Day 6 - The Wet Mumbai

It rained all night and when I woke up at 8:30, all I could see was lush green surroundings and heavy rains. Yes, it was raining. Cousin told me that this is how it rains here.

The title of the post is a bit cheesy, but it has got nothing to do with what you are thinking right now. Mumbai is known for its rains and every year people here look forward to it. Rains brings joy to the city, the whole aura of this place changes in monsoon which would soothe you in an unexplainable way. With rains, comes some problems too, water logging, a hideous stench, traffic jams and Mumbai Locals comes to a halt when it pours heavily here. It happened today also.

Rains can be depressing at times too. They can take you back to those days which you would not want to remember. Happened with me too this morning. Was a bit upset but then it is how it is. You have to live with it.

I had no plans for today. I thought I will make sudden plans and execute them and that's what I did. After having breakfast, I took another nap and post that decided to visit IIT-Bombay. A friend is doing post-graduation there and I also knew 3 professors here, out of which 2 were out of town and 1 gave me time to meet him.

Every science student who wants to be an engineer dreams of getting into an IIT. They are the best in the country in every domain, be its education, faculty, infrastructure, co-curricular activities etc.  I also dreamt of getting into an IIT but wasn't lucky enough. But no regrets there. I am happy with what I have.

I left my house around 2 and took an auto to IIT campus. It is very close to the place I live. Met my friend Uday there. I have known Uday since my school days. We used to study together in coaching classes. Uday showed me around the whole campus and took me to Student's Activity Center, where I met a couple of people and discussed a few things with them that turned into something productive for me.

The whole IIT campus is lush green and you would instantly fall in love with the place. It is one of the most reputed education centers of India. After seeing the main building and various other departments and labs, I went to meet the professor I know there. This is for the first time I was meeting him. Ever since I had known him, we had either exchanged e-mails or had talked over phone. He showed me around his department and we had a chit-chat about his current research based project. He invited me for a lunch tomorrow but I had to refuse because I already have plans for tomorrow. 

 
I thought after visiting IIT, I would go to watch Gangs of Wasseypur but it was too late for me. I decided to head back towards home. Met Uday again and he dropped me to the main gate of the campus and I came back home and took another nap.

Woke up in the evening and made a few phone calls here and there. Got the news that petrol prices are decreasing by Rs.2.46. I was starving so I decided to take a walk near Powai lake again. The place despite being on a busy road offers calmness. But then sudden change of plans and I decided to take a walk in the park adjacent to Chandivali Lake and go to the nearby market.

While walking down in the market, I saw a street food joint and I thought let's try how good is street food here. I have already had Vada Pav and I instantly fell in love with it. Today I tried paani puri, bhel puri and Sandwich. They were quite okay, but not as good as we get them in Delhi. The street food disappointed me.Delhi wins hands down when it comes to street food. Quenched my thirst with fresh coconut water and came back home.

The day was a bit lousy but I caught up with much needed rest and sleep. Had a chit-chat with sister and she told me that its too hot to survive in Delhi. I just hope by the time I reach there, weather gets back to normal. The heat should just go away now.

Now last two days of my visit to Mumbai are left and I am gonna make most of them. I wanted to catch up with the night life of the city but I guess I will have to come back again to experience it. Meeting more people tomorrow over lunch and dinner. Might not be able to update my blog tomorrow.

Till the next one.  

-
Yatin

Day 5 : The Raw Mumbai

As usual, I am here again with more updates about my visit to Mumbai. This city has not disappointed me in anyway till now. The day was totally planned and would have taken a toll on me by the end of it, but something happened and whole planning went for a toss, else I would have been at Marine Drive at this house and writing this post. Anyways, happens.

Today, finally I managed to wake up late. Yesterday was too tiring and I have a peaceful sleep. Honestly saying, I was actually looking forward to today because I was about to meet a person whom I had always wanted to meet since I got in touch with him on twitter. Somehow managed to wake up at 8 A.M and then lazed around a bit. My phone kept constantly ringing since then. People back home are missing my presence and it was very evident. I am sure some mess is waiting for me there.

Since days, I was constantly getting SMSes from the person whom I was about to meet in the noon. It felt like I am going for some business meeting because they were very particular. Finally somehow I managed to drag myself out of the bed, took a shower, had breakfast, got ready and I was all set to leave the house. Sun was too harsh today that gave me a clue, today is gonna be bad bad bad day coz it gonna be too humid.

Today I had to meet another twitter person with the handle ( @oongalbaaz ) and I address him as Adnan bhaijaan. A well educated, well read, opinionated and witty guy who runs his own business in this city of dreams and his goals and fundas about everything are quite clear. We decided to meet up at VT or CST station at dot 1:15 P.M.

Ever since I planned to come to Mumbai, I always thought of traveling in Mumbai Locals. People keep cribbing about how crowded they during office hours and stuff, but let me tell you its same everywhere. When we talk about Delhi Metro, the conditions are exactly same during office hours. You hardly get a place to stand when you go from Kashmeeri Gate to Gurgaon. In my opinion, Delhi Metro is nothing but a sophisticated and more organised version of Mumbai local.

I decided to take a Mumbai Local today to CST station. It was for the first time that I was traveling alone in it. Nervousness, excitement and anxiety was there. I reached Vikhroli station around noon, got my coupons punched for CST and I was all set to board the train. Saw the signages and the digital display boards and figured out from where I will get my train. The moment I reached the platform, train was there, figured out the second class and boarded the train. Quite a cakewalk it was.

