Mumbai Icons- 4

I was brain storming about some other icons of Mumbai- the definers of the city and I surprised myself with the names that came in....Rajabhai towers, Chowpati, Oval maidan, Mumbai University and the newest Bandra-Worli sea-link.

If you are wondering about why I have combined these very different art pieces of Mumbai without any seeming geographical connections between them,... my reason is very simple.... I think them very spent and over rated icons......

For someone exploring Mumbai, these five places are a must visit and sure markers of the identity of Mumbai, for a mere suburban Mumbaikar like me, they are much less significant. There is a sense of pride when we look at the structures, but they mean little in the daily life..

Take for instance Rajabhai tower, Mumbai's own Big Ben...it stands there, ticking away (and sometimes not) unseeing and uncaring about the times the city faces.........glorious and awe inspiring archituctural structure? sure it is, so?

Oval maidan, an important landmark in the history of the city, an important landmark during the freedom struggle, to me is the place to go, if I want to look at the few remaining open spaces in the city. Overlooked by a zillion tall rising structures, the maidan has been saved by its history and retains use as a practice cricket and other sports grounds for the neighbouring kids....

Chawpatty is another seafront.....that usual Mumbaikars would want to aviode going to on a weekend, for its crazy crowds that make the sea beyond seem too little in comparison....for me, visiting chawpatty is to sink my weary feet in the sands, after a long walk here, or simply having the chat at its fringes.....

Mumbai University stands as a symbol of the babus of the city, educated class, the acedemia, a building where history and present shake hands looking at a bright future..the fact that its original main building in the fort area is being slowly abondaned is also a great teller and a symbol of the state of our education in the city...

Bandra-Worli sea-link has managed to connect two corners on Mumbai and glue them together.....an architectural marvel...reduced trafic but is not essentially a monument I want to keep staring at........

I guess different places in Mumbai mean different things to different people....All I know is that it is a city which is country in itself and a culture and feelings....Mumbai perhaps does not perhaps physically exists except in its different parts...but it survives as a wonderful magical peice of imagination....perhaps..................

Mumbai Icons-3

Haji Ali.... the next icon that has become a defining landmark for the city of Mumbai...and again a much explored and exploited one....and again spoilt with several overladen symbolic meanings and references in different types of literature....

One thing that I invareably see when I visit this beauty is that people are reluctant to walk that mile in the sea, to the actual building. They stop to take the pictures at the enterance and then head to the juice center and are off then...such a pity...

Haji Ali is thought of in several different words by different people....mosque, for muslims, thanks to the films now, it is thought of as a terror hangout as well....seldom is it look upon as a structure in the middle of the sea..standing tall...welcoming visitors with open arms, saving them from the furies of the voilant sea.....seldom is it thought of as a place of peace, tranquality, worship, a place which lets you reach in the recesses of your soul, inner self.....

Haji Ali to me,....a Mumbaikar like me, is defined as a board of peaceful heaven, of quawali, of music, of happiness and of smells, smells of the sea, and tranquality....it is the place I want to go to, when trouble and fear and hate and anger gawns at me....a place that gives me confidence to be,..its strength against the sea, giving me strength to withstand the odds and to move ahead.....

Walking that mile to reach the building, surrounded by the sea, is a walk towards trance, trance that leads me to my thoughts which get lost in the choas of my city's sounds sometimes...a trance that makes me believe in that lost God, in faith, in some self beyond me.....

Haji Ali....another face of Mumbai....another fascet of this schizopharnic city....a gem that shows the deep soul of Mumbai.........

Mumbai Icons-2

Funny as it may sound, I was very confused about what the most defining monument could be for a outsider visiting this city of dreams. My thoughts and deliberation came to an end,when I spotted a tourist bus speeding towards The Gateway of India.

Built during the colonial era to commemorate the visit of royalty to this country, the Gateway, fast became a symbol of the colonial past of this city. However, years later, it is remembered not as a landmark built for the British royalty, but the place from which they said their final goodbye and left the city for good.

