frankly about what he feels and I really liked him. Not everyone speaks to us journalists properly. I’m not sure why though. Or maybe I do.

For the third story I had to call the secretary first, then the main guy who’s out of town so the interview will be done via email. Like many others. Sometimes that’s just so convenient.

After a fulfilling day at work I left office feeling really happy. I’d left early to accompany my friend who broke her two day fast last evening. So we’d decided we’ll go for dinner to some nice place rather than our regular one.

In the middle of that, our ‘phone woes’ (phrase stolen from my friend’s ‘chappal woes’) continued. After finally getting a local number from Uninor, we discovered that the network was utterly horrible. You had to stand in one corner of the room on one leg and in some weird physically impossible position to get coverage. After being thoroughly fed up with that, we got an Idea number. The coverage was great and call-rates and things worked out fine. And then yesterday, what should happen but our connection getting barred for not submitting some required documents. Our idea lines not in use, we switched to the much hated Uninor number only to find that that number too was blocked. Great. We couldn’t get in touch with anyone. We eventually switched to our Baroda numbers and have been using that right now. Hoping that our troubles will be over soon. This is just too much.

So anyway, we set out for dinner at about 9pm and one of my friend’s dad suggested a good restaurant a little further off from where we were staying.

Let me tell you that by that time we three were 3/4th of crazy lunatics. My insane pangs of hunger, my friend’s unbelievable day of boredom and the other friend’s extremely tiring day at work had left us suffering from partial dementia. I had a mad look on my face when I suggested that I want to eat laddoos, the bored friend walked from one mattress to the other to show me what she did all day at home and the other was ready to kill people. We were at our irritable best and snapped at everyone. But then we also had sudden burst of laughter for no apparent reason.

So there we were, hunting for food. And I say that in a literal sense. We didn’t find the place we were looking for and we were somewhere in Malad west/ Goregaon looking for a non-vegetarian restaurant. After walking back and forth for around half an hour, we finally settled on this one place that looked kind of expensive. But by that time we were so starved that we were willing to pay anything for food (and my bored friend was eating up her words by then).

We ordered for butter chicken and egg curry and once our order was placed, we began staring at our neighbour’s plate of chicken lollipops. Oh what a sight they were.

When our dinner came it was heavenly. And not because we were crazily hungry, but because the food really was good. We ate like cave people and didn’t care about anyone else. Boy was that an amazing dinner. After that we had ice-cream because we felt our meal was incomplete.

We then caught a rick and went home at about 11.

Decided to watch The Social Network before falling off to sleep, but like the past week or so, I fell asleep after just 15 minutes of the film making the total number of films I’ve watched in Mumbai so far to….wait for it…ZERO. I simply can’t stay up at night. A huge huge change from my condition in Baroda. An incredible change.

Right now I’m at work. I just finished an interview with one designer and now waiting for the rest of the people to respond. Will be meeting my friends for lunch at Colaba. Looking forward to that if there’s not too much work load by then.

Well that’s all for now. Will try and be a little more updated on my blog the next time.

Tada!

LIVE from Mumbai VII

1st March
Jolly Maker Chambers II
Nariman Point
Mumbai



Not much to write for yesterday. Had some work to do at office so it was a good day. I felt useful and it felt nice to be busy. Worked on a few story ideas to be sent for approval, and also helped my colleague on one regular piece that she does. Went down for lunch and got a Sub. Now I’ve decided. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I’ll have Subs for lunch since the sub of the day is non-vegetarian. I miss my meats and for dinner we haven’t found a non-veg place as yet. Not on this side of the area. So having vegetables or rice-dal daily is getting to me. No doubt even the veg food is good, but I’m so not a vegetable person. My colleague was surprised when she found out that I don’t even take salads in my Subs. So yeah. That’s how it is.

One important thing that I want to mention is what my friend was saying last night just before going to sleep. It had always been a dream for her to work in Mumbai. And only one week later, she’s decided she had been wrong in choosing her dreams. This life isn’t made for her. She hates it. What kind of life is this? You slog all day at work without any recognition, without any acknowledgements and without any kind of appreciation. You get back home and there’s no time for anything else. No time for any of the things you love to do. No time to even talk to the people in your own house. It had been 7 days in the flat and she’d seen this other friend of mine only three times. She didn’t want that.

