Stop spitting, you people!

When I first moved to Hyderabad, I was appalled by the red spit stains - all along the sides of roads, along staircases, any corner you can think of. When I look back and compare it with our very own Mumbai, I feel that Hyderabad is such a clean place! Here, people don't just spit on corners and roadsides, they spit everywhere!! Take last night for instance, this elderly gentleman spat noisily and gloriously on to the railway platform and happily stepped on it just a moment later. Talk about civic sense.

Ban religious ceremonies in public

Caution: Rather extreme views ahead. Those with delicate sensibilities kindly refrain from reading!

Started for work at 7:30 am and found myself caught in unnatural traffic. The reason - some religious procession. There should be a ban on all religious processions at decent hours. And that includes the much celebrated Ganesh Puja, which is just a nightmare for people trying to get home after a hard day's work. I really don't understand why people have to publicly display their religious affectations. And its even worse when some god-man comes into town and thousands of people throng to meet him. Do people have such low self confidence that they need reassurance from some guy who has turned God and religion into a money spinning racket? Having lost the emotional crutch that's faith, I really envy those who do. But please, faith is an internal expression, something so private that public display only demeans and cheapens it.

Cats & Dogs

The first thing that I noticed when I moved into my place almost 2 years ago was the abundance of cats. Browns, greys, stripes, blacks and patchy whites all crowded around the garbage collector as she went about her daily work. A shaggy, scarred tom would go about disciplining the females and the kittens, fending off younger toms who tried to encroach into his territory. Once I even caught him engaged in frenetic copulation with one of the females (a fascinating sight - like miniature lions). Those among you who have seen cats doing it in broad daylight, please raise your hands! The dogs were conspicuous by their absence.

For the past few months, a pack of stray dogs have taken over the street. The cats have dispersed, the big tom is the only one who dares to strut before the canine conquerors. Given a choice, I'd choose a dog over a cat for a pet any day, but its far less of an annoyance to have stray cats patrolling your streets than dogs. I miss the cats!

Starting over

Recently, someone told me that he was surprised that I wasn't writing about Mumbai. Well, I started this for that purpose, but couldn't find the time to blog regularly. Another attempt.

Somebody save me

The trains are getting more and more crowded everyday. Second day in a row that I had to miss a train because I couldn't get on. And this was before 8 a.m. God help us!

I belong

Its been over two years since I moved to Mumbai. An eventful time - jobs, friends, illness & therapy, floods, blasts, more floods, trains, crowds - but life goes on in Mumbai. I am no longer an outsider. I am a Mumbaikar.

Many wonders

Walking to the Dadar station yesterday, I was shocked to see people worshipping a giant 1 Rupee coin. I mean, I've heard of people worshipping money, but to see it happen so blatantly is something else. Guess it would happen only in amchi Mumbai.

Speaking of Dadar, the place is... well, words cannot describe it. The sheer profusion of colour, sound, and bodies are enough to confound the senses and put you in a daze. Gave myself a pat on the back for coming out unscathed.

Bawas and coffee on a Saturday night

Cliches abound, so do tales of funny Gujarati, prominent noses, and eccentricity. This Saturday night, sitting with 4 Parsees in a coffee shop at 1 o'clock in the morning, I watched all the cliches come true. But what I also saw was that they are probably the sweetest people I've ever met. An integral part of Mumbai; lets bow to the Bawas.

The Kids

These kids are everywhere - hawking odds and ends on trains, selling newspapers at traffic junctions, begging on roads, sleeping on pavements. How many do you see everyday? What do you do when you can no longer shut it out of your head that you are warm in your cosy little bed, while countless little children shiver on a cold, hard sidewalk... When you can no longer hide behind the book that you are trying to read... When you can no longer avoid a pair of sad, brown eyes, old before their age?

Nariman Point

Nariman Point is the best place to work. I was lucky to have my office at a stone's throw away from Marine Drive. Just the place to walk your stress off after a long day at work, watch the city lights. Now I've moved to Mahalakshmi, and I miss the place.

Bring the hawkers back

The hawkers at Nariman Point are part of the vibrant business district of Mumbai. Taking them off the streets is definitely a bad move. The hawkers are an integral part of the landscape at Nariman Point, a defining feature. I'm moving jobs next week, away from Nariman Point, and my new boss told me "You'd better pack your lunch, this isn't Nariman Point, you know". Besides, who is going to feed all of us now? I mean, people can't work on empty stomachs. No wonder the bulls have faltered.

6 a.m. at Vasai Road

Got off a train from Goa at Vasai Road at 6 a.m. this morning. Decided to take a local to Andheri, and found myself in a jam packed coach with no space to move, cursing myself for not travelling light. Bombay rocks!

The crowd

You cannot escape the crowd in Mumbai. You get off at your station and find yourself in a sea of bodies, pushing, shoving from all sides. You climb up the stairs, trying not to look at the posterior of the person ahead of you, and hope that the man behind you is not leching at yours. On a weekend, you want to unwind, and end up at this party place that turns out to be as crowded as the trains. New Year's Eve - I'm staying at home.

Cafe Mondegar

Mondy's - my most favourite haunt in Mumbai. I have no clue as to how old the place really is. It is crowded, smoky, cluttered, but simply amazing. Good food, great prices, and good music playing out of a really beautiful jukebox. You can spend a few hours there, reading a book, sipping a coffee while looking at the Mario Miranda cartoons on the side of your cup, or watching life float by on the streets of South Bombay.

Good Arabian food

A friend took me to Fanoos at Lokhandwala - great food, yummy chicken. Their showarma rolls are simple amazing. Follow it up with a hookah in strawberry, peach, apricot, cappuccino, mint, and apple flavours. And you still wont burn a hole in your pocket.

First look

Mumbai - The financial capital of India, the city of stars and dreams, the city with the largest slum in Asia, the city of fast trains and slow traffic, the city of jostling crowds and desperate solitude, the city with no time to stop and stare, the city that lets you live by your own rules. I have been in Mumbai for exactly 8 months, and I LOVE the place.