Live by the Sea -Notes from Mumbai

{The Bed in our Room : Pleasant Blue-shaded Pure Khadi Bed spread is from Fab India- Colaba. Priced at Rs.1200 . Lemon Yellowish & Deep Copper Bluish Tiny Pillows are from Aneesa’s collection. Her Stuffed doll- The Lion, Leo, and my stuffed doll – The Middle-East Peasant doll, gifted by Munny….All the images are captured, spontaneously, by Nokia-N series}

But the little things they make me so happy
All I want to do is live by the sea
Little things they make me so happy
But it’s good it’s good it’s good to be free…….(Oasis) 

I’ve always thought
that I would love to live by the sea
To travel the world alone
and live more simply……{Dido}

When I told my close friends that I, finally, for the first time ever in my life, decided to move out of my cocoon to work in one of the largest and top-rated advertising agencies in   Mumbai, the cosmopolitan city with an indomitable spirit (sounds familiar, isn’t it? Most of us do not even hesitate a bit to reiterate this much-bandied-about term that differentiates Mumbai from other cities in India), their response was miles away from being encouraging, i.e. “you, a South Indian by DNA, can’t survive the highly competitive life. You are not a pachyderm, your intelligence does not work there. Those smart asses, further reinforced by long limbs and treacherous seductive smiles will gobble you up…”, “you have no rigorous individually designed strength to face those unavoidable bouts of loneliness which come and slap one violently across each cheek before disappearing. You may turn suicidal…”.

I did not raise any riotous carnival against this, but remained silent and adamant over my decision to move to – the city which is rated the 7^th dirtiest city, a majority of its population remains insensitive to the world around on almost all kinds of occasions, with the deadly, invincible monsoon rains being the exception, when the whole Mumbai world, collectively, gathers the strength to rise out of the testing season, the city which continues to be the hot-bed of excitement and career enhancement in Advertising Industry. Well, I survived, and feel good about self for being a lot more disciplined, and levelheaded to the rigmarole of everyday life in this city. It feels great to take care of self, to feel responsible for self and ensuring everything so that the system works like a well-oiled machine, a sense of pride for managing things on my own without being dependent on anyone. The other big factor, “Urban Loneliness”, which everyone talks about, did not hit me hard, as I am highly-conditioned to enjoy many a pleasure of solitude – feel comfortable with self, instead of being emotionally dependent on others or the society that one likes to move around with.  I feel, I lead a far more comfortable life than most others {considering those who live in the slums and shanty clusters) who struggle through the energetic pace of life, the resultant stress, inferior quality of life, the unhygienic environment filled with dirt and grime, the deafening clamor of urban existence (I don’t want to say Life, at this point of time). I watch them silently and admiringly, blending with others, to form a huge invincible territory with a tag “CROWD” and fight with other CROWDS for a foothold in the devices on which the city thrives – local trains, from the taxi I travel in everyday…. It is, indeed, a stimulating sight! The evening mandi sights relatively are more endearing…. Old women, middle-aged women and men display and sell the daily fruits, vegetables and other merchandise in a roadside stand, or in the space created between the pavements and the road. I love the hustle and bustle of buyers of daily produce (Modern Retail formats like Reliance Fresh, Subhiksha, and other upcoming ambitious Retail brands including the ruthless EDLP Always giant Wal-Mart have no room for the Indians’ penchant for bargaining, striking conversations while buying essentials for their homes? Bargaining and negotiating on price, quality etc, as moms and dads do, is an admirable trait, which, we the younger generation always want to get a grasp of …Biyani’s Big Boxes may come closer to the ethnic milieu, to some extent….), the colors around, the artificial lights coming up, the lingering intense smell of certain fruits, the dust, the earthiness, the garbage filled with wrappers of all kind, the all-encompassing and all-inclusive Sweat journeying, effortlessly and silently,  from its origin – a human source to the other of the same kind, only to mingle and grow more intense and thick, the daily wage laborers, the rag pickers, the restaurant boys, groups of children in dirty rags, embodying naivety across playing around, the irreverent street language with a defined tone ….

 

{The stuffed doll, belongs to Aneesa, finally, got a thourough bath. And he, here, is seen enjoying the Sunday sun, hanging from the window, to the max}  {One of those Middle-east stuffed dolls, which Munny gave me, provided some kind of comfort when I felt a bit lonely….well, of course, my books!}

am fortunate enough to find a comforting place by the seaside – to follow the moods of the grey-colored Arabian sea, across the window, which usually laps gently at the rocks {it does get into its exciting outbursts of mumblings, at times….} and lull to sleep by the relentless incoherent musical mumblings of the sea, every night…. . Coming to terms with a vibrant new city that I travelled to, earlier, frequently, but never stayed for longer than a few hours (most times). Staying far away from the Cocoon, Mom and Dad for the first time ever in my life. Waking up to a fresh morning feeling the absence of Genie and his soft and comforting presence……a glimpse of tastefully {minimalist) laid  out bed by Aneesa {gorgeous young woman, a fabulous human to the core} and self….. the city grows on you and a few strangers-turned-good friends did make the move seem easier….and Aneesa definitely features in that set   

  {my walking-companion by the sea…}

 {Our Sunday Lunch} a starved stomach, usually,

does not pounce on the food, It enjoys the smell and sight of a simple, healthy yet delicious food. …………..one more interesting life like insight – when you are in the company of a bewitchingly beautiful company of a woman, like my roomie (I acquired a new pet name – The Clown) or the snooty-n- snobbish handsome man who I sat next to, in the morning flight to Delhi, who urged the sophisticated lady with a generous beaming smile walking across the aisle, to “top-up” his coffee, repeatedly, you tend to lose both state of mind and presence of mind. I admit, beautiful people weave some kind of inexplicable influence on other mortals, and the victimised mortals, under which, tend to get clumsier and portray some other act, which could be hilarious, a bit embarassing…..Delhi’s landscape is going through the fag end of the winter

 {Delhi trip…I saw many of such leafless trees, fully covered with Crimson Red flowers. And they certainly are not soulless, they are so beautiful.  I felt the temptation, as usual, to stop and collect the twigs and fallen flowers. Should thank Nilanjana and the cabbie for entertaining my request.}..A closer shot of this flower….