That’s exactly the kind of thing I was afraid of before I came here. Part of it is still true for me. But somehow, it’s fading away. Not entirely though. I’m scared that if that fear of being here goes away, a part of me is going away too. Because I felt so strongly about all of this. I associated myself with this fear. And without that, I don’t know who I am.

I wish I had some comforting things to say to my friend. But I didn’t. Because everything she said was true. But do I want to accept that now? I don’t know.

LIVE from Mumbai VI

28th February
Nariman point
Mumbai

WARNING: the following post is purely a feminine one, about things that interest only women. If you’re a guy and are still reading this post, do it at your own risk. At the end of it don’t roll your eyes and say, “Women!”

So yesterday was our first Sunday in Mumbai. We’d been waiting for this day even before we came to this city. And it has nothing to do with the fact that this Sunday would mark our one week anniversary here or that we’d get a break from slogging at work. It has everything to do with what girls love most in this world. (Not every girl loves it, but most of them do) It’s a simple word. It’s a simple process. But it gives us immense pleasure and indescribable joy. Its our relief from pain, its our escape from stress, our remedy of a heart break, our medicine from sickness, our solution to every problem, our best friend, our lover, our life: SHOPPING.

Ok. So I sound like a total drama queen and you think I’m fit to star in those silly chick flicks like Legally Blonde and Sex and the City. But even though those of you out there who don’t enjoy shopping like me and my friends do, shopping in Mumbai is a different experience all together. And not those big store Prada-Gucci-Christian Dior shopping, mind you. It’s street shopping. And those of you, who come from smaller cities like me, will understand how much fun this experience can be. And how amazing it is when you don’t have to hunt for the things you want, but in fact have a wide variety to choose from.

So we were just two of us in Mumbai this weekend, and since we’d been waiting to go out shopping since forever, our friends not being home didn’t stop us from venturing out on our own.

We headed for Causeway in Colaba, since I’d had a glimpse of it last Monday when I’d gone to Mondy’s with a friend. Plus I’d heard great things about the place.

So from about 1 in the afternoon till about 6 in the evening, we rambled the streets of Causeway in the hot sun and crowded lanes, ignoring the loud noises, the sweaty people and our growling tummies (only for while though). The place, for us, is what Disney Land is for kids. There were clothes of every colour, shape, size, make, design, fabric, length, occasion, time of the day, part of your body (and I could go on).

Not to mention gorgeous footwear at an exceptional price. My friend and I went absolutely crazy! We tried to keep a control on each other and kept telling each other that it’s the first day of shopping, we’ll be back soon. So we don’t need to buy everything right then and no need to spend every rupee we had in our pockets. And even though we knew that, we still couldn’t help seeing all the things and going gaga over it all.

But I have to say, I’m proud of us. We didn’t buy unnecessary things (not entirely unnecessary things) neither did we spend all of our money. We bargained with all our might and self respect and bought good things for ourselves and our respective sisters. (It’s so easy to shop for girls. You know what’ll make them happy. Unlike shopping for guys, which is next to impossible)

So, without spending too much time on this post, I’d like give a few tips for those who decide to go shopping at Causeway:

• It’s a good idea to buy clothes and footwear here
• Jewelry is unnecessarily expensive ( will look for a cheaper alternative)
• Just because the seller tells you that his clothes are Remanika discards, and hence are expensive, don’t fall for it. Quote your price. If he’s sensible he’ll sell it to you. Both of you know that if you wanted to shop at Remanika prices, you would go to Remanika
• Just like all that glitters is not gold, all that is priced less is not of the greatest quality. You might find stalls that sell clothes/footwear at unbelievably low prices, but check twice before you buy it. There is a reason its being sold at a cheaper price

Another fun thing we did yesterday while we were out shopping was we went to see the Taj Palace, the Gateway of India and the marina. We acted like complete tourists, took pictures of the boats, the Gateway and the Taj and of ourselves with all these things in the backdrop.

