I was accommodated at my cousin’s place my first day in Mumbai – the commercial capital of India. Mumbai I discovered was a city of extremes. Extreme opulence and extreme paucity were distinguished by almost no boundaries. Tall buildings, heavy pollution and my, oh my, heavy traffic jams are THE characteristics that describe this city that many tag as “THE city to be in if you wanna taste SUCCESS”. As soon as I settled into my cousin’s small yet cozy living room and got into a lively conversation with them, I found that Mumbai had a “killer” real estate business. And I do mean that literally. The real estate prices were so high that individuals had to pay 50% of their five figured salary on rent and this is just the story for a 1 BHK. I was appalled and my heart went out to the hundreds of families living in “Jhoppadpattis”. Oh before I forget, still no tears. My cousin took my dad and me out for a spin with the inspection of my future hostel at the top of the agenda. The location of my hostel was named Bandra and is described as being a total chic “flick”. You know- actors, models, the like. Sachin Tendulkar, the God of Cricket, lives in Bandra. “SMIRK SMIRK” My office was in the second most expensive commercial hub in Mumbai – Bandra Kurla Complex. After trying to locate my office and failing miserably, we decided to scout for my hostel. We reached at the address given by the warden uneventfully and found ourselves in this whole other part of Mumbai. Green and quiet, I loved it almost as soon as I saw the locale (I wish I could have put my ridiculously big foot into my even bigger mouth). The hostel was at a walkable distance from the beach and the most sought after ECONOMIC, by which I mean road-side, shops. Well, the EXTERIOR of the hostel was nice, bright and cheery, so I went in with high hopes. My bad! The INTERIOR was dark and dingy and BLECH. But I was determined to not let my hopes down. The warden was a total *beep* and my dad agrees “GRIN”. She went on and on and on about rules and I could just about picture myself living in a hell- hole. But I resolved to be optimistic and signed myself in. We left the place after opti ng myself into a bunk bed.
We reached Goregaon (my cousin’s place) where my dad and the cousins fell into a conversation about this and that which left me alone with my thoughts. That’s when it all came crashing down on me. The change, the loneliness and then came the tears. Liquids have this way of gaining volume when acted upon by pressure and that’s exactly what happened with me. Once the tears started there was no way I could stop them. My cousins tried, my mom all the way over from CBE tried, my dad tried – for God’s sake, I tried too but nope – the tears kept flowing in. Then something happened. I realized that come next morning, I would be starting my career in something that I spent 4 years of my life preparing for. I switched into “nervous” mode. Tears would have been so much better. All said and done, I convinced myself to fall asleep so that I can have a fresh start the next day.
Next day, bright and sunny, nothing amiss except for the fact that I seemed to have misplaced my heart in my mouth. We (my dad, cousin and I) set out early to finish the office hunt before I became the first person in the world to reach office late on his very first day. An hour later, my dad and I were welcomed by the security at my office entrance and given ID cards for use inside the office. My dad and I spoke in hushed voices when this trio sitting before broke into loud conversations. I hadn’t known then that I had just seen my future DADA in the company - the small, lanky, IIM-A graduate with a thing for chicks – Mohit. More about him, later, probably.
Then came the time where I had to bid my dad adieu and I was heralded into something called a “Huddle Room” and was asked to fill bundles of forms. Apparently, my first day would involve a lot of texts. I had no idea what I was gonna do for my lunch when the person who interviewed me showed up at the door. Vipul told me that I was to join him for lunch and I tagged along. In the lift lobby, I met Swati, my future confidante and sister figure. I called her “ma’am” (habit from college) and Vipul, sir and I was promptly shushed by both. I had my first lunch with my team mates (which I was unaware of then) and my boss, Vipul (again, dint have the slightest idea) at Hyatt.
Hyatt was the kind of hotel I had only seen in movies. It took me a lot of time to drink in my surroundings. The lunch buffet was exquisite but Italian, so I satisfied myself with dessert. Oh and the funny thing was, when everybody got up to load up their plates for the main course, I got up to leave thinking that the lunch was done; having never had a four course meal in my life. Our meals usually consist of rice and gravy and some pickles or vegetables, etc. Embarrassing!! This gave me the cue that Swati and I were gonna hit it off. What happened, Swati and I, will take to our graves. *SHINY GRIN*
After lunch, it was back to the office. And Vandana showed me around the office and escorted me to my very own “Workstation” which means my desk. I loved it. It had my name on it. Yayy!! For the first few days, or atleast till I got my laptop, I was advised to polish my networking skills. The rest is silence.
That’s how eventful my first day went. My dad left to CBE, my home sweet home, the next day. And poor me, was left to stew my feelings in that God forbidden hostel which I must say, was built to torture girls. The rooms were small and dingy and I don’t even wanna get started on the bathrooms. I missed my cozy room like hell when I almost lost my finger to the ceiling fan which hovered dangerously over my head (I had the top bunk). I loved my office and my colleagues and couldn’t wait to reach office every morning (could you blame me with my other option being the TORTURE CHAMBER?) Nine days after I booked into the hostel, I decided to call it quits there. Refund or no refund, I was getting out of there. That’s when I moved into my nine month PG room at Andheri. It was a lovely locale and the room where I owned half a bed and a cupboard and bathroom was much better than the TORTURE CHAMBER.