After some 40 mins or something, I reached CST station and got out of the station premises on the side where they have this beautiful building which is the BMC (Bombay Municipal Corporation)  office. Made a few calls and after some 10 mins, Adnan bhai dressed in a blue jeans and mustard coloured shirt was there. He is much older, but looked younger than me. :P

After greeting each other, we strolled towards the place where he wanted to take me. Cafe Britannia, its an 89 year old parsi cafe situated at Central Mumbai. We got a cab and it dropped us there in no time. The first impression that you would get after seeing the cafe is that its shabby coz the owners have not renovated it from years. After waiting for some 5-10 mins, we were allowed to sit inside the cafe. I looked around and saw that his place has been awarded with several awards such as Kingfisher's award and Times food award etc. Another thing that I noticed about the cafe is, the owners are obsessed with Queen and the Royal family of the great Britain. You can see their pictures placed on the walls of the cafe. Adnan bhai shared some trivia about the place.

Adnan bhai wanted to show me the raw side of Mumbai, thats why he had brought me to this cafe and I am glad he did. The food was yummy, specially berry pulao. Loved it. Over a scrumptious meal and ice-cold fresh lime soda, we discussed about a lot many things, and specially about our endless arguments and leg pulling on twitter. Off twitter, we get along really well.

For desserts, Adnan bhai had some other plans. He took me to Bhindi Bazaar after that. We took a cab and in some 15 mins, we reached there. Bhindi Bazaar is one place where you would get to see the raw side of Mumbai or I should say Bombay. Bhaijaan told me that the underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim has his house there in the bazaar. Quite intimidating that was. He took me to a sweet shop named Suleman Usman Mithaiwaala and ordered a mithai named "Aflatoon" which is quite funny as the name of a sweet.

Aflatoon is basically this super rich halwa which comes in the form of small cakes. It was yummy. Sugar was just perfect, light as I like it and full of dry fruits. Superb it was. After finishing that he took me to another shop to try something else i.e. Kesari Phirni. Initially I said no for it but when I saw that yellow frozen phirni in a clay dish, I couldn't say no. It looked yummy and tasted even better. Its basically a kheer which is made up of "Sama Chawal" but definitely super rich and creamy. Finishing up that small quantity of Phirni was quite a task for me but I managed it somehow. Both the items are a must try if you have never tried them.

After this, Adnan bhai showed me Taj Publishers, who are known as the largest producers of Quran in India. I have always wanted to read Quran to know what actually Islam preaches because I feel that its always debatable. So, I asked Adnan bhai if I can get a hindi translation of it, he said yes and in no time, he bought me a copy of it. That was one his gifts that he gave me today. The other things were a beautiful bottle of "Itra" ( Natural Scent) and a pen with my name inscribed on it. (The only personalized thing that I posses now) . I am never gonna use both these gifts because they are special in their own way.

That made me feel really special. Thanks bhaijaan, I am sure you are reading this one :)

Very soon, I am gonna start another blog which would be all about my interpretation of Quran. I dont know how good I will be with understanding the things said in it, but I will try my level best.

After that, Adnan bhai showed me a few other places and later texted me their names so that I can include all of them in this post

1. Apollo Bunder

2. Minara Masjid which looked beautiful.

3. Md. Ali Road.

We also crossed Haj House where all the meetings of the Haj Committee of India happens, Musafirkhana and Manish Market on our way back to VT station. We chit chatted a bit before Adnan Bhai left and I felt like someone very close and dear to me was leaving. Felt bad. Wish could spend some more time with him.

From there, I had plans to meet Jatin (@TheSlumDawg) at Girgaum Chowpatty, and post that I had to meet some other twitter friends at Leopold Cafe. I took a cab from VT to Girgaum chowpatty and waited for Jatin to come. Got a call from the person with whom I am here to meet in Mumbai. He called me up at Powai which is quite far from chowpatty b. With an upset mind, I had to cancel all the plans for the evening, called up everyone else but very close to my place including Jatin and apologised for ruining their plans. Straightaway took a cab to Powai that crossed Bandra Worli Sea Link and made it to the meeting. I have almost got what I was here for in Mumbai so I am actually happy and satisfied today. My sole purpose to be in Mumbai got fulfilled today. Came back home, slept for a while. Called up parents and told them everything.

So, that's what I did today. It was surely another memorable day where I think I have earned a person for the rest of my life. Tomorrow I have no plans, so will just roam around here and there or may be a ride in Mumbai Local at peak hours :D

Till the next one, Ciao

-

Yatin

Day 4 : The Spiritual Mumbai

Hola! 

Here I am back again. Too tired to blog honestly because I had a long long long but an AWESOME & MEMORABLE day.  

Back home, when I was reading about places to visit in Mumbai, I realized that the city has got a lot to offer when it comes to spirituality. So, at that time only I decided that I am gonna visit the following places in a single day : 

1. Siddhivinayak Mandir 

2. Haji Ali Dargah

3. Mahaluxmi Mandir

4. Mumba Devi Mandir

and my twitter friend Ajit ( @Ajitwrites ) asked me to not to miss out the ISKCON temple of Juhu and Madhusmita ( @JustMadhusmita ) was very keen on me visiting the Mount Mary Church. So, I decided I would add both these places to my list too. 

Yesterday when I was with Dheera ( @Dheera_ ), she asked me about my plans for today and when I told her, she said that she would try and join me and Rishika but would confirm today morning. Yesternight only, she BBMed me saying that she is on for today and that added to the excitement. Dheera also offered that she would take us to all the places as she knows the city quite well.  

Today morning, Rishika's plan got changed and she decided to watch the latest bollywood flick playing "Gangs Of Wasseypur" . I was a bit upset about the fact that she would not be with us, but its okay. Dheera and me decided to meet near Gold Spot Factory in Andheri around 1 P.M. 