All in all, we had a typical ‘girlie’ day, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Back to work on Monday, yet looking forward to next Sunday too.


PS: i forgot to add one thing. We were on our way back to Churchgate station when it just struck me that I hadn't gone for mass (it was a Sunday) So Churchgate being the most obvious choice, we began hunting for the 'church' at Churchgate. We saw one, with a huge statue of Jesus on one of the towers. We crossed the street and saw the exit to the church. There sat a policeman, surrounded by a wall of sacks (filled with I don't know what) and a long rifle pointing towards the street. We asked him politely, "are we allowed to go inside the church?and where's the entrance to it?" He looked puzzled for a moment, and then with a smile he said, "Madam, yeh toh High Court hai, church nai." (Madam, this is the High Court, not a church)

So much for wanting to be holy for a change.

LIVE from Mumbai V

26th February

Malad
Mumbai

I sit here alone at my malad flat. Two of my friends have headed for home for the weekend and one of my friends is on her way from work. So I thought I’ll get some writing done while I have the time and the internet access.

I haven’t written about my day yesterday and the day before. So let me fill you in.

24th February
Nariman Point
Mumbai

Today I finally took advantage of my office being at one of the most picturesque locations in Mumbai. After staring at the computer screen since morning I was totally fed up. No one was at work. My boss and colleagues were not in office and I took the opportunity and went out for a walk.

I took directions for NCPA (The National Centre of Performing Arts) from the security and headed there. After taking permissions from the receptionist and concerned parties for allowing me to look around the campus, I went around the huge building. As I was walking, this middle aged guy comes walking besides me and asks me if I’ve seen the main auditorium. And I told him that it’s my first time at NCPA and my fourth day or so in Mumbai. He told me that they’re recording for Saturday’s concert and I could watch if I wanted. I thanked him and followed him. On the way, he asked me where I was from, what I was doing etc I told him and in turn asked him who he was. He told me his name was Cyrus Bharucha. Somewhere in my head a tiny bell rang, but not as loud as I now wish it had.

Anyway, we reached the main auditorium and as soon as I stepped in it took my breath away. It was the largest hall I’d ever seen. A magnificent chandelier hung from the middle of the seating area and tiny lights were reflected off numerous glass panels above the stage. On the stage itself, were over 25 non-Indians with every musical instrument imaginable. And the music they made left me speechless, and brought a smile to my face. They were incredible. I’d never been to a live orchestra before. Never like this one atleast. Even during rehearsals they played with such passion. I wish I could’ve stayed there forever, but I had to leave. I got up and went to thank Cyrus. I asked him for his contact number and he handed me his visiting card and told me to keep in touch. I told him I would and left with a smile. People in Mumbai were turning out to be nicer than I’d thought.

After that I decided to go for a walk around marine lines. Or something that resembles the place. I think it leads to marine drive. Anyway, I walked for around an hour, thoroughly enjoying the wind and the sea. I met a lot of people on my walk, spoke to them for little while, took many pictures, and felt that life couldn’t get any better. In that one hour, I met every kind of person I could meet in a lifetime. I met two little beggar kids, a mother and her toddler son, a tonga wala, a young couple, a tourist guy, a ‘sadhu’, and so many other people. I didn’t want to leave, but I’d been out for over an hour and I had to get back to work.
I left marine lines, but only after promising that I’d be back for sure. There was a lot I hadn’t seen yet and I wanted all of it.

Back at my desk, the first thing I did was google Cyrus Bharucha, and I have to be honest, I felt like a complete idiot when I realized who he was. One of the most famous faces of BBC and CNN, he’d been absolutely great with me. No arrogance, no ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ crap. I felt stupid, but I was also amazed by his humility. I’m going to make sure I get back to him.




