Saturday, May 20, 2006

Mumbai trip- day 1

I had been to Mumbai for the May day weekend.At the end of it,I realised that I needed another weekend to recover from this long weekend!That is the pace of the mega metropolis that I was hit with.

The sights and sounds of this big city can be pretty unnerving for the mellowed souls.Such is the expanse of humanity and speed of life,that I didn't even realise how my three days were spent.

It was a great feeling to touchdown on Mumbai's CST airport on a Friday evening.I still remember trying to figure out the way to a cabstand, and like with most metros around the world,this one too had a system.More importantly,it worked!I hopped onto a cab and as we exited the airport terminal,a cop readily stopped us and asked me something in Marathi, which obviously was Greek and Latin to me!The cabwala helped out and at the end of the "translation", it transpired that the cop wanted to know just where I was headed.All I needed to say was Powai!:)

Anyway,we got onto the Western Express highway, which was to be my first glimpse of a city in the grind i.e.every single pebble and slice of mud was dug up right along the way from the airport to Powai.It was amazing that my cab driver actually managed to keep the relic Fiat car on its four wheels,what with oscillations at every 5 feet on the street.But I actually was enjoying it.Very soon,as we hit the exit into Andheri,the typical Radio Mirchi channel came on.I just smiled at the cab driver and told him to increase the volume.Reason?There was a Kishore Kumar special going on and I just loved the combination of a long cab drive and a Kishore da special.

As the cab chugged along,I transported myself into Kishore land and just reached a trance,only to be woken up by my mobile phone!My cousin wanted to know where I was!!:)Anyway,told him that I was in a cab that was hanging on for its dear life and should be home in some time!Poor guy,he had cooked some authentic north Indian food for me,that too without garlic!Just the way I like it!Of course,I followed up this call with a quick buzz to my dear Mumbai friend in Andheri,and fixed up a lunch date with her the next day!She is the famous tall girl that I once wrote in my article on www.arun.zine5.com!:)

Finally,made it to my cousin's place at 10 p.m., only to discover that my cousin hadn't returned from office.He belonged to the breed of Mumbai professionals who drove early in the morning from Powai to Nariman Point and drove back the same distance,when people were just retiring for the day!Anyway,caught up with his wife and was chatting away to glory with her, with my stomach grumbling.I was starving!We had dinner!

I got up at 9 a.m. the next morning and met my cousin for the first time in a year.Had breakfast and walked down to the pool in the apartment complex with the whole family.Two year old kiddo jumped into the pool with her mom and screamed and smiled and then never left the water!She was so adorable and cute!:)

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