After having breakfast and all, I was talking to my mamaji and mamiji as they were leaving for Jaipur tonight. Right now they are on their way to Jaipur. So, I told them that I would definitely come with them to the station and will be back home by 9:00 P.M. 

So, got ready and left home at 12:30 dot and took an auto-rickshaw to the decided place and at exact 1 I met her. We were all set to roll and as per Hindu rituals we decided to begin our tour with Ganesh Ji. 

While on our way to Siddhivinayak, Dheera told me that we would be taking the Bandra Worli Sea Link or Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link to go to the temple. I was so excited about the fact. It took almost 9 years to make this sea link and it looks AWESOME. That 7 Km drive is sheer pleasure but the toll tax that you have to pay to use it is quite high (Approx Rs.82 including return, if I am not wrong) . As soon as we entered the sea link, I was mesmerized. You get to see a whole new look of the city from that Sea Link. Every penny and each second you spend on it is totally worth it.

Sea has always been special to Mumbai. I feel its the Sea only that makes Mumbai what it is. Every city has its own pros and cons but it is all about how you take it.

Siddhivinayak Mandir :

Ganpati Bappa Morya!!! 

So, from the sea link we directly drove towards the temple in about 10 mins we reached there. Dheera was worried about where to park her car but we got lucky that we got a proper parking place. As soon as we were about to come out of the car, rains started. Mumbai rains are very unpredictable. We decided to wait for a few minutes and it was worth it. Rains stopped. Tuesday is considered as the day of Ganpati at Siddhivinayak. I was told by my cousin that it would take around 3-4 hours for me to have darshan there. But it hardly took 30 mins for me and Dheera to go inside and come out and had almost PERFECT darshan there. I think Ganpati Bappa made some special arrangements for me only. On that note, I would like to say it again

GANPATI BAPPA MORYA !!!!

Haji Ali Dargah : 

Straight from Siddhivinayak temple, we headed towards Haji Ali. Its right in the middle of the sea and you have to walk through a special bridge sort of a path to reach there. As there was no parking space available, me and Dheera decided to park her car in a mall and took a cab for Haji Ali. We went inside the area from where that path starts and got some flowers and other things to offer to Baba Haji Ali. As soon as we started walking towards mosque, we observed that it was high tide and as it was hitting that path, the sea water was all over it. Quite a mesmerizing scene it was. Suddenly, in no time, it started raining heavily. We both were in the middle of that path and had nowhere to go. THE VIEW THOSE RAINS OFFERED WAS MIND BOGGLING. Honestly, I had never seen such a beautiful view in my entire life.You get the whole view of the city from that path and while its raining, the city looked majestic. Dheera and Me had goosebumps, we were totally drenched and high tides of the sea played a role in that along with the rains. As soon as we entered the mosque, it stopped raining. Haji Ali Baba welcomed me in his own style and showed me his city in a completely different light. Offered my prayers and then we came back to the mall. Filled ourselves with Mc'Donalds burger and hot coffee and we were all set for our next destination.

Mahaluxmi Temple :

Mahaluxmi temple was a disappointment. We couldn't get a parking space there so we decided to go inside the temple and offer our prayers from outside only. But I will try and visit this temple again in coming days.

Mumba Devi Mandir : 

On our way to Mumba Devi, Dheera showed me the world's costliest building "Antilla" built by Mukesh Ambani. The building is an epitome of modern architecture. On our way, Dheera was telling me about her life and stories about different places, bollywood celebrities etc. We entered that area which was set up by Britishers. Crossed Mumbai University which has got amazing architecture. Mumbai police headquaters and many other place. We also crossed Jahangir Art gallery, Marine Drive on our way to the temple. Finally we reached near Mumba Devi and parked our car and decided to walk down towards the temple. Mumba Devi temple is located in the heart of Zaveri Bazaar ( The jewellery market of Mumbai). After a 15 minute walk we reached the temple, offered our prayers and came back. While on our way back, we crossed Marine Drive, Worli Sea Face and again Bandra Worli Sea Link and entered Bandra.

Mount Mary Church : 

Mount Mary Church is one of the oldest churches of Mumbai. Actor John Abraham lives very close to this church. It has got a beautiful architecture. When we entered the church, we were mesmerized by its beauty. It offered the much needed peace of mind that a person looks for at the end of a long tiring day. We sat there for a few minutes, offered our prayers to the almighty and left the church.

The last destination left was ISCKON temple Juhu, but before that Dheera decided to show me Shah Rukh Khan's house Mannat at Bandstand which is in Bandra only. Mannat is a very beautiful property and too many people were standing outside expecting SRK to come out and wave to them. Right opposite to Mannat, there is Bandstand beach. You can see all the couples in love sitting their and chatting. One of the nicest things about Mumbai is "Nobody cares what the other person is up to" unlike Delhi, where your neighbor knows much more about you than you know about yourself. No one really cares and likes other interfering in one's business.

So, we drove on the road right next to Bandstand beach and headed towards Juhu. Dheera told me that too many bollywood celebs live in Bandra and you can spot them every now and then. She also showed me former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen's house too.

ISKCON Temple, Juhu : 

ISKCON stands for International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Honestly, their temples are the most organized and clean temples you would find anywhere. With the help of Google Maps, we located the temple and finally reached it. It was around 6:45 P.M when we reached there, parked our car and went inside. I have been to many ISKCON temples since I was a child, but Dheera was going there for the first time. She was mesmerized by the beautifully dressed idols of gods and goddesses and the paintings that were done on the walls. After spending like 15 mins in the temple we left for Andheri.