25th February

Trident
Bandra Kurla Complex
Bandra
Mumbai

I’m sitting here at an International Boating Conference and I’ve never seen so many guys in business suits other than at a Catholic wedding. I’m glad I chose to wear what I’m wearing, so I don’t look completely out of place. But my pink and white striped ballerinas and my cat anklet expose my secret. I’m new at my job and totally out of place. But I’m trying really hard to concentrate at what people are saying. And I’m taking notes as well. My boss is right here and he’s thought of a story to work on for India Today main. Hopefully I’ll get to work on this story. It sounds like a very smart concept and I’ve never worked on anything like this before.
At the Trident here, food is nothing but the best. After a cup of strong coffee and some delicious melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cookies, I’m back at the conference. Things are beginning to make a lot more sense and I’m able to follow the discussion that’s happening. I’ve met a lot of people today, media persons and important delegates. I’m really amazed and proud of how I’ve handled myself with all these important people. Most of the people have seen me always giggling or acting silly or cracking silly jokes. But they would have been proud of the way I’m being. I look, sound and behave almost professional.

Post lunch, (unbelievably crazy dessert) I went for the boat show nearby with my boss and a girl I made friends with from DNA. It was a hilarious ride, in my boss’s 1957 Fiat. He’s a great guy and with the stories I’ve told my friends, they can’t wait to meet him. I had a good time once we got talking. He’s just as new at the Mumbai office as me. But he knows Mumbai like no other.

The boat show was not what I’d hoped it would be. The biggest disappointment was that the boats (one yacht and many speed boats and kayaks) were on LAND. Not on water. So it wasn’t as much fun.

After an hour or so, I go back to Trident, attend the rest of the conference and after tea, I left for home. My boss told me I needn’t go to office since I was working all day and I can enjoy my 2-day weekend.
So I meet my friends at Bandra station and we go to Dahisar to one of my friends’ uncle’s place for dinner.

Had a fun time, and at around midnight, we return home, get ready for bed, and I’m off to sleep.

LIVE from Mumbai IV

24 February 2011,
Jolly Maker Chambers II
Nariman Point
Mumbai

Yesterday on my way back home I learnt two things and I wish to make those corrections about what I earlier said about Mumbai. One, Mumbai isn’t all about glamour and the elite (just because I saw that side of Mumbai first doesn’t mean the other side doesn’t exist) and two, people do give a damn about others.

I was sitting in the ladies compartment last evening, listening to my music and falling asleep after a long day. I woke up somewhere in the middle when I heard a couple of women screaming at each other. I opened one eye and saw one lady flinging abusives at the other because apparently she’d pushed her or something. I shut my eye without a thought and went back to sleep.

When I reached Andheri, a lot of women got in and among them there was a young beggar boy of about 17 years. He was shabbily dressed and walked with the help of a crutch as he had only one leg. I saw him climb onto the train with difficulty, and then rest against a seat. The train began to move and he turned towards where I was sitting. As my eyes were closing from intense sleep and exhaustion, I suddenly heard a loud ‘thud’. I woke up and saw that the boy had fallen on the floor. He sat there, with his head in his hands. At first everybody only looked in his direction out of concern. Was he hurt? He wasn’t bleeding from anywhere but he did seem to have banged his head somewhere.

After a little while, he struggled to get back on his foot. As he fumbled to hold on the handle above his head, he missed or either felt weak and he came crashing down again, this time right next to my feet. All of us sitting around bent down to help him and made him sit on the seat. People looked around for water to give him. The boy began sobbing out of sheer helplessness and we looked at each other with a sad expression. We didn’t know what he was feeling, but we had some clue. It wasn’t the fact that he was hurt that made him cry. It was the realization that he couldn’t do the simplest of things without people’s help and his poverty only made things worse.

As he sat on the seat quietly, some people offered him whatever food they had, thinking that he was feeling faint and therefore unable to stand up. Someone gave him an apple, one a dairymilk chocolate. He put the things in his bag without a word.

I searched in my bag for something I could give him. Knowing that an apple or sweet won’t fill his stomach, I gave him the only thing I had: a bag filled with dinner that I had packed for my friends back home. I offered it to him telling him that he should eat it otherwise he wont be able to get up. He had to go all the way back to Churchgate and he needed something solid in his stomach.

Once again he put the bag of food in the plastic bag with the apple. People around him told him to eat it then instead of saving it for later. He told them that he had to take it home to his brother because he hadn’t eaten anything for so long.

