even after being a seasoned kolkata bred bus-hanger-stunt/antic expert i have conceded defeat to the mumbaiwallahs. and a local train hanging stunt is scarier. the sheer number of people in this city is mindboggling. and the city bursts at its seams during office hours. but just like most things in India, somehow miraculously rising out of all this overwhelming confusion, things still happen.
a few days ago i was sitting all by myself at bandra bandstand. its not exactly your sand beach but instead coast is littered with rocks which go quite far into the sea. its beyond me to capture the feeling of sitting on a rock with the wide expanse of the sea before you, the roar of the waves and a wild, magical city lying forgotten, behind you. i ended up spending two hours sitting there. i moved from rock to rock back towards the mainland as the waters rose with the approach of high tide.
the beauty of this city still has me in its sway. i've taken a few pictures but haven't had the chance to upload them. will surely try to put them up here.
i'm presently at a cyber cafe during my lunch break. and my times almost up. i think i'll stick to my sunday posts.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Friday, May 19, 2006
Mumbai... the city of dreams.
Sitting at Marine Drive... staring at the New-York esque skyline on one side.... the occasional noticeable sound of the soft waves crashing below. The casual laughter, the dismissive words and the silences that capture everthing else.
A million words woudn't capture the Marine Drive evening.
................
Its a stunningly beautiful city. The problem is most of the people living here miss that fact regularly. Its crowded and humid and a ride on the local trains can be a horrendous affair but the traffic is worse. I was stuck for almost an hour and half in traffic on my way to office one day.
Work is HECTIC. I work approximately 40 hour weeks. I leave in the morning and return twelve hours later, minimum. Almost 2 hours are spent commuting. The first week was fun. It was interesting to see almost every co-passenger wearing a fancy ear-gear plugged into their cell phones, busy listening to the radio. Many have the Agent Smith sort of earphones. Its wondrous seeing all these these techno savvy people. The sheer volume of people going to work is mindboggling and i guess another noticeable for a bangali here is that everyone here sticks firmly to their 9-5 timings. Infact the 5'o clock deadline is invariably pushed back further.
The site I'm in charge of is located in poshland- Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri. Its home to music directors and most recently Manoj Bajpai! Flats here are easily worth in crores. Mumbai gets you used to talking in crores.
Mumbai has its share of interesting people. Kamlesh, the guy incharge of the site before me, seemed straight out of the Munnabahi movie. The talk, the walk... everyday he'd ask me if had set my eyes on any "item" yet. We were incharge of the site together for a week, and everyday there was some interesting funda about life in Mumbai. Even taxi wallahs havent refrained from sharing their bits of advice on the city.
The most common refrain is of how you can't leave this place once you visit Mumbai...
if only....
Sitting at Marine Drive... staring at the New-York esque skyline on one side.... the occasional noticeable sound of the soft waves crashing below. The casual laughter, the dismissive words and the silences that capture everthing else.
A million words woudn't capture the Marine Drive evening.
................
Its a stunningly beautiful city. The problem is most of the people living here miss that fact regularly. Its crowded and humid and a ride on the local trains can be a horrendous affair but the traffic is worse. I was stuck for almost an hour and half in traffic on my way to office one day.
Work is HECTIC. I work approximately 40 hour weeks. I leave in the morning and return twelve hours later, minimum. Almost 2 hours are spent commuting. The first week was fun. It was interesting to see almost every co-passenger wearing a fancy ear-gear plugged into their cell phones, busy listening to the radio. Many have the Agent Smith sort of earphones. Its wondrous seeing all these these techno savvy people. The sheer volume of people going to work is mindboggling and i guess another noticeable for a bangali here is that everyone here sticks firmly to their 9-5 timings. Infact the 5'o clock deadline is invariably pushed back further.
The site I'm in charge of is located in poshland- Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri. Its home to music directors and most recently Manoj Bajpai! Flats here are easily worth in crores. Mumbai gets you used to talking in crores.
Mumbai has its share of interesting people. Kamlesh, the guy incharge of the site before me, seemed straight out of the Munnabahi movie. The talk, the walk... everyday he'd ask me if had set my eyes on any "item" yet. We were incharge of the site together for a week, and everyday there was some interesting funda about life in Mumbai. Even taxi wallahs havent refrained from sharing their bits of advice on the city.
The most common refrain is of how you can't leave this place once you visit Mumbai...
if only....
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
post
3 days at home: mostly spent reading a novel, surfing the net and anchoring with some old friends over gtalk. S leaves for scandinavia today. tis interesting to note how vacations have been turning points in zis life...
i'm pretty apprehensive about joining work in mumbai. makes me introspect on the great grand "plan". introspect on three years of being a techie. in a years time i'll have a b.tech degree to my name. seems like a big joke.
the whole idea of us being a part of the great organic program run by Deep Thoughts successor (yes am reading: H2G2... yeah i kno, but theres always a time to start innit?) seats itself firmly in the chaotic neurons overworking themsleves, crosswiring all the matter, to paint a hazy shade of ze blues for a while now. its a curious ailment, identified with a detachment from all things fun and monosyllabic answers to queries and attempts made at conversation by third parties.
diversion was seeked by confronting an old ghost, shopping and then using free messaging to bother S. poogloo called, to my surprise, and did his usual hooping laugh thing to drive me into splits. the adventures of poogloo and the igloo are tales of legend... luckily for him, his visa woes have been solved.
another whole afternoon was spent dissecting of the topic of the blue village monster with an old friend. another tale of visa worries. hers is still on hold, while travel dates are fixed and close at hand.
.........
am not sure if i'll post before leaving for mumbai. if not post, comments shall be used to communicate most certainly. and yes, suggestions about the template are invited! it's the waiting-for-the-rains theme
i'm pretty apprehensive about joining work in mumbai. makes me introspect on the great grand "plan". introspect on three years of being a techie. in a years time i'll have a b.tech degree to my name. seems like a big joke.
the whole idea of us being a part of the great organic program run by Deep Thoughts successor (yes am reading: H2G2... yeah i kno, but theres always a time to start innit?) seats itself firmly in the chaotic neurons overworking themsleves, crosswiring all the matter, to paint a hazy shade of ze blues for a while now. its a curious ailment, identified with a detachment from all things fun and monosyllabic answers to queries and attempts made at conversation by third parties.
diversion was seeked by confronting an old ghost, shopping and then using free messaging to bother S. poogloo called, to my surprise, and did his usual hooping laugh thing to drive me into splits. the adventures of poogloo and the igloo are tales of legend... luckily for him, his visa woes have been solved.
another whole afternoon was spent dissecting of the topic of the blue village monster with an old friend. another tale of visa worries. hers is still on hold, while travel dates are fixed and close at hand.
.........
am not sure if i'll post before leaving for mumbai. if not post, comments shall be used to communicate most certainly. and yes, suggestions about the template are invited! it's the waiting-for-the-rains theme
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