Dheera finally dropped me at Juhu Circle, where I had to wait for almost 20 minutes to cross the road. Finally somehow I managed it and waited for another 10 minutes to get a cab to return home. My mamaji and mamiji had to leave for Jaipur tonight so me and cousin decided to drop them at Bombay Central Station. Anyhow, I had to reach home by 9:00 P.M so I asked Cab driver that I will pay you extra if you drop me home by 9:00. The driver was from U.P and we exchanged a few words. I also told him that I am from U.P so he got all nostalgic. He somehow managed to drop me home at 8:45 and when I offered him extra money, he refused by saying "Aap toh apne area ke ho, aapse extra nahin lunga". So nice of him.

I reached home, dry cleaned myself for the next task of the day. We all  had decided to take Local from Kanjur Marg Station which is close to the place where I am staying. We took a slow local till Dadar which is on the Central line and then changed our line to Western Line and reached BCT (Bombay Central Terminus). After dropping them at the station, while on our way back I had a Vada Pav (Yes, I am in love with it) and somehow by 11:30 we managed to reach home. My cousin was sharing his experiences with the Mumbai Local when he was new in the city.

So, that was all about how I spent my day today. What I observed today is there is vast faith in God in the heart of every human being but sadly religions have divided it. I know I am touching a controversial topic here, but  honestly, I dont believe in religions and all. We humans are much above than this whole religion system and high time people realize it and stop ridiculing each other on the name of religion.

So, thats all for today. I have another long day waiting for me tomorrow and my eyelids are getting really heavy now, so no proof reading for this post and excuse me for all the grammatical and spelling mistakes.

Signing Off.

-
Yatin

Day 3 : The Workaholic Mumbai ...

The kind of responses that I am getting for this whole travelogue is amazing. I am too tired to write but would still do it because back home my sister wants to read what I did today. Had a long tiring day, but yes a memorable one. 

As usual, morning started a bit early, woke up at 6:30 and took a stroll in the nearby park. Came back and packed my bag pack and I was all set to see the workaholic Mumbai. 

No offense to anyone, but I guess but this song "Dauda Dauda Bhaaga Bhaaga Sa" song from the famous Kamal Hassan movie Chachi 420 perfectly defines how Mumbaikars run on working days. As usual my guide for Mumbai Darshan, Rishika had to join me and we fixed the meeting point as Kurla Station. I left my place at 9:30, took an auto rickshaw from to the station and Rishika took a local from her place. We decided to meet at Kurla at around 10:30. 

I keenly observed people on the streets on the way. Everyone was in some kind of strange rush. Well, then I realized that fact that it's MONDAY today. Probably the most cursed day of the week. MONDAY BLUES #YouRemember ? Enroute from Powai to Kurla, I called up Adnan Bhai ( @oongalbaaz ) to wish him and then focused on the roads. Buses, Auto Rickshaws, Pedestrians, all of them were in hurry so that they can report as their respective workplaces on time. It felt like, their boss is singing "Bhaag Dk Bose" song in their mind. Everyone was just running. 

People say that Mumbai never disappoints anyone and someone I met today said "This City Will Always Reward You, If You Are True To Your Work". We'll get back to that later though. So, I reached Kurla station in around 50 mins. Roads were trafuckked. Mumbai is a congested city and traffic jams are big pain in the ass. They have the potential to turn a 30 minute journey into a 3 hour one. After finishing a few things over phone, I somehow managed to reach Kurla station at 10:30. Rishika also joined me after 10 mins and we were all set to leave for Andheri West. 

Today's plan included meeting one more twitter friend Mrs. Dheeraj Bharadwaj Vashisht ( @Dheera_ ) who is popularly known as "Dheera" on twitter and in real life too. We have known each other from past one year and have been in constant touch through twitter, BBM and Phone Calls. She is an entrepreneur who runs an advertising agency K&V Media Pvt. Ltd. with her husband Mr.Priyank Vashisht. I got a chance to work with her agency for IPL-2012. They were supposed to do on-ground activation for IPL-2012 for Set Max and they asked me to help them out with some things.. They have got a perfect team for crisis management and two people from her team that I would like to name here i.e. Mr Manoj Chanchan and Ms. Tejas with whom I coordinated with, during the assignment are kick-ass professionals. 

So, at around 11:30, we reached her place and met Priyank Sir and her along with their son Nawab. ( I wish I had my laptop so that I could share the pics ). Finally after numerous calls and BBM chats me and Dheera were finally meeting. We chatted about a lot of things including how she landed up in Mumbai and how did she got into entrepreneurship and all. She got a bit nostalgic while sharing her life with us. She is from Delhi but loves MUMBAI TO THE CORE. Well, the city deserves all the love. Another thing that I would like to share about her is her huge collection of books.  I think she told me that she has got around 5000+ books in her collection. THATS LIKE WOW ! I had plans to go to her office and we finally left for there at around 1:30. Her office is in Versova and on our way she showed me Lokhandwala and Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. Another thing that I would like to mention is Dheera and Rishika kicked off really well. \m/ A Leo and A Saggi ! :D 

We reached her office at around 2 P.M and finally I got to meet her entire team. She has a small team but all the people are highly dedicated and are thorough professionals. Met them all. Finally Tejas and Manoj Sir too. Post that, Dheera Ma'm told me that there is Versova beach right behind their office. Me and Rishika decided to visit the beach and left her office. Took an auto and it dropped us at the beach in no time. 