Nothing anyone would say made him eat. He just took a tiny bite of the apple and then stood up again.

By this time I had got up from my seat to give place to a pregnant lady, and was standing near the door. I saw the boy limp towards the door step. I reached out to help him, but he didn’t need any help. When the next stop came, he got off on his own, and went and sat on the weighing machine on the platform. In a couple of seconds, the train pulled away from the station and began chugging steadily.

I simply looked at the boy, sitting there alone as the mass of humanity that is Mumbai walked on by without a glance in his direction.

Mumbai is home to people of every kind. If you’ve only seen the good, know that there is the sadder side of the story too. And if you think people are only selfish, then there are the good ones too.

MY INNERSELF SPEAKS

I’ve realized this after just three days of being here.

I’m turning into one of them.

Maybe not entirely, but I think I can see myself getting there in no time.

But there’s a difference. The difference is that I’m noticing it, and I know its happening. Do I want it to happen? Do I like what’s happening? I’m not sure. But how much time do I have before I am just one of those unknown faces in the crowd?

When I’d spoken to my friend about wanting or not wanting to be here, where I am right this moment, she’d thought I was insane of even thinking about not coming back. How anyone could not love this city, is what she couldn’t understand. I tried telling her that this was not me. That I couldn’t live a life in perpetual hurry. People running from one place to the other, not even glancing at the person next to them. The only interactions they have are with clients, contacts or those they meet while traveling. I couldn’t be like them. I couldn’t be cold and business-like and not give a damn about anyone but myself.

I haven’t turned into that person yet. I know that. But I feel like it’ll happen. And even though I like it in a way, I don’t know if I’ll be happy always. On the other hand, the way I see it, me becoming that person won't be so bad after all. Atleast it'll make me stronger and not care so much about people.

I look at what I have right now. The good and the bad.

I rush to work the moment I’m awake. The only thing on my mind first thing in the morning is which local train will get me fastest to work and avoid the rush. I barely have time to eat before I leave, or get enough time to talk to my friends.

On the train too, I switch on my music and shut myself to the rest of the world. At work, I do my own thing, and at the end of 8 hours, I’m making my way back home. The same one hour back and forth, too tired to do anything but doze off as the train makes its way through Mumbai’s busiest areas.

As I get off the train and head home, I’m practically running. My feet move as though they’re possessed by some unknown force. I stop for nothing and no one and I look straight ahead without noticing what’s around me.

Back home I’m too exhausted to do anything but hit the sack and be dead to the world.

The next morning, it’s the same story.

But then, I have to be fair. There is the better side.

When I wake up in the morning, I sit up and the first thing I see is the incredible view outside my window. Nothing beats that feeling. Its 7 am and it’s still foggy outside. I can see tall buildings till the farthest end of the earth. It’s beautiful. I know, a bunch of buildings isn’t exactly what one would call a work of art, but you have to see it to believe it. I feel on top of the world. Literally.

On my way to work, I watch the city go by. And that’s when I have all the time in the world to simply sit and stare. Somehow, it’s still misty outside and all those buildings that I have to strain my neck to see disappear into the clouds. It’s amazing to see that even these man-made structures make your heart stir.

When I’m in the cab that takes me to my office, I sit with my head out of the window and yet again, I’m amazed at what I see. Buildings are crammed in every inch in Mumbai, and still, the sight of those massive concrete blocks is an entirely different feeling. You know how you see flowers blooming and sprawling lawns or rolling mountains and endless waters and feel like the world just doesn’t get better than this? You feel like nothing inspires you more? That you could be in this place forever?

It’s strange, but I somehow get that feeling here too.

But one of the best things is what I see when I’m leaving for home. I get into a cab and as I drive along marine lines, there’s nothing more incredible. For those familiar with the Manhattan skyline, it’s the closest thing to that. The sea stretches out in front of you and across that, you can see a whole new side of the city. Rows and rows of buildings of varying heights line the seashore. They’re speckled with innumerable spots of yellow and red and blue. Billboards light up the sidelines. The lamp-posts along marine drive can be seen curving along the coastline till as far as the eyes can see. The wind blows through your hair and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks fills your ears.

