Thousand and one…Thousand and two…Thousand and three…some
dreams making and some breaking but not stopping to dream! The city that will
make you work hard every day, making u run with speedy local trains to distant
far off lands from one line to the other, tiring you to keep pace with its fast
hum drum of life, evening comes late but nitfall has the glitz, fashion and
glamour added to keep you awake. This city never sleeps…
One will find stark realities side by side. Surviving in
this city is tough and it makes you tougher and work hard. The tall skyscrapers
of SOBO and numerous skyrocketing realty dream buildings mushrooming at one end
and dirty, claustrophobic and cluttered ‘chawls’ poignant on station lines on the
other- all live together in tandem. This city is home of tinsel town famously
known as ‘Bollywood’. Dropping by the Marine Lines with lit up necklace road
overseeing the wide Arabian Sea or a long drive to the Bandra Sea Face touching
southern tip of the city; street shopping by the Linking road or the classy glocal
shopping on the Colaba causeway streets with quick munch at Leopold Café gives
the city its nomadic flavour. Come August and we hear the frenzied shouts of ‘Ganpati
Bappa Morya’ filling up the streets. You are bound to feel the dry fish smell
along the sea coast from Marine Drive to Carter’s to Bandra. The culture
festival at Kalaghoda attract a lot of crowd every year, the quick dose of standup
laugh at Comedy Store or the Prithvi Theatre cum Cafe at Juhu which is the
place to be for wannabe scriptwriters, actors, directors and crazy theatre
lovers makes the city culturally boosted. The city has all kinds of people. The
suburbs have moved beyond and created new extended boundaries for the actual
city.
It’s been more than two years in this mesmerizing city which
is high on its spirits. Actually time flew. I hated being here as I had landed
from the infrastructural best National Capital to the land of water, dirty puddles,
traffic jams during peak monsoon July. As didn't have any known familiar faces,
finding a place for accommodation was difficult as they were steeply priced.
The affordable ones were far away and required everyday at least 2 hrs of
travel one way. I initially had settled in a pg which provided only one time
veg food, later on slowing moving to a spacious shared rented apartment. New
faces became acquaintances who became friends and roommates. That’s how the
city slowly starts becoming familiar and a comforting place to be. One is bound
to make new friends and great fun places to visit with sexy night clubs, hangout
places, refreshing walk by the sea side and eateries in this city.
Home food @office courtesy the Dabbawallas, Delicious Shawarma
@Carter Road, Cutting chai and Corn on the Cob @Bandstand, Kalakhatta and
Mumbai Chat @Juhu Chowpatty, Keema Paratha @Prithvi Café, Bun Maska and Bhurji
Pav @Mithibhai College, Fresh Bakery @Bandra or the ever filling and all time
favourite ‘Vada Pav’ of Mumbai with the red garlic chutney powder… you will
find your taste buds fill up all sorts of tingles from roadside to the five
stars. There are in and around long drive places like Mahabaleshwar, Lonavla,
Khandala, Kashid or the ever happening Goa to chill out.
This city is the Manhatten of the East; this is a place to
be where aspirations are set, built and fulfilled; it’s fearless and powerful; it’s
chaotic yet beautiful; rich and elegant...it’s feminine...it’s the City of
Dreams…its MUMBAI!
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