This was for the first time in my life, that I was getting up close and personal with a beach. Though I visited Marine Drive 2 days back but still the feel of this beach was completely different. The sound of water that was hitting the shore soothed my mind. It was noisy yet peaceful. Offered a certain kind of calmness that  cannot be explained in words. After spending some time there in which I shot a video and clicked some pictures, me and Rishika were on our way back to the office. We spotted a Costa Coffee on our way back, decided to fill ourselves, ordered lemonades and sandwich and the very next moment, Gul Panag stepped into the cafe. I was kinda stunned. She was looking HAWT. I couldn't take my eyes off her. After finishing the stuff we ordered, we went to Dheera's office, sat there for some time, had a Vada Pav (That was yummy) and were off to Andheri Station in some time. 

On our way to Andheri, Dheera asked me if I have seen Amitabh Bachchan's residence, Juhu Beach and all, I said No. So, she took a detour and showed me Prateeksha and Jalsa, the two famous bungalows of Mr.Amitabh Bachchan and very close to those, it was Juhu Beach. I couldn't get off the car because two people were waiting for us at Andheri Station and we were already running late. 

At Andheri Station we had to meet Sharad Bhai ( @Marwaari ) and Jatin ( @TheSlumDawg ) . I met Jatin last month only in Delhi. He is a mumbaikar by heart, in fact I should say a RAW MUMBAIKAR by heart. Always talks to the point, holds nothing against anyone and is quite sorted in his own way. I totally respect him for what he is. More power, more success and happiness to him. 

Sharad Bhai runs his own business in Mumbai and this was his first official tweetup. He was in Delhi some time back but to some mis-communication, I couldn't meet him. Well, finally I met him in his own city. Honestly, he comes across as a very complicated soul on twitter. But, when I met him, he turned out to be totally opposite. All cool and Bindaas I should say. Me, Jatin, Rishika and Sharad Bhai sat in a Mc'D near Andheri station and a full on gossip session began. I didn't feel like that we all were meeting together for the first time. We all got along really well. After some time Rishika left for her place and me too after like 15-20 minutes and reached home at around 8:30 P.M. 

So, finally I survived through one more day in Mumbai. Met few more unknown (yet known) people from twitter and I guess their names are added in my list of life-long friends. 

 After experiencing a working day in Mumbai I dare to say that "A Mumbaikar can very well adjust in Delhi, but A Delhite would have a tough time to get used to Mumbai". Life is so so so fast here but no one really complains. Each city has its own things to offer that makes you fall in a love-hate relationship with it and as Dheera said, "Everything comes as a package with pros and cons, either you have to accept it or ignore" and the line about Mumbai in the beginning of this post was also said by Dheera only. 

So, thats what I did in Mumbai today. More memories were added to my brain and this blog too. 

Till the next post. Ciao! 

- 

Yatin 

Day 2 : A Walk In The Rain

So, here I am again. With nothing much to share about the city today, Initially I thought that I won't blog today. But then I decided let me just share what I did today.

So the day began late for me. Woke up at 7:30 and saw that it was raining. Mumbai looks beautiful during monsoons and I completely agree to that. Its green everywhere. Mumbai is definitely blessed in a way. After a chit chat with my cousin sister, who left for Jaipur today we had breakfast, Aloo Poori and Aamras. (Yummy It Was) and then we went to drop her to the Airport. 

Came back and took a nap. It was raining on and off. I was loving the weather and then we did something which was completely unexpected. We JAMMED. Music has always been a passion. Though I am not too particular about the kind of music that I listen to. I like anything and everything. Whatever sounds good to my ears is music for me and I feel it should be that way only. I have seen people fighting over their personal choice of music and found it really stupid to be honest. My cousin used to play Drums when he was in college and another roommate of his plays awesome guitar. My Mamiji (Cousin's Mother) is also M.A in Music and Fine Arts. So, all and all, it was a musicians day out. We kicked off with some old bollywood numbers and gradually shifted to the latest numbers. The best part was when we were singing "Paani Da Rang" from Vicky Donor and it was raining outside. The session ended with Linkin Park's "In The End" song.

While we were jamming, I got a call from my school friend. We have studied together for good 7 years in school and post that also, we always kept in touch during our college  till now. She came to know through Facebook that I am in Mumbai and she bashed me for it. She works with L&T here as a developer and is an awesome Bharatnatyam Dancer, Painter and a very good writer. A woman of substance who is confident and she knows what she is up to. So, we decided to meet up at Hiranandani and have lunch. I now somehow feel that Hiranandani's have paid to me promote their market in my travelogue coz I am almost meeting everyone there only :P 

It was raining on and off. We opened all the windows of our house and cool breeze filled up the house. There was no need of fans and AC. It was amazing. My friend reached at Hiranandani at around 2:00 and we met. Had awesome lunch at The Great Kabab Factory that ended up with mouth water dessert. Remembered some good old days of school times and discussed about work, friends and her life in Mumbai.  I might go with her to Marine Drive again if I get time from my schedule.

I came back home at around 4 and found that everyone was asleep. I was getting bored  and as usual Twitter came to the rescue. I was tweeting about that I have got nothing to do then Adnan Bhai ( @Oongalbaaz, Its his birthday today, i.e. 25th June) suggested me to go and take a walk at Powai Lake which is very close to the place where I am staying. Before continuing further, let me just wish him first.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADNAN BHAIJAAN. MAY ALLAH BLESSES YOU WITH HEALTH, WEALTH AND HAPPINESS.

I found out the directions to the lake and decided to walk down till there. Took a bit of a detour and saw Chandivali lake which is more like a Naala, and saw it too. 