Every single person who undertakes the task of touring this city ensures that he takes a peek at this monument. After hearing the tales of its grandeur and beauty, the actual place has often let people down, not matching upto its wonderful descriptions and imagery. A few friends who I got the chance to take around the city, were more excited about the Taj that stand opposite the Gateway then this place...

For me Gateway of India has had several meanings, since my childhood till now. As a kid I was always inspired with the thought that the Gateway was the final get away point for British. Then came the reality check, my actual visit to the place. Pretty boring is what I remember...I had no idea what I was supposed to look at when I went there. The monument was pretty stinky with pigeon poo and other inexplicable smells from right beneath the dome. There were stairs that led to the waters of the natural harbour, which is now used for ferry loading who take a ride for fun or to go to the Elephenta caves. The ride was interesting and more inspiring then the place. Vendors with candies and tourists clicking pictures was nice to look at as well.....

The Gateway of India has a lot of historic importance. It does play a vital role in defining the historical and political importance of Mumbai. However, its importance as a tourist destination is fast weaning.....What does Gateway symbolize for a Mumbaikar like me... for me..the monument makes me proud of Mumbai past. Standing tall, it tells tales of the power this city holds. But it does not charm me, sweep me off my feet, or even engross me enough...it stands as a symbol of history, power and other things, but does not define that diverse, didactic Mumbai that it is today to me........

The Mumbai Icons

My Mumbai is back to being itself, stripped of its diwali jewels, it does not look wasted or tired but rejuvinated and happy..its just being itself...without all its finery, its puts on the running shoes and is on its feet...

My journey through this city, during this transition phase, has made me ponder and wonder, all over again, about what makes this city, what ever it is...and why...but more than that, my inquisations, as I see the tourist wonder the place, have gone on to ponder on what they think of this place..what is their perception of this city, what do they want to see, when they come to see Mumbai.....and how much of these icons define Mumbai for a Mumbaikar...

1. Marine Drive: Made very famous by its references in different movies, songs, books and other literature, this place is sometimes thought of as a synonym of the city itself. Overlained by several symolic meanings, this place defines several things to several people. For a Mumbaikar living in a suburb it defines oppulance..portrayed by the people livng there, their riches, that Taj Mahal Hotel, Trident and others.....and sometimes freedom, for that is what a few famed movies tell us...Its fun to walk on the pathway there, gazing at the sea and the distant ships...to me, a walk along the sea here has somehow always meant a constant process of becoming, constant moving from being to becoming, from what is to what will be....On a glorious wintery evening, I walk along the sea, looking at the golden ball go down the sea and turn around, to see the reflection of its brightness on the highly sheening glass windows of the tall tall buildings. I see some tourists clicking away, capturing the sunset on their camera, trying to overpower that angry bolb.....uncaptured, capturing.....There is a strange sense of relief in the entier scene....a sense of calmness, a filfillment as I begin to remove me from the trance and get back to the hectic "usual" life...

For me, Marine Drive is a break from the real life, life out of Mumbai, a small dream-like place, which is no Mumbai at all.

I shall write about other Icons in the subsiquent posts...

Mumbai Shopping Comprehensive Volume 1

This is the blog by Preeti Vangela.....a Guest writer here.....

This, I intend to make the Mumbai shopping comprehensive for the cheap shopper! And what better way to start it off then to let you in on a very good deal I got this evening at The Loot on some very nice shirts most suitable for formal office wear.

Two very cute printed formal shirts in a delicate color, one stripped shirt in three-fourth sleeves all from the brand AND, and a Wills lifestyle fullsleeve shirt in a very light pink color great with a nice pair of light colored trousers for office or paired with denims for a laid back casual look, purchased for total of INR 1117/-!! I think it’s a steal! If formals are what you are looking for and you are not overtly concerned about your clothes being a last season design, you will have fun shopping in The Loot and the Grab Store.