I got myself settled in over a period of time and weekends found me exploring Mumbai to the extent of Elephanta Caves. HA! Why that’s a big deal? Cuz even Mumbaikaars haven’t been there! My b’day that year is the most depressing b’day I have ever had. No family, no friends and sick in bed. No gifts, no cards, nothing – ZILCH. But I got over it and moved on. August 15, Indian Independence Day was also my Independence Day cuz I finally went home, BY FLIGHT, for the first time after 2 months. And it was heavenly. It was like a much needed “spa vacation”. Meanwhile, back in the office I had been given a project which required my travels to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and the like to meet customers and familiarize myself with the business and the like. And during my travels might I mention, I met Namitha (the south Indian actress of Billa fame), Tamanna (of Paiyaa fame), Manju Warrier (from the Mallu film industry) and a few others.
Meanwhile Swati and I were hitting it off and I had made some real good friends too. Unmesh was like THE guy I knew who could tell you anything about Mumbai. And I hit it off with him as well. And my social networking skills paid off as I eventually made a whole bunch of friends in Mumbai – be it the next door neighbor or the gym instructor.
December, the month where I travelled abroad for the first time in my life, will always remain
close to my heart. I had always thought that my first international visit would be to US or the UK but it was in fact to China. It was for a couple of days of training and I was all hyped about it. Shanghai is one of the most fascinating cities in the world. The infrastructure is simply mind-boggling. The weather was gelid and forced me to wrap myself in layers but I loved it. The only problem was the many different forms of non-vegetarian food that they served there and I hence chose to eat my Ready-To-Eat meals and smoking samosas that they served at Radisson, New World. Nanjing road is THE place to be in. From yummy Haagen-Dazs to steaming Starbucks coffees to street performances, you name it and you can
find it on the Nanjing Road walkway. I spent two of the evenings taking a stroll down the Nanjing road walkway enjoying the cold and taking in the culture and indulging myself in hot mochas from Starbucks loaded with chocolate and Haagen Dazs’ ice creams, eventhough the temperature was like 2 degrees. The Huangpu River separating Pudong and Puxi was exquisite and so well lit. The river is a divide between the modern Pudong and the archaic Puxi and the Pudong skyline at night was so worth the near-frostbite that I got. Being almost Christmas time, everywhere I turned I could see beautiful Christmas trees that 
escalated the joy and warmth of the season. The specialty of China is I think the fact that they served Corn juice like they serve water in India –an unlimited and a much welcomed pre-drink. I could just go on and on about China but I will zip it.
Now Hong Kong strangely didn’t ensnare my interest at all. On the contrary, I found Hong Kong a lot like Mumbai except for the Laser Show which was simply out of this world. And the metro system – WOW. I could sing praises for it and still not be able to put it in the right perspective. Its 
so neat and clean and organized and fast. Get this: the HK airport is on the sea or something and to get to the airport from the city you gotta take a metro which is dedicated to commuters to and from the airport only AND you can check in your baggage at the metro station and quit worrying about it till after you get down from the plane at your destination. Cool, hanh?? I should mention this ,being a frequent air traveler, there are no stupid baggage tags that you have to attach to your carry in bags which is a huge relief and the security check is over in a ZAP. AND there is a Disney store at the airport (I was drooling all over the store, sigh). Oh and the chocolates – lip smackingly heavenly. Aji Ichiban is the most popular candy and chocolate store
in HK and they have every kind of 
chocolate and candy in every different kind of shape and size and colour. When I returned to India I had some holiday weight on me and Aji Ichiban – totally responsible for that. “GOOFY GRIN” All good things must come to an end and so did my China
trip. I was back in India before I even knew it but somehow I found that I had missed the place.
My work was going as enjoyable as ever. When my landlord at my PG started creating ruckus and I called it quits there as well and decided that it was high time that I had gotten an apartment on my own where I can cook and clean up after myself and thus ended up in a cozy little place in Borivali west. February flew by so fast that I began to doubt if I was sleep walking. And now it’s March of 2011. I survive in this fast moving city that I have come to know and LOVE (there, I have said it), cooking on my own, reading books, hanging out with friends, travelling around and working my ass off while loving it.
That’s about my stint in Mumbai as of now and looking forward to more adventures as long as I am here. Of course, I miss my friends but that doesn’t stop me from making new ones. Thanks to all my colleagues and friends and their families who have made my life in Mumbai from “EAAAAGH” to “BRING IT ON”.
After 10 months, here goes my status update:
1) Waking up to the sound of pigeons “coo-ing” outside my window.
2) Breakfast made with my own hands – however measly it is.
3) A brisk walk to the bus stop – briefly stopping to get my hand licked by this adorable Great Dane who is as tall as I am.
4) An hour in the freezing AC bus catching up with my reading or unfinished naps “WINK”
5) 9 hours at the office doing something I love with the people I love.
6) Another hour in the AC bus – this time drooling and snoring – never realizing that my mouth is agape the whole way.
7) A stroll back to my apartment greeted by countless cats (there is a fish market on the way to my place).
8) A nice hot cup of tea.
9) Stress relieving hour at the gym.
10) Some Facebooking and reading and/or writing, etc.
11) Dinner – the South Indian way.
12) A wonderful 8 hour sleep.
13) Loving it, loving it and LOVING IT!!!
THE END
