A Road Trip Of My Own

Note: The following events took place over a period of ten hours and covered five malls spread across central Mumbai.

I was suffering from a dry spell of movies and in general entertainment. The last movie I watched was Dum Maro Dum (duh!) in a nondescript theater in Gandhinagar. After months of wasting away my weekends simply sleeping(who feels to step out in the rains and get drenched and smell musty all day?) , we made a plan to watch Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Although it did appear to belong to the live-your-life-to-the-fullest genre of movies which I completely detest, but the idea of having Hrithik, Farhan and Abhay as serious eye candy seemed too appealing to resist.

At around eleven, I left for the railway station only to realise that the Mega Block had begun, leaving me with no option but to take the bus. It goes without saying that I hate travelling by bus- the smoke, dust, smelly seat and an irritated conductor is not something you would look forward to. The bus screeched to a halt after I waited for more than thirty minutes, but not before slathering me with mud. My very own Tomatino festival happened right there.

After managing to get a window seat, I was unceremoniously asked to vacate it after a not-so-senior uncle pointed that the seat is reserved for senior citizens, leaving me flustered. After what seemed like an hour, I got down and started racing towards the station, almost got run over by a nasty bus with an equally nasty driver only to realise the train has been cancelled. Grrrrr-1.

Somehow I managed to reach Thane and joined my friends in an auto and headed to Korum Mall. Midway, I was told there were no tickets available so we steered the auto to Eternity Mall. No luck there too. I felt like the biggest idiot expecting to get my hands on six tickets on a Sunday in a multiplex. Bah.

Still not losing hope, we reached RMall, Mulund only to realise the female ahead of us had snagged the last five precious tickets. Next stop Nirmal Lifestyles and I am at risk of sounding repetitive. Tired, the guys finally decided to give Dreams, Bhandup a try before giving up and we were asked to stay back to avoid the whole headache of travelling.

Fufmil was apparently our bodyguard *laughs violently* and he warned us to not get all girly and irritate him. A minute later he was scampering off to catch up with the guys only because I said I craved for an ice cream. Guys, really. *rolls her eyes*

Finally, finally we managed to get tickets and it was worth all the trouble. We had the front seats which meant tilting our head in awkward angles to see clearly and involved noisy seat adjustments. We managed to embarrass fellow movie-goers with non-veg jokes and raucous laugh. It was a good day, that is all I can say. A good day after so many forgettable days.

First Steps

A lot has happened since I returned back to Mumbai. You know that saying about life balancing out everything? It seems to be so true. I managed to get a wonderful project with the downside of spending four hours in travelling. Thankfully, I do not have to face the wrath of rush hour since I leave for office pretty early and arrive home equally late.

This goes without saying that the weekends now have the status of festivals- sacred, brief and highly revered. I am now a miser when it comes to spending time on chores and meeting people, much to the agony of relatives and friends.

Sadly, I am yet to perfect the art of time management considering how pressed for time I usually am. The to-do list is hardly glanced at in the course of the day and as a consequence most of the items remain unchecked.

Oh, did I tell you about the rush of feel-good hormones on seeing the salary arrive in your account? Knowing that you are financially independent is a huge reassurance altogether especially when you have striven for four years to achieve it.

I know my writing might seem a bit haywire but I am pouring my random thoughts together with the hope it makes some sense to you. I believe writing things down is the best way to take stock of your life, it gives you a third-person dimension to your perception about the proceedings of life and may help me chalk out a plan for future. Till then, I shall go with the flow hoping that whatever happens is for the best.

I can' t continue....

.. with the rest of the chapters. I had it all written in my office email drafts but when the mailbox moved to another server, the folder was empty. I do not have the courage to write down eight more posts and I believe it would not be as good as the original.

Sorry readers, I shall write on other topics but not Gujarat diaries. But here is a brief account of my stint away from home :

The training schedules redefined the word 'hectic' for me. I was intimidated by the enormity of the organisation I was working for and the struggle I would have to undergo to create a niche for myself. Strangely though, I was not getting as worked up as I normally would have.

Hostel was the best and the worst thing that happened to me. Best because of the freedom it gave me and worst because of the resulting addiction to free life. I enjoyed the luxury of going out for a walk without having to think of a suitable reason, something that I never had the chance to enjoy. I am a full blown gambler now thanks to the numerous nights spent playing cards and inventing silly rules.

It is comforting to be in a place where people are as lost as you. We were a bunch of two hundred people seeking friends and familiarity, in spite of knowing that we won't ever meet most of them once we move out of the hostel. But I am still hopeful of bumping into a few of them, someday.

I got allocated to Mumbai just when I was getting sick of the food and the heat and the next thing I remember is leaving the hostel with a lot of memories, a few of them unfortunately tainted with misgivings. I hate goodbyes and this one I hated the most because it was saying good bye to a life which was different- not happy, not sad but different. I still have a long way to go, but I shall always remember this phase as the one in which I realized why it is necessary to prioritize everything in life- events, decisions and people as well.

It has been two months since I moved back to my city and it feels as if I never left. As I alighted from the train, I was silently reciting the timings of the trains I usually took. My hibernating senses helped me recognize the sights and sounds I grew up with. And I felt so....alive. Mumbai, I am back. And I am loving it.