Okay, let’s all play a game of mystery gift bag! Imagine, a large group of people that decided to contribute in cash or kind towards a collective of gifts, big and small in size and/or value and put ‘em all together in a large, very large colorful tasseled red velvet sack(for added visual effect of course) and then jumbled them all up! Then they play some game of chance or dare and each time someone wins, she or he gets the opportunity to put her/his hand into the sack and pull out one gift item. How awesome would you feel, if every time you tossed the dice or performed a dare in your game, and it was your chance to pull out a mystery gift from the great big velvet gift bag, you just happened to pull out the best of the best gifts that were placed in the bag (none of them by you of course)!

Fun isn’t it?

This is the exact feeling I get every single time I go down to my favorite shopping haunts with an open mind and a restricted budget looking for kickass merchandise. I always happen to find deals on clothes and accessories that seem to cost me just a token amount to purchase, allowing me to buy a whole lot more for a whole lot less money.

Now, I’m not really a compulsive shopper, nor do I “shop” my feeling (to borrow from the expression “to eat your feeling”) but I do like a new outfit for any special occasion and a new outfit just for the heck of it every now and then. So stumbling upon stores like the ones I mentioned above are a great help to put together really good outfits on a peanuts price-tag.

So, I told you where you can get some nice formal office wear shirts. You could also get some formal trousers at these same places. But then again, I’m into remodeling of my own dresses and can handle basic fitting on my pants, so I do buy em from here sometimes. The thing is, I really like narrow fits in pants, skinnies, straight fits, that sort. These are not easy to find in Grab or the Loot for some reason, yet.

Here I could share a nice lil trick with you I use very often. I am tall and quiet healthy. So finding the right fit of pants is not always easy. What I do is, I purchase pants that have a good fit till mid thigh ( minimum requirement). Below mid thigh, I have my pants altered to have a skinny, very “now” look. I like that. It’s easy and can be done cheap. Very good for regular office wear, if you can be tempted to go for that bit of extra work that is.

While on the topic of pants, there is one more store I have been shopping from for the past 2 years quiet regularly for pants. Located right next to Reliance Trends store in Bandra, Mumbai, this is a very very tiny shop, always packed with girls buying party wear, casuals, denims etc. If you are looking for Formal office pants, denims, shorts, anything! You would find the right stuff right here!! great cloths, good prices and a bit of bargaining possible. One added benefit of shopping from here is, if there is a minor fitting problem but you love the overall fit of the pants, they will have that altered and fixed for you right there within a few minutes. Perfect!

So now that you have the right shirts and trousers, throw on a nice scarf (tips on getting a great scarf dirt cheap here) and you are ready to shine at work!

Diverting from the current topic of clothes, if you do like to wear a bit of makeup pretty regularly, a really nice brand I like, is NYX. I bought it first on my trip to US but soon found out its available here as well, in Manish market, CST, Mumbai. I have not bought em form here myself, but a good friends did. When I bought NYX from US it was time for the Christmas sale and I got all of the goodies dirt cheap. Great colors long lasting and no side effects so far. If you like mascara, I would definitely recommend the ColorBar Lash Illusion Mascara Duo. it comes with two tubes, one for lengthening the lashes and the other for volume. Easy to apply long lasting and gives a nice look. For Rs. 350/- i like it!

So now you have something to get you through the week at work in formals, but how bout causal Fridays! More helpful hints, tips and tricks on that coming up soon! So until next time, bye bye and happy shopping to ya’ll!!

Happpyyyyy Diwali

My Mumbai is filled with colors...its happy...dressed in dainty gold and red and yellows and greens and pinks.....its blinks and smiles away at all those here for a trip......welcoming them with ever open arms and wide wide smile....

Diwali....festival of lights....and for Mumbai, festival of fire crackers, happiness, smiles, sweets, greetings and general merriment....this is one time when Mumbaikars and barring all their casts and traditions come together to celebrate life with pure and unadulterated mirthful hearts and minds....

So how could I be left out? Frequent shopping sprees and fun times with friends and family.....

Check list..... spoke to friends, relatives......collogues.....guess all those I know generally....and now here is something very very special for all my readers as well.....

A guest Blog by a veteran writer......my friend and a guide in a lot of things.... (read shopping shopping).....

Introducing Preeti Vaghela..........
(http://thelostbunnydiaries.blogspot.com)

the next post is by her.... she calls it "A Comprehensive shopping list for Mumbai"

I found it very very interesting and informative...even tried a few stints and they worked!!!!!!!

