Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Onset of Monsoons – In Mumbai


3rd June 3, 2011 – Mumbai

I wrote this quite some back but finally thought to share it with you all.


Somehow Mumbai remains my city of influence, no matter how much I crib about this city, it resonates as a motivator encompassing such different worlds under its hood. It provides me my characters of life, it provides me with the examples of the way of living on the both extremes.
It estranges me on the view of the people who take life so differently in the same city, forget the city I am surprised to see how people celebrated the first monsoons in the mere radius of a kilometer.
Recently I shifted into a new house in Bandra. If I tell you the surroundings you will be jealous of me and when I go on, telling you the rent I pay for this place you will feel that I am a lucky Basket… well the place where I stay is near to Carter Road like just 5 minutes walk, atmosphere is damn nice, a crazy night life in this side of the town, food available at the request of a phone call even at 1 @ night, the rent I pay 6 grands for a studio apartment (feeling jealous???). Well let me tell you some basic facts, I live in a place which would be approx. 150 sq ft. surrounded by fishermen and people who are loud for no valid and apparent reasons, sometimes the fish smell is so strong that I start believing that deodorants are a gift from God to humankind. All the coins in this world have flip sides I guess, but still I like this place. This gives me the space I always wanted in my life, the space that let my thoughts go wild, allows me to spend time with myself. Nobody can imagine the kind of feeling I get when I am home alone and it’s not a guy thing but it’s something very personal and spiritual or rather psychological... 

Oh teri… Aap bhi na mujhe bhula hi diya ki kya baat karni thi….

Haan, I was talking about onset of monsoons and the way people react to that… and I mean actual reactions not the status updates of the social networking sites and BBM (WTF)…
To begin with I was celebrating the monsoons with one of my closest friend Rehan watching TV and getting some memory drags… When it started to pour heavily like cats and dogs, we were enjoying a singing show on TV… I don’t know where Rehan gets these crazy ideas, he suddenly stood up, opened the window and almost drenched the TV, but he would never be worried since he cared a damn!!! He got out from the window and allowed the rainshowers to wet his head, he then turned back to me and gave me a weird smile… (No neither of us are GAY, yes but we are Happy) It was a smile that I was very familiar with it meant something crazy is going to happen and here he was, he asked me for the Keys of terrace.
I didn’t have them, since I shifted a week back I had no idea where or who does it rests with!! But it was Rehan with him its either his way or HIS way, there was no point in discussing with him the odds of finding the keys, so I stood up and got down to the Aunty who lives downstairs, I guessed she must have the Keys and Bingo!!! she had them, I got the Keys…
When I returned, I saw Rehan sitting on the mattress, he was busy folding his pants and he stood up and said “Chal be C***iye, Carter Jayenge, terrace pe baad mein jayenge”, I was standing still with nothing to say. I gave in and got myself my umbrella... (needless to say Rehan abused me for this too!!)

Mumbai - The way of LIFE
While we were going towards Carter road, I saw a couple of boys enjoying in the rains, I could feel their happiness it was radiant, I thought to let go of my umbrella and start dancing with them on the Dhinka Chika track (I told you the people here are loud), taking my shirt off as they had none but something resisted me, don’t know what.
We moved to some distance, I saw an old man sitting on the pavement of his house he reciprocated a different kind of happiness, he was happy to see the rains, he was a fisherman, Monsoons meant more fishes and more money to him and his family. There were many such cases of happy faces and gleaming eyes. But Rehan is not like me, he kept on moving in the rains enjoying every drop of it, I think I like him for this, he is fun, he knows what he wants and he enjoys his life by living every moment of it.
Finally we reached Carter road, it was a different world altogether there, lots of people all drenched, all enjoying the rains. I could see young girls dressed in hot pants and skirts flaunting their legs and voluptuous bodies to the sea as it almost touched the promenade. However, there were some guys also who were seemingly enjoying this along with the rains. Rehan moved ahead of me and reached the amphitheater and made himself comfortable there. I sat beside him, we were just sitting quietly and watching nothing, it was Carter Road you can look at nothing. (credits to Russel for this)
Then there came the other extreme of life - lavishness. She moved slow, she was sexy, water droplets all over the body, she was short but definitely curvy, it was a BMW ,I couldn’t notice the Model number but it sure must have been costly, cause the lady who was enjoying the rains from the roof top looked classy Page 3 woman. She showed a different kind of reception towards the monsoon, she gave a lovely smile to the person who was driving the car, I can’t say whether it was her husband or not, as I said she seemed like a Page 3 woman so nothing is there for her forever. But letting that aside she was very happy.
After this I realized that I had nothing to worry about, because in whichever strata of life I be in, I can be happy, it’s a different thing that the enjoyment will be of varied nature but who cares as Rehan says, “Kal ka hai woh maalik, aaj ka main hoon…”


let me know how you see the monsoons!!!