I can’t imagine working anywhere else. Where else will I get a view like this? Where else will I be at a place that inspires me like no other? Where I am just like every other person yet my own individual self?

It’s a debate that’s going on inside of me. Do I like it here or do I not? Do I want to be here? Do I want to let Mumbai work her magic on me just as she’s done with everyone who’s ever been here?

Even as I contemplate what I feel, I tell myself, ‘ if its happening, let it happen. Don’t fight it.’

LIVE from Mumbai III

23 Feb
Nariman point
Mumbai


im back people. lemme fill u in on what happened last night.i finished work at 7 and then got a cab to Churchgate and then a Borivili slow to Malad. it felt incredible to be traveling by myself. i felt brave and proud of myself. i got off at d station and this time didn't get lost. walked till the restaurant my friends were waiting at. they all had just got back from office too and we were all bursting to talk about our day. we exchanged stories over jeera rice and dal fry, frostick and ganga-jamuna juice. it was awesome.we were so excited about everything. we walked back home and got ready for bed.

we then decided to watch Band Bajaa Baraat since we had to wait for another friend to be back at about 12.

we lay down to watch the movie and less than half the way i fell asleep.

now that's a great thing for me because for the past 2 years or so i haven't been able to sleep at night. but for the past 3 nights I've been falling asleep early and that too been getting good sleep. so that's a huge deal for me.

now to today's events so far.

i had to go for a press conference at the Taj Presidential today for the launch of a holiday maker's report. there i met Sanjeev Kapoor, "the most celebrated face of Indian cuisine” as people describe him. as i sat waiting for the pc to start, my friend saw him sitting by himself and told me to go talk to him. i was apprehensive of doing that. for one, he's such a well-known person, i felt so small in front of him. secondly, what do i talk to him about?

my friend finally pushed me out of my seat and i went in front to speak to Sanjeev Kapoor.

my heart beating a 100 miles per second, i introduced myself to him and he smiled and extended his hand.

i asked him if we could talk for a while and he said sure.

we spoke about many things, he told me about where all he likes to travel, what he wants from a vacation, he told me anecdotes of when he went to Delhi and Agra, his trips abroad, about how he is strict about what his kids eat and that on Sundays if he's home and something that his kids don't like is cooked, the kids ask him why he's at home on a Sunday! he was great. i didn't feel like he was this big person I've seen on tv so often. he spoke really nicely and we were laughing together and he told me that there was a spelling mistake on one of the banners.

i felt so good after that. and i was incredibly happy that my friend was there to get me out of my shell.

the pc was followed by awesome food. pepper chicken, mutton, chicken salad, fried potatoes, paneer, ice-creams, jalebi and chocolate mousse.

we then took a cab to Churchgate since i didn't know how to get from Cuffe Parade till Nariman. So got off at the station and took another cab to Jolly Maker.

at work right now, i shared my story ideas with my colleague and she said to make a list of ideas and we can send them to Delhi by the weekend.so I'm hoping that I'll be getting work to do real soon.

oh, and while we were traveling to work in the morning, we did our first girl shopping: we bought bangles. we plan to go shopping on Sunday.

so that's all for now.will be back with much more later.

tada!

Live from Mumbai-II

22 Feb, 2011
Nariman point
Mumbai


so as i was saying, i reached work. there wasn't much to do, being the first day and all. i met my colleagues, met the bureau chief. and went about checking my mails. at about 2:15 i stepped outside for lunch. went to this mall called CR2 and ordered for aloo tikki chaat. i waited for like eternity for my food, starving all the while and glancing at my watch every 2 minutes. finally at about a quarter to 3, the guy behind the counter hands me the tray, saying, " sorry for the delay ma'm. here's a complimentary pepsi." i smile at him, say thank you and walk towards a table closest to the tv. as i got ready to enjoy my meal, while watching some match, i pierced my spoon into the aloo tikki and what should i find there but.....wait for it....dahi (curd)

now those who know me know how absolutely crazily i hate dahi. i cant stand it. i wont have it on my plate, i wont sit next to a person who eats dahi, i wont pass it to anyone. nothing.the sight of it makes me puke. that's how much i detest dahi.

