Memories of Mumbai

Its soon going to be time to leave Mumbai which has been my city of work, freedom, place where I lived by myself on my terms in a really cute house, a city that has given me so many close friends, such wonderful experiences of all sorts.....

Am writing this blog with a bit of nostalgia, and a tinge of sadness at having to part ways again with my city of birth even as I begin preparations for a new phase in life. Personal Things/People/Memories I would cherish from my over four years stay in this city (in random order) are:

1. Friends - This city has one brought me closer to a few of my old batchmates from MBA days, a few current and ex-colleagues with whom I have shared a lot of train journeys - (sometimes in the opposite direction to just spend more time yapping)/general cribbings/endless laughter/madness/pleasurable moments exploring the city/concerts/temple visits/countless lunches, dinners and breakfast ( a few restaurants may consider issuing me a frequent eater pass)/seeing mindless and mindful movies/nights out at my place or a friends place. Without these friends life would have been extremely boring if not difficult.
   
2. Professional and customer centric enterprises- By this I don't necessarily mean the typical corporate workplace. Check the local grocery store, the diagnostic centre, the computer service authority, your gas agency - they are typically very professional and customer centric. This is possibly the only city where you can convince them to make exceptions since distances are huge and lives hectic. People here genuinely try to make your life easy if requested in the right way and I simply love their attitude.
   
3. Two amazing people in the form of my ex-land ladies. Both brave-hearts and kind souls, one of a kind indeed, brilliant cooks, interesting company who made my stay with them most memorable and showered me with love/concern that I am truly grateful for. Another amazing person is a family friend of mine who since relocated to Banglore and has been very very affectionate and helpful to me during my Mumbai days :)
   
4. Mumbai Roadside eateries - Be it the Mumbai sandwich (veg toast and the numerous cousins or alu slice sandwich) or Sev Puri or Paani Puri or Pav Bhaaji, Mumbai chat especially the Chat items leaves my mouth watering at the very thought of it. Now any craving for these will be difficult to satisfy :( ....
   
5. Marathi - Bargaining with the grocery seller or vegetable vendor in hindi and understanding/pretending to understand some of the marathi they spoke was an experience indeed. My landlord tried his best until recently to teach me Marathi by purposely speaking in Marathi and explaining words or sentences that I didnt understand. To my small credit I also tried earnestly albiet for a few days to read the learn Marathi in 30 days book but unfortunately day 4 itself hasn't seen light. Expected when one frames hindi sentences with marathi words (using the book) that sound funny at best :)
6. Mumbai rains - Amazing is the word for the Mumbai rains. Am going to miss getting wet in them, or munching a warm toast sandwich in a gentle drizzle, or buying a trademark umbrella each season and trying my best not to loose it. Dodging the puddles, wrongly forecasting the need to carry an umbrella, avoiding splashes of rainwater from passing vehicles are possibly things I would be happy missing
   
7. Local Trains - Miss them ? Definitely yes :) Its an experience indeed - only the local trains can teach you how to get off a running train and run on to the railway overbridge, how to get on to a train that barely stopped, how to find the place next to the door in the direction of the wind, how to enjoy the wind standing at the door of the train (with fm on), how you can count small wins on correctly predicting the person who would be getting down soon and asking for their seat before the person next to you does, and make carrying newspaper along just to cover the wet seats on a rainy day a habit ... Of course you do also end up meeting interesting people on the train sometimes - like the women who feeds dogs from a running train, or the woman who volunteers to help you carry overweight bags in a crowded train and even drops you home since it is on her way - all for nothing in return.
   
8. Significant others- Like some of my favourite doctors (dentist, dermatologist etc), my tailor, Naturals ice cream parlours, my cute little flat, Nirmal Lifestyle where I used to spend half my weekends, Chembur market, Cream corn curd at Noodle bar, Mumbai FM stations, Matunga restaurants and temples, and my office or soon to be ex-office needless to say .....
   

Nostalgia - Rains, Monsoons

The monsoon has just begun in Mumbai and as the gentle drops turn into heavy downpour it stirs memories of the various monsoon seasons gone by.

My earliest encounters with Rain have been in Chennai during the numerous cyclones which brought along torrential downpours, gentle drizzles and puddles of water to float paper boats. Those early encounters also saw quick and easy holidays declared by my school which used to make friends from other schools envious about the fact. Invariably the sun used to come out mockingly on such a holiday :) .. Needless to say as kids we were glad for this welcome break.... Then there were the rains that were saved for the Sports days.. Each year religiously the various classes would go through the march past drill for the Sports day, in the process missing as many as 2 hours of classes and soaking in the hot Chennai sun. All this effort would be of no use as a heavy shower on the day of the Sports day would cause it to be postponed. This did happen for a few consecutive years if my memory serves me remember right.... Rains also meant wondering whether you could wear sandals instead of the canvas shoes or blue skirts instead of whites and then convincing atleast one/two friend to do the same so your teacher couldnt single you out!

The cycle and scooty rides in the rain are also a few memories that I cherish. Ever tasted a fresh drop of water from the skies during drizzle with the tip of your tongue - its a different experience indeed :)

Recent memories have been of stronger rains, flooded roads, gusty winds, and delayed trains in Mumbai. A marvellous experience inspite of any of the negatives. The weather turns pleasant, the greenery contrasting the grey skies and the murky brown sands sooths the eyes, and travel becomes an adventure. One season of Mumbai rains can cure the grumpy in you. True your feet turn messy but nothing that a nice wash can't rinse away.

A few fond memories/lessons/realisations/habits

1. You initially keep twisting in the train to avoid the water seeping from your neighbour's clothes and then it dawns on you that that being drenched your self it doesn't matter anymore
2. Knowing when to duck at the sight of an approaching train in case you are standing near the door during one of the downpours is a very valuable lesson
3. Keeping an extra-set of clothes at work, even a spare umbrella may be
4. Realising that sometimes the rain god also likes to tease you as he showers his might especially when you are wearing something light coloured or have are already juggling with too many things such that carrying an open umbrella seems worthy of an Olympic medal. All this when you head to office or someplace important , and by the time you reach the destination he's given way to a mockingly bright sun making you feel why me ?
5. Fights peak in the trains. Close the window now, switch off the fan, can't you remove your jacket before you sit/stand, Can't you hold your dripping wet umbrella close to your own self ... you name it ... you hear it :)
   
6. Keeping a track of low tides and high tides.
7. Mastering the art of estimating how bad/long the entire train ride would be based on water logging you see at a few stations
8. Lastly getting new fancy looking sturdy umberella's and trying not to lose them :) ...
9. Increase your vocabulary with the latin names of all the sundry things one could contract during the rains :P
   

Rains are truly lovely, yes the dampness can be spoiler with food and clothes, but sparring that its a joy indeed, an adventure and a welcome change encouraging madness and adventures of a different kind :) How to enjoy them - for one get drenched a bit and do all possible madness, and two try cozing up with a good book, warm goodies, and tea/coffee ... bliss indeed :)