Powai lake is beautiful. Yes, its a small one and a bit dirty too. But yes, if you will stroll around it, you would like it. Monsoons give a whole new feel to the city and you just can't get over with it. While I was walking around the lake, rains started. I was lucky that I was carrying a small polythene bag that I kept in my pocket moments before I left the house. Quickly kept my phone and camera inside it and decided to get drenched in the rain. I would like to quote a dialogue from the movie Wake Up Sid here when Ranbir Kapoor tell Konkona Sen Sharma "Mumbai monsoons are to die for. Log complain karte hai about floods, traffic wagerah, but I toh totally love it. Tum dekhna, tum baarisho main yahan kitna enjoy karne waali ho" and yes that thing he said in the movie is true. 

Walking in the rains always make you get lost in thoughts. It takes you to a completely different world where you just think about the things that ou've been ignoring purposely. Same thing happened with me too. I was lost in thought while I was sitting on the lake side and spotted a Nariyal Paani waala. Bought a malaai waala nariyal and refreshed myself. Then I decided to get back home before dark. 

Before entering the society, I thought I would again go back to Chandivali lake and take some shots and got some amazing photographs. That I am gonna post later here. 

Came back home, all drenched in rains and sweat too. Took a bath, had yummy Baigan Ka Bharta, Moong Daal and Chapatis for dinner and Ice-Cream as dessert while it was constantly raining outside.

Post that, we all sat together and had a chit chat about our experiences with life. My mamaji who works for a bank shared a lot many interesting stories about his career.And now I am here writing this blog.

The best thing about the day was it wasn't that humid for me.

Well, tomorrow is a busy day. I would start with the work that I am here for. Meeting Rishika again tomorrow morning and lets see what the day has got in store for me. No plans have been made till now. 

See you tomorrow then.

-

Yatin

Day 1 : The stint begins

I am seriously hating this fact that I am not carrying my laptop with me. Another bummer is I forgot my phone's and camera's accessories at home. I am usually not careless when it comes to travelling, but it  feels like, I didn't do my homework properly this time. I still cannot post photographs. DAMN !!!! But once I am back home, I am gonna update all the posts with pictures. iShapath ! 

Anyways, Day 1 at Mumbai began quite early for me. I slept at 3 last night at woke up at 6:30. These days I am reading this book "50 shades of grey" by E.L James which is an erotic fiction. Don't think I am some kind of a pervert, I am reading this book coz of its enticing plot. I highly recommend the book for all those who think they are adults now.

So, the day was planned. I had to meet two people from twitter. And then I thought I would spend some time with my family. The day actually began at around 10:30, when I told my cousin about my plans for the day and he decided to take his family out for lunch and then to Mumba Devi.

I had to meet Divpreet ( @Smilesgalore ) at Mainland China, Hiranandani at sharp 1:30 P.M. She is a British citizen and is currently living and working in India. She told me that she is very punctual as she is a Britisher. Keeping that in mind, I made sure that I reach the place before time. So, I finished my daily chores by 12:45 and made sure that I don't get late. 

. 

As usual, the humid weather was taking a toll on me and I was completely drenched in sweat when I reached the restaurant. Waited for good 10 mins there and at exact 1:30, a hottie entered the place in a black dress. I was awestruck.Yes, that was Divpreet, one of my closest friends on twitter. She is a smart woman, who knows what she is up to. Yes, a bit messy at times, but yes girls are supposed to be messy (Girls, don't kill me for this, I love you all). I met her for the first time today, but we BBM a LOT and yes, we gossip around a lot. To tell you a fact, her previous handle was @Gossipal. Yes, she is a Gossip Queen and you can label me as Gossip King when I am with her. 

We ordered some food and then began a long endless conversation with no full stops and commas. We were continuously blabbering about something or the other. Food was amazing. This was my first visit to Mainland China and I highly recommend it to the people who love Chinese food. 

After spending good 2-2.5 hours together, Divpreet had to leave. We bid each other goodbye and she promised that she would be in Delhi soon. YaY :D  

After that I had plans to meet another person from twitter, Ajit Parameswaran ( @AjitWrites ) , one of the wisest people I know on twitter. He works for an IT company as a Project Manager and is an avid sports lover, gadget freak and a travelaholic. He has lived in Mumbai all his life and another thing that I discovered after meeting him today that he is an encyclopedia about Mumbai. 

I met him at a coffee shop at Hiranandani only, and in some time we decided to go to Gateway Of India. Another twitter friend Viraj ( @Gaaliman ) was around, but he got stuck in some work and Ajit and Me had limited time, so after having a word with Viraj, we both left for Gateway Of India. (Read about it on Wikipedia if you dont know what it is).

Ajit explained me how we are gonna go there. We took an auto rickshaw till Ghatkopar and from there he told me we will take a local till CST. Travelling in Mumbai Local which are also known as the lifeline of Mumbai was an item in my bucket list. So, with all excitement, we entered the station premises. Ajit bought tickets and I got myself coupons which people use here to commute.

Mumbai Locals are plain simple example of a perfect strategy. It connects almost all the main parts of Mumbai. I might be wrong there, but that is what my knowledge says. Ajit explained me about dos and donts in the locals. The concept of fast local and the slow local, timing, east and west side of the platforms and a lot many things. The was some knowledge. We took a fast local ( That stops at Major stations only) to  CST. There were 3 major stoppages in between ( Kurla, Byculla, Dadar).In around 25 minutes, we were at the another part of the city. Ajit kept telling me about eachk station that we passed. And finally around 6, we were at the heart of the city, CST ( Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus).

We got out of the station and Ajit told me its a half an hour walk to Gateway Of India and the way is extremely beautiful. We decided to take a walk and Ajit kept telling me about all the buildings that we encountered on our way.This part of Mumbai was built by Britishers. The British architecture is beautiful and jaw dropping ( I wish I could share the pics ). He also showed me Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) coz of which many people have their lives and many lost theirs. I kept clicking pictures from my phone. Yes, I was not carrying my camera. FUCK MY LUCK.