So enjoy reading and A New HAPPY DIWALI.................

Introspection....

Ahhhh......its been very long since I have posted anything....I am both angry at myself and pity me for the lack of time, or non inclination to write when I have time...well my recent choices have been between relaxing (read sleeping) or pushing myself to my self-extended boundries to work/write some more...The former has won 99 number of times outta 100 in my arguments with self...

well, finally I am here, doing my favourite thing...taking time off from all the runing...my small pre-diwali gift to myself....and wondering if this mad marathon run is really worth it...

On my train journey back and forth frm work, after crazy long days which has now become a robotic routine, a drill to be followed frm one day to next...one question has been nagging me constantly.....Time and its relativity.....Nothing has made it more appearent to me then the mad routine which is my life now.... and as usual, my darling, sweet, electic, dynamic, colorful, scary, weired, angry, painful, chaotic, happening, loving Mumbai becomes the microcausm for an explanation....

Roll, camera and action....

scene: a crowded dadar station, train arrival, womens compartment, chaos to get in-get out, start train, a woman hanging by a tinsly train handle, tyin to balance herself on the edge of the train step, as it speeds ut of the station, fighting on the phone...

snippets frm it..
I cannot come in tomorow, pls understand, I cannot,....my new job, have to go..hospital, I cannot come, is she serious? but Leave i will not get, shit m sorry...dont break up...no but new job.......ya 7 months.....difficult to handle boss.....dont do that...I knw your mum dying...sorry but cannot make it........ahhh.....ummmm....I understand.......no no......cannot help you......i understand your state.....Sorryy.....no no.....pls pls.....i know.....pls....(hear sobs, crying)...

finishes the calls, tear washed face...pained....

this lady is a regular in my train....both of us roughly have the same routine....get on the same train early morning at 7.15 and are usually going back hme around 9 at night......I smile at her and she likewise, we even talk once in a while.....I understand her situation, she knows that I know her situation and hve heard her talking on the phone.....

She has a fiancee, his mum is in the hospital, serious. He wants her to visit his mum. She cannot take a leave from her "new" 7-8 months old job, for her pain-in-the-ass, nagging boss...

After I get off the train...I begain to think of her situation....what would I do? would I take a leave, risk the job, stake the career, financial concern? Go visit the mum, or hurt her fiance, risk a breakoff, hurt a mum and leave her in pain????

What would you do? how far is a Mumbaite ready to run the unending rat race, how inhuman can people get?? Is this what Mumbai is all about? Is this the pride of the financial capital of India? what are we? who are we? do we fall under the label of "being a human"....

I dono...What I do believe in is these line by a poet whose name I cannot recall....

"What is life if full of care?
There is no time to stand and stare..."

Huh???......

A small conversation between two friends who reconnected on FB after several years and then chance upon each other during a daily train ride...

Friend No 1: hey....how are you? wassp? I saw on FB that you have been writing a bit...different you know,..from what others do.....

Me: Ya ya true true..what are you upto....several updates from you as well...your life seems to be rocking....

etc etc etc..

Friend No 1: So, you run a small blog...

Me: oh, that? ahh its actually just to have some personal virtual space to talk like I want...on Issues I want..

Friend No 1: What is your blog about? fashion? work? Travel? what what??

Me: Actually about Mumbai, no my thoughts on Mumbai...oh well both and more....some small amount of Philosophy as well..In a way...

Friend No 1: Mumbai,....oh ya....I read several things written about Mumbai,...Its the hot topic for now....So what did u write about Vt station? or Marine Drive? and what about Leopoalds? Metro?..

Me: Actually I have not too much about them...these places are not so much a part of my life you see....

Friend No 1: oh....(scilence)...then what of Mumbai? if not these things, what is left?

Me: Trains....and places and people who live in Mumbai...

Friend No 1: Ya ya, Trains are hot topic too. Like how dirty and filthy they are or even how they are the lifeline of the city...

Me: No, actually about people in trains...and their life in Mumbai..how they react to life and situations...mainly about how people react to Mumbai and its life....