but there i was. all alone. by myself. in a huge mall.i didn't know a soul there. who could i complain to? i had no choice.

i took a deep breath, mixed it all up and ate it.

no more discussion on that. just want to say that its one incident i will never forget.

later in the day, got around to do so some work. made a few calls.and then left work at 7.

caught a cab to Churchgate and then my friend called me up and she told me she'll some meet me there.

she came in a while and we went rambling. she took me to Mondy's and then walked the streets of Colaba Causeway. we then went to see the Gate Way of India and the Taj. it was awesome. and the weather was incredible.

we took a cab back to Churchgate and then we traveled together till Bandra and from there i went to Malad,on my own :)

reached the station and my friend came to pick me up. but i got lost. he was on the east end and i was on the west. and that too the south of the west end and he towards the north. it took us a while but then we found each other and picked up dinner.

back home, we had dinner, i had a wash and then crawled into my bedding.

it was along tiring day. i was exhausted. not from the work, cuz i didn't work, but from all the traveling i guess.i was dirty too. i told my friend that i wish i could say that i smell of Bombay, but i smell of filth. and she said, "that IS Bombay"

more of my adventures later.

tada!

LIVE from Mumbai

21st Feb, 2011
Malad/Nariman point
Mumbai.


the alarm rang at 6:00 am this morning and i opened my eyes.turning the alarm off i looked around the room, trying to remember where i was. everything looked different. and then i realised. everything Was different; i was in Mumbai. and this was my first morning.

i got up from the bedding with a smile and walked to the glass windows that cover an entire wall.i rolled the windows to one side and stared at the unbelievable view. it was early morning, the wind was blowing on my face and i could practically see the whole of Mumbai from where i stood. on the 10th floor, the world was a very different sight. sky high buildings stretched for miles and miles ahead of me. beyond the buildings were the faint shadows of hills, almost violet in the early hours of the morning. a sudden sound of beating drums shook me out of my daze and i saw a procession of jain priests on the street below.

i looked at my watch and realised i had been day dreaming for too long.

had a wash, bath, had my first mug of hot bournvita milk in b'bay and got dressed. said my prayers, wished my friends all the best for their first day at work and we left for the much dreaded local train ride.

we watched the first couple of locals whiz past us, as we looked at the crowd hanging from every inch of the train. we finally got onto the 3rd train and made our way into the ladies 1st class boogie. it was surprisingly empty and we learnt tht the ladies special had just gone which explained the fewer number of women. we hung onto the handle, mumbaiya style.got place to sit later and then it was almost empty by the time we reached my stop: Churchgate.

got off, had something to eat and then took a cab to Nariman point.

reached Jolly Maker Chambers II and stood infront of it in awe..it was massive.as i told someone, it seems grand enough to have the President walk out of it. it scared me.but again,my friends hugged me and wished me all the best and told me tht il do just fine.

dts all for today..more on the details of my first day at work in 'the city that never sleeps' later.


signing off.

PS: will add pics later.

Finally

im scared...terrified...and much more than that.. for the last couple of years, i had dreamt of meeting her, being with her, getting to know her..i wanted to know her like others do.. i was so in awe of her. i wanted to see her from up close. but was too scared to touch her. i never made the attempt..never thought she'd let me..never thought i'd get the chance..but i did..i've got the chance now.. to see what she's like..i was curious to know if everything that people said about her was indeed true. and now i will. i donno if i'll see the same things in her that others do, but now atleast i'll know..i'm going to be spending everyday with her for the next 30 days or so. and while the excitement is indescribable, the fear is even more. i dont wanna fall in love with her, i just want to get to know her. i dont wanna be a part of that crazy fan following that she has. i dont wanna be just another face in the crowd.i want her to know me, to like me and accept me the way i am, because i dont want to be anyone other than that. im glad that i've finally found her, but i hope i dont lose myself in the bargain.. one month, is all i have..and maybe all i need..to know if she's the one i wanna spend the rest of my life with..

Wish me luck, everyone....I'm going to Mumbai.