After a good 30-35 minute walk, I could finally spot Gateway Of India and on the other side, I could see Hotel Taj and Hotel Oberoi. Hotel Taj is now famous for all wrong reasons after that terror attack but it is one architectural beauty. Also, this was my first encounter with any Sea. I was like, there can be nothing better than this. Mumbaikars are surely lucky that they have something like this in their reach. I instantly fell in love with the city. Yes, now I LOVE MUMBAI MORE THAN DELHI. I am not a traitor, but yes, the Mumbai bug has finally bit me too.

Soon after, I asked Ajit, if we can go to Marine Drive if he has time. Very coolly he said, its just 15-20 mins by Taxi here, let's go. We took a taxi and as we were about to reach Marine Drive, it started raining cats and dogs. GAWD, the weather is so unpredictable here in Mumbai. It rains when you are least expecting it. Well, Marine Drive in rains looks heavenly, many people had told me about this and now it was the time to experience it. Rains definitely added up to the whole experience. The moment we reached Marine Drive, rains stopped. Lucky Me. We got off the taxi and rushed towards it. 

I AGAIN FELL IN LOVE WITH MUMBAI after seeing Marine Drive. Honestly saying, we dont have places like this in Delhi and around. It was magical. Marine Drive right after the rains looks magical. We were there at around 7 and then, the street lights were lit. Now we could see the famous Queen's Necklace too. It looked like a dream. I was like, somebody buy me a house near it. I JUST DON'T WANNA GO BACK. The cool breeze, and the  sound of the sea waves hitting the shore. OH MY GOD. It was just amazing. Mumbaikars, you guys ARE SERIOUSLY LUCKY. 

After clicking a few pictures we decided to go back to CST. Ajit told me that there is this very famous Pav Bhaji joint near CST station named CANON. It is famous in the whole Asia. I was like okay, lets have some famous street food then. We reached there and the place was bustling with people. We ordered Pav Bhaji and Lassi. I spotted that they were selling Vada Pav too. Mumbai aake vada paav nahin khaaya to kya khaaya. I ordered a Vada Pav for myself and that tasted awesome. After finishing my Pav Bhaji, I again ordered one more Vada Pav and devoured on it. (And I'm trying to lose weight, someday, hopefully) . 

Post this scrumptious meal, we headed towards CST station, took another local and I got down at Ghatkopar, from where I again went to Hiranandani as cousins and family was there. Had an ice-cream and came back home at around 10:30 P.M. It was a long tiring day, but at the end of the day. I am a happy soul. 

Few things that I observed about Mumbai today is

1. People love their city are very proud of it.

2. Mumbai is the perfect example of "Life has to move on, no matter what".

3. Life here is faster than Delhi.

4. Public Transport is cheap.  

5.The "Bhaad Mein Jaaye Janta" attitude of Mumbaikars (This can be seen at Marine Drive) #IfYouKnowWhatIMean

All and all, Day 1 ended on a good note. Too many memories to cherish and the entire credit goes to Divpreet and Ajit. Signing off, till the next one.

-

Yatin 

Mumbaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii !!!!!!!

Yes thats what came in my mind when I saw the city first from the aircraft. Gawd, sky high buildings, I could see the slum areas too and roads bustling with traffic. All and all, a typical metro city. The captain announced, we are about to land in Mumbai, temperature outside is 34 degrees. That gave me a sigh of relief. 34 degrees, better than burning 40-45 degrees of Ghaziabad. But as soon as I de-boarded the aircraft and BAM !!!!!

Humidityyyyyyyyy !!!! My enemy. I HATE HUMIDITY. Jee Haan.  I HATE IT, I HATE IT, I HATE IT.

I was sure, this humidity will play the spoilt sport in my stint. Humidity freaks me out and I keep sweating like a pig. But anyways, now when I had landed in Mumbai I had no other option but to survive in this weather.

As soon as I switched on my phone, I saw a BBM message notification. The message said "I have reached". And it was from a twitter friend Rishika aka @TharkiThakurain . I met her recently in Delhi and let me tell you, she is one kick-ass girl. A complete no non-sense person. And the very next moment a got a call.

Person : Sir aap pahunch gaye ? 

Me : Haanji sir, bas pahunchta hoon 15-20 mins mein aapke paas.

As soon as I entered the airport premises, I spotted Udit Narayan, the famous bollywood singer. Well, that confirmed that I am in the mayanagari - Bollywood.  Got another call. 

Person : Sir kahan pahunche ?  

Me : Bas aa gaya hoon, luggage leke seedha aapke paas aata hoon. 

Took my luggage from the conveyer belt, called up the person. 

Me : Haanji sir, kahan hai aap ? 

Person : Sir, Megamart outlet ke paas khada hoon.  

Me : Main bhi wahi hoon. 

He turned out and we spotted each other. Well, I had to hand over the packet of  Prasad that I got for someone from Vaishno Devi. Yes. i recently went there. Took a deep breath and thanked Mata Rani that the prasad will now reach its destination and I feel that the person has already got it by now. 

Rishika called up, said that once I am out of the airport premises, I should take a left and she would see me. Yes, Rishika came to pick me. Despite the fact, that I have just met her once, she took the pain to come to pick me up at the airport. So nice of her. I felt special. 

As soon as I got out of the airport premises, I spotted Rishika. We greeted each other and the next moment, we were in the queue to get a pre-paid taxi booked.  

Me : AC or non AC cab ? 

Rishika : Take a non AC one, tujhe main Mumbai ka weather experience karwati hoon. 

