Mumbai Diaries I

January 2011 Call  me a romanticizer  , an exaggerating narrator, or just an obsessed victim of the legends associated, but Mumbai has already begin casting its spell on me. Bollywood no doubt has played the greatest role in creating this metaphor of a city called Bombay, or Mumbai in the minds of most Indians- the

Mumbai Diaries II

25th January 2011 It is inevitably disappointing a bit when you’ve been dreaming of living in Mumbai, and end up in the outskirts of Mumbai. (And so outskirt that we rarely get to see any skirts!). But then we have some luxurious accommodation and food, at negligible costs. And a petty excuse such as distance

Mumbai Diaries III

February 10, 2011 Watching a local flee right away when you are in the ticket queue teaches the importance of time in this city.  The locals are a bit sparsely timed , as compared to the Delhi metro, and more so at relatively far-off stations like Karjat, so the next train would be about 40

Mumbai Diaries IV

  February 20, 2011 ‘Arey yaar , I am not gonna stand’ said the guy to the girl with him in the next seat, as the screen read – Please stand up for the national anthem.  Oh yes! The national anthem. I had heard about the mandatory national anthem before any movie show in Mumbai,

Mumbai Diaries V

March 8, 2011 It has not been long, when I first set foot on this land, wide eyed and bewildered by the seemingly chaotic ways of the metro.  In seven mere weeks, it is only possible to get a whiff of a city as big as this, if at all. But yes, a sense of

Mumbai Diaries VI

  March 30, 2011 You don’t have to remind your feet to stop when you spot a certain Ms. Kareena Kapoor sitting in the front seat of a jeep in front of you. They just freeze voluntarily. It was one of the rare moments when the boundaries between the two different but virtually co existing

Mumbai Diaries VII

  April 12, 2011 If you are one of those people who have a prejudice that Mumbai is actually a big dirty, polluted, over crowded city with all it’s eye widening features confined to specific zones, then you are not totally wrong. A few months, and as much as this place amazes you with its

Mumbai Diaries VIII

May 5, 2011 It is rather surprising (or maybe its not) how a single incident makes you see the same old things in a different light.  Maybe it’s the fickle nature of mind, or maybe it’s just me. I just hope that it is a temporary phase, some dreary side effect of an unfortunate incident

Mumbai Diaries IX

May 18, 2011 What can one say about the ‘spirit of Mumbai’ that has not been already said! You do not understand what exactly is it, yet you sense it. There is something about this city which holds your attention, arrests your thoughts. Maybe it is the overwhelming magnitude of everything here, or maybe it

Mumbai Diaries X

June 14, 2011 Predictabilities and clichés may not make a good copy, but they are certainly inevitable in life.  As my affair with the magical city nears its climax, all of them occur to me. Even being constantly aware of the limited time could not help avoid the feeling of belongingness. And at the end,