Friend No 1: ...(scilence).....oh....quite off-beat, am sure some few people will be interested...makes for some writing material.....Do you have many followers? Not that many I guess....Its not like Mumbai fashion or even about the Bomb blasts in Taj you know....but I admire your courage....

Me: hmmm

Friend No 1: Lets see if I like it.....I might want to read something of it, you know....

Me: Ya sure...My ID is.....well...lets me know what you think..

Friend No 1: Lets see....I hope its interesting...

Me: Ya, hope....I have to go...its my station...Bye, take care...keep in touch...

Friend No 1: ya sure...I am always on FB....Tc Bye...

My thoughts.....funny is it not?.....

A Diversion...

Its been a while since I promised to put down the part two of Mumbai Gheeto...and well...looks like today is not the day as well....but today demands another painful telling....very painful for me atleast..

The last few weeks have not gone on very well for me. Among other things, my loss of faith in words put me in a sort of whirlwind...days began to feel like a drab, unending and meaningless. Words are still elusive, and the few I can think of or even hear from others, sound phoney/bogus..all layered lies..topped with dollops of chocolate syrup so that their meaninglessness is masked in the sweet syrup of stuipd praises....and an incident that I witnessed in the train while comming back from work is making me loose the little faith in humanity I had...

As usual, the trains were super crowded...after accomplishing the momentious task of boarding the train at dadar..I rushed to the second door, the side I would have to get off eventually. At Kurla, pregnant lady made her way in, batteling the crazy rush...

A few women began yelling at her, for being stupid and risking her and the baby's life by getting into the mad rush. With a demur stance she tried to explain her troubles...asking, pleading, requesting for women to make way so that she could move inside the boggy and the safety it offered. I moved around, expecting others to do the same and let her in. My surprise came when the lady behind me began screaming at this fully preganat lady...I cannot forget those words, they made me loose the little trust I had in Humanity of my fellow mumbaites- all of us running the race to becoming the best robots around. She said, "Its really not my problem, find your way in if you can, you and ur baby can go to hell, you seem to not care anyway.." The pain shot to physicality when I heard a few other women around murmer in acceptance..

Yes, it is true, it is indeed true,..Mumbaites run a mad rat race, a race with no end...where running ahead and overpowering the one in front of you is the only aim...but they are also known to help those running along....it is this quality, this helping, humanistic nature of the Mumbaikars that made me hold my head high when I spoke of the city. We seem to be loosing this as well....Is this what my beautiful, undaunting, overwhelming, unbeaten maximum city is being led into? Is anything about the city worth then? Its glamour, beauty, its grandure, anything at all worth it?

Are Mumbaikars humans no more? can they not spare any thought, anything in the crazy race for their fellow beings?? Can we risk becoming inhumans? Is the success of the city dependent on its stark, robotic behaviour? What do you guys think? Don't you think its time we stand back, stop, catch our breath and think? Think, about what we are? who we are? are we caring and accommoditing as we claim to be, or do we only pretennd ?

I wrote this piece with a small idea, I want us all to sit back and think, pause and think....
was this right? are we too obssessed with ourselves to stop bothering? Is this what we are?? I want to hear from you guys.....I hate to think we are all bad, all wrong..I wish I can restore my faith back in humanity, in Mumbaikars, in words.....

Mumbai Part 4..Mumbai Ghettos

Its weekend again....and angst, irritation, work stress are at bay.....relaxed I have for the day....and now its time to blog again.....ouch...sorry for the silly rhyme....Stupidity is my tag for the day...

Okay....back to Mumbai...it's summer time now and I spotted a few tourists walking around when I was going back home from work...it led me to a small flashback...back in collage I used to be extremely excited to have people over from different part of the country/world and show them around the city...know their opinions and thoughts on it.....One thing I learnt from these trips and from my readings...tourists either love the city or simply hate it...its black or white..with no room for any kind of grey area. Mind you, I specifically speak for a tourist, an outsider view, not for those who have come to settle here, for short/long duration. For, the city makes these new comers their own, takes them into its arms or simply kicks them hard, down and out. And these people have their means and adjustments for survival..I choose to call one of these adjustments/ways Mumbai Ghetto...