Me : Sigh!! 

Took a non AC cab and paid 10 bucks at baksheesh (tip) to the person to helped me in putting my suitcase in the taxi. And we were on roads of Mumbai. 

Rishika is actually my tour-guide in Mumbai. She has promised that she will help me out with direction, dos and donts, and at some places, she has promised that she would accompany me. While on out way to my cousin's apartment, wh stays in Powai, Rishika told me many things about the city, her college, Mumbaikars and how to travel in Mumbai. (Thats some serious task) 

In like half an hour or so, we reached the place where my cousin stays. We went to his flat, dropped my luggage and sat for some 20 mins and again we were on road for a tweetup. ( Tweetup is actually a meet, where twitter users meet and gossip a lot). Another twitter buddy who hails from Pune but currently doing a course here in Mumbai, Tejas aka @Bedardi_Raja was coming to meet me. Me and him we both were really looking forward to see each other. We decided on RCT mall, Ghatkopar (The Gujju Area) of Mumbai.  

Me and Rishika reached the mall, went to Urban Tadka, a restaurant and had yummy Kadhai Paneer, Raita and butter naan, which is now is our signature menu. We ordered same stuff when we met in Delhi and now again. The food was yummy, the place was just perfect to sit and chat. Later Tejas also joined us and hence the tweet up began. Tejas is a kid. Yes he is a kid with brains. He can talk and talk and talk but you would actually enjoy listening to him. We three sat together, and chatted.  

Later, came out of the restaurant, sat in the open arena in the mall. Ice cold winds were blowing in full throttle and I was actually enjoying and praising the weather and suddenly....... 

..... It rained. Yes, that was completely unexpected. The famous Mumbai rains welcomed me in their own way. All three of us ran inside the mall, roamed a bit, sat in the food court, and as usual bakar bakar bakar was full on. The best part about this tweetup was, we didn't discuss twitter much. It was all about Mumbai, Mumbai and Mumbai coz I am a curious soul and I want to know as much as I can about the city in just no time. 

It was about 6:30 , when I realised that I am getting late for home. Asked both Rishika and Tejas to end the meetup. Me and Tejas went together and Rishika took an auto back to her place.  

On our way back Tejas told me more about Mumbai, Mumbai's lifeline - The local trains and dos and donts about them. He has been in Mumbai from past 20 days only and has measured the whole city in his own way. Later when we were about to reach home, we both realised that our homes are like 2 mins away from each other.  

That was my Day 0 at this city of dreams. What I could make out by seeing the hustle bustle of the city is life is really fast here. No one has time to think, you just have to run, run and run. And I promise myself that I will try and live like a Mumbaikar in next coming days. 

Thats all for today. Signing off.

-  

Yatin 

Delhi to Mumbai

Due to excitement and anxiety,  I could not sleep properly last night. Also thanks to UPSEB for those numerous powercuts which added more spice to the night. Well finally, woke up T 6:30, got ready and left my place at 8:30.  

I live in Ghaziabad, so airport is quite far from my place. What I decided on is, I will take a taxi till New Delhi Railway Station and from there Airport line Metro. Delhi has been blessed, seriously. With Delhi Metro, traveling from one corner to another corner of Delhi doesn't seem like a nightmare anymore.  

At 10:15 I entered New Delhi metro station ( There are two metro stations for New Delhi, one for the normal travel which is on the Yellow line and another one is on the Metro line which is looked after by Reliance). Took a token till Airpot, Terminal 3, Delhi and in mere 20 mins, I was standing at the entrance gate of T3.  

Got my boarding pass, got security checks done and voila, I was all set to board the flight. Took services of Subway to fill my every empty stomach. While getting my sandwich done, spotted actress Kashmeera Shah with her boyfriend there at the lounge taking a stroll. I don't know if Kashmeera is eligible enough to be called an actress, but let it be. 

Waited at the lounge while trying to connect my iPad to the so called free wi-fi at the airport, but all efforts in vain. This habit of accessing internet at every possible place will cost me one day. I am pretty sure about it. Thanks to Airtel 3G, I was finally connected to World Wide web so that I could tweet, oh, this awful habit.

Another disappointment came in, when I could not spot any hot girls around. In anticipation of that I would find a few good air hostesses in the flight, dreams were shattered when I boarded the flight. Only one air hostess and rest of them were male stewards. Serious case of Fuck My Luck. I felt cheated. Anyways, had to go to Mumbai otherwise would have tried the Anna Hazare method.  

The flight took off at dot 11:59 and so technically now I am on my way to Mumbai. And while I am drinking this diet coke, I am writing this post. Took some pictures too from the iPad itself, dont expect very good quality. Now the next post shall be written in Mumbai. 

Adios.

-

Yatin.

Bombay Or Mumbai ....

First of all, I would like to tell you that I am not a great writer. So, please do not expect much from this travelogue. I just made this one to satisfy myself and my hunger for writing. 

Bombay or now known as Mumbai, has always intrigued people. There are so many reasons that a person wants to visit this city. Most of them want to go there to fulfill their dreams. Mumbai is also known as the city of dreams. If you have guts to face whatever the city offers and you are true to your goal, the city would never disappoint you. So many success stories have been seen and heard by many of us and thus there is this faint wish in our hearts that once in a life time this city has to be visited.

Similarly, I had this wish in my heart to visit the city. Thanks to my job, that offered me a chance to visit the city. I have a mere two day task there, but took some leaves and extended my stay for 10 days straight. 

The idea behind this blog is to share my experience with the city with you. I will try to keep you posted about whatever I am doing in the city. You can always follow me on twitter @SoulfulRants to know what I am up to at the moment.