Mumbaiya....

After life as a carefree working professional in the Commercial Capital of India moving back home has been an experience... I have finally settled down in my new role workwise and in terms of back to playing my parents' dutiful first born girl.

Staying at home among folks has been surprisingly different from the last time when I was visiting on holidays... I have realized that people change and if one is away from the family base there is a perceptible variance in behaviour. Changes, mostly unwanted, creep into one's DNA as we get inducted into the premier MBA schools of the country. We typically suffer from insomnia - catching up with friends over phone, surfing the net, or simply walking about the house, invariably need to take place past 2 A.M. To add insult to the injury this hangover gets accentuated when one continues working & living alone in Mumbai! No strings attached kinda thing.

I am not writing about adjustment problems, I choose to write instead about the city that I have left behind.

Now that I have warmed you up to what you may consider a watered down version of a 'Prologue'... I shall begin with my ode to the time spent in Mumbai. And. it is a far cry from the super fav 'The Maximum City'.

Mumbai-- not for nothing is it called a city of dreams... zindagi jeena hai toh Mumbai mein rehana chahiye... Said that, one spends 80% of time on travel within the city. Amazingly though the city simply inspires you to keep going. The fatigue quotient may be high but the zest for life is as palpable as the flurry of waves splashing at the concrete at Marine Drive. The monsoons are enjoyable till we enter the 3rd week. After all no one really likes to wade through knee deep water or wait for a benevolent taxiwallah to take you to a drowning suburb. Tragically, it could be raining romance, but one cannot get cozy under the blanket with a steaming cuppa chai as duty calls!!!

I no more live there. But there is a part of me that misses the grand city and all the wonderful things that make Mumbai a city of deep intrigue. Local trains, Ganesh Chaturthi, Shiv Sena, vada pav, cutting chai, khau galis, metered autos, roadside shopping, multi storeyed malls, crowded suburbs, sky rises, bollywood, underworld, swanky luxury cars, film stars, dabbawallahs - all equally compelling, and forcing one to stay married to the city. There is not a moment without madness. People rushing at you all the time. They may walk with you but do not spare a thought for your appearance. They city thrives on anonymity.

The city never sleeps. The city lives on.