For those who do not know about the word... roughly, it is a small community or group of people that come together bound by a common past. This past may be real or imagined, say a common region of origin, common religion or a common culture. When you apply the idea to this hectic and huge city, it translates to small areas, bonded by common characteristics. For instance, a ghetto of middle class economic strata of people in Parel or Goregaon, or those with a common language or those migerated from the same region like Bhycalla.

The problem however, with these ghettos is that their existance does not end merely with their strog/feable existance in different areas across the city and stop at commedarie, but is translated into a strong identity and projection of their own. Wheather this is a good or a bad thing, I would leave for the readers to decide. For me hurried judgements and opinions do not make sense, I can think of good and bad both...

Oh damn, I have begun rambling all over again..But the Ghetto-ing of this city is something I have been wanting to write about for a while now. I think it is an very important part of the city, something that contributes to its layered identity to a deep level, and is the reason for making this city what it is....and so it requires a deep telling...It would be silly if I would try to bundle up this tpoic in a single blog, for I risk boredom or my readers or clutter them too much with my thoughts...so I shall leave you with this introduction on Mumbai Ghetto to speculate on....and await my next writing...

Till then, do tell me what you think of the city, and share your experiences on different Mumbai Ghettos that you have encountered....

Mumbai....Part 3

Its been long since I posted something here. Lots of things happened, good, bad, stupid, and to add to it my laziness kept me outta sorts...

Well, Mumbai Part 3 today.....a lil bit of anger is what I feel, the motormen are on strike, trains have stranded and Mumbai too...Local Trains as they say is the life line, blood line of the city...After today, everyone has realized that I assume. Its time they do something good for the motormen and the aam junta...

Anyway, am not gonna brag or crib about trains today..Its the streets of Churchgate, Town and VT, I am going to rattle on about..and my love affair with them...

South Churchgate aka Town, always held my fancy, since childhood..Its wide and beautiful streets, side walks, the many hues of the ancient buildings, the spread out blocks with fancy pedestrians walking around leisurely, the chic homes of the ultra chic people...Royal was the word I used for it.....Beautiful, Intoxicating and Royal....Till I went through that one day and what reality check it was....

The time of the day was early evening. Not much of a day it had been, just the regular, a few absolutely non-thought-provoking classes in the morning, the hustle and annoyance at not finding books at the library, and some pigeon poop on my shoulders, which meant I was irritated enough to take off on a walk around the oval, towards the far stretching sea and cool it off.

The soft, soothing breeze, and a relatively empty street was a relief. And then I saw it...A woman was ruthlessly trashing a guy, just around the corner on the road...I almost walked past till a smothered scream held me rooted. I began looking around for the source of the sound, and there in the corner it was. Close inspection showed the class difference and the dominant employer and submissive employee relation, written in the clothes and attitude they were wearing. Not that this is new to me. But what followed was a shocker..clouded with worry and fear, my eyes made a frantic search for some help...And that is when anger gave vent...a cluster of very well to do people watching all of the going, like it was some drama unfolding...I went to ask a bystander to help me stop the woman trashing the man black and blue. The prompt reply was, "Kaun padega ga jamale main?"- "who will get involved in it?"- as he swiftly walked off. Others around had overheard me by than, and began their escape. I tried to yell the woman down on my own and heard something to the effect that, kamchor ki saza...

Ashamed at my inability to do anything, I stood there as the woman threatened the man his job and made for home. The guy then stood up and began laughing loud. He spat on the road, cursed the woman and looked at me..."aare madam, idhar aaisaich hota hai, Wo marta hai, lekin paisa bhi deta hai na....tension nahi lene ka...hum unka naya vase bech ke aacha maal kamayega, saab vasul hota hai..." ...

Not so proud a Mumbaikar I was then...not to proud to see the stark negative side of the city...The deep recesses of my mind bought out the forgotten words..ye hai Mumbai, Yeh hai Mumbai, Yeh hai Mumbai meri Jaan....

Mumbai...Part 2

All those who have lived in Bombay aka Mumbai for a few days will agree with me that you cannot escape travelling to get to anywhere while you are here..The added advantage is that this wonderful city has a great public transport system in place...Be it trains, bus, taxis, rickshaws... all of it is pretty usable if not comfortable...Considering that I travel a fairly long distance to work everyday (2 hours one way), I believe this is the apt topic to begin my musings on....I guess trains, rather the local trains in Mumbai is what sets the city transport apart from the others...besides after all these years they still do not cease to fascinate me...so here I go...

Actually, I have been travelling on the trains since I was a toddler....But I do not count those days. Not till I began using them on my own did I begin looking around me and noticing the beauty that a hideous, tedious train and a train ride may be like. Well I do sound stupid and silly I know, but wait till you have heard/read this one...a true experience...

I was travelling back from a extra hectic, bad day of work, and the delay of the trains was defiantly not helping . Battling large crowds I hopped onto this Kasara local, used all my strength and worked my way to the other side of the compartment, ensuring that I would be able to get off on my station.

Standing next to me was this very happy lady, dressed in a dainty shirt with simple jeans, smiling away to herself. Somehow, (and there was no reason for this) her smile pushed me into a sweeping rage and I shoved my elbow into her sides with the intention making more standing space for me and a secret intention of making that smile disappear. She looked at me, a little surprised, and gave me a questioning look. I began yelling away at her for the way she was standing, the way she was holding her bag, even for the way she was holding the handle to prevent toppling over others. She retorted back with perfect calm, that instigated me into yelling more. No reason for it again, except my bad day was catching up with me. I kept yelling away at her as the stations flew by and she kept giving me some monotone and monosyllabic answers all the way. Finally it was my turn to get off on my station and I pushed my way out of the train and felt a calm hand tapping at my shoulder as I began walking towards the exit. She simply said, "I hope you are not angry anymore and I managed to help. Have a nice evening." and walked off. I kept looking at her, till I realized she merited a sorry from me, I wanted to talk to her but she was gone. I will never forget that nameless women, I can still remember her pretty smile and her amazing attitude to life. What a Stress Buster! and what a understanding women......what an experience..

This is only one of the many things that has touched my life... I use the train every single day to travel to and fro..and sometimes interactions, sometimes observations have taught me so many lessons of life....Trains are not simple ways to get me to places I want to go to...they are microcosm of life itself....

I wish I could narrate more of my experiences.. I wish I can tell you about my precious train friends, but time is short and there is so much to do, so much about my Mumbai that I want to tell you....Sometime, Sometime I will, when you would want to hear, me want to tell,...TC folks and have fun,...life is too short to waste in anger and irritation...that lady did remind me....

On Mumbai...Part 1

Mumbai, India. A place I have been interacting & romancing with since my childhood. A city, that is called by many names, and stands upto them all. Much has been said about it, geographically, historically, philosophically, fictions have been centered around it, films made. Out of many, one book that comes to my mind is Maximum City, a song that comes to me is the very peppy and poignant "ye hai mumbai meri jaan".. However, I have never been able to relate to any of these. All of them I know, are true, they are different flavors of the city, different aspects.. but they are not my Mumbai, my Bombay....I believe that Bombay, Mumbai is different for all, is an construction of mind, its more of a mental space, and how you see and react to the happenings here, is what the city is for you..And this is exactly why, I love listening to everyone talk about it, of it...and now, after thinking about it for really long..I want to tell you, what this place is for me...Hence forth, I will write about my interactions, experiences and above all my thoughts on this city in the forth coming blogs. I hope I manage to interest you enough to read the series and tell me about your experiences on them....till the next one then, am signing off...

Introduction..

In case you do not know me, My name is Chaitali... I got little else to say about myself. But I do have a few ideas, opinions and thoughts on different things.....something that my conditioned brains thinks out when I hear, see, feel on the happenings around me...which is why I call this little speaking heaven of mine, simply "thoughts"....these my thoughts on things.....I hope you will enjoy reading my posts and have something to say about them.... Happy Reading....