Mumbai Calling - End of Days (Day 3)

Good Morniinnng Mumbaaaaiiiiiii !!!!
I wake up to loads of bright sunlight on the morning of my last Day in Mumbai. I lay there not willing to move and hoping that time too would join me. As I try to convince myself that 'yes, its the last day indeed', Sajal miaan walks in cup of hot tea. 'Kya baat hai', I say and savor the desi chai finding it good; surprised that it was beyond my expectations from Sajal (in kitchen that is).

Fastforwarding all the freshening up and getting ready part, Sajal and I decided to meet Supriya at the gates of FAM Society at about 10.00 AM. And then there is a change in plan, I wanted to meet Nishant (aka bhrathashri, guruji) so we hire a rickshaw and go to Teen Tanki. As usual I am late, but Nishant was there, with his lill daughter, waiting to receive us. I had met Nishant the past year I was in Vashi. What started as a joke of speaking shudh Hindi and I using terms such as - Pranam (hello), Shubh Ratri(good night) and Bhrathashri (elder brother), I have come to look up to Nishant as elder brother indeed. We had spent a good amount of time over innumerable cups of some great elachi chai then (past year). He seemed no different from the last time I had met him. We walked to his home and spent some time with his family. As it occurred that Supriya must be waiting for us, we shoot for FAM society.

It was time for Mumbai darshan now. The threesome us, then went to the Vashi railway station. To our dismay, the local train wasn't in service for the next 4 odd hours; we move to the Vashi depot. Then again the bus would take a lot of time so we decide to go in for the next best means of travel - Taxi ! We walk to the closest taxi stand. There was a bit of confusion in that the taxi's weren't at the actual taxi stand but on the lane opposite to it. The sum of the distance we had walked was on the rise. Nevertheless, we were on our way to the city of Mumbai.


Sajal - showing us the way


with mummiiiieee

It was about lunch time so folks decided to have lunch before looking around. Supriya, who was literally managing the trip, got the directions to this highly recommended restaurant - 'Tawa'. The scene at this restaurant cannot be skipped. We indulged in some chit chat while the food arrived. The heat had left our throats dry so we ordered some Lassi to quench our thirst. I was stunned to find the Lassi bearing a string taste of Garlic. At first I thought may it was just me. But then when I saw the same puzzled look on Sajal's face, I knew something was terribly wrong with the drink. The drink eventually got replaced but to my shock the waiter very coolly explains that the mixie which had been used to blend the Lassi was recently used to grind some garlic and the chef had forgotten to clean it. Mann !! I hated this mans guts. Nevertheless, we were certain that the main course would be mmm... delicious food to feast on, since it Supriya's friend had highly recommended this place. OK!! The food arrives - Fried Rice, which I can say almost certainly - dipped in oil before leaving the kitchen; Manchurian balls made perfect to bear the taste of something burnt. Mannnn, I knew what was on fire - my head; not over the chef but this dear friend of Supriya's, who happened to drop by in the same restaurant. Any guesses??? Salonnee!! She came by to surprise me. After the food, I could not deny; could I? Perfect lunch for a nearly perfect day.


Sajal - Before placing the order


After the 'feast'

Out of the restaurant we go to hire a rickshaw to 'Bandstand'. Salonee and I in one while we allowed Sajal and Supriya to find some time together (hahaha... ironical??). Salonee looked 'even more' sweet in the green kurta and straighented hair, unrestrained, blowing in the breeze as though they were dancing about her. I wanted to capture the moment and... No. I could not. How could I when I had left my batteries to charge in the restaurant we had so desprately left 10 mins back? About Turn to the rickshaw. Thinking of it now, I am glad that it bought me some more time, which I knew then, I needed. Though not long enough - the time to take that 360 degree deviation, sometimes u learn about somethings about ppl in just a few moments. And I did too that day.

We reached Bandstand aka Rock Beach (aka 'Couples' paradise', where I guess they shot the infamous - "Lage Raho" Alpenlibe ad). The water had receeded, exposing the coral reef. The algae cover made walking on the terrain a challenge. We, however, managed to make it to a point where we were inches away from the water. Time for foto shoot session ;o)




Liquid Gold


Shine on em'
Back to the main road, folks educate me about the fact that we were eating 'bhutta' (sweet corns) standing right outside - SRK's home. Phew!!


SRK's home in the background

I did not know that it was the last I saw of Salonnee until got ready to leave for Juhu-Chupati. I did not have the batteries earlier, but I was still leaving with an image of her in 'my camera'.

Swishhhhhhhh... Walking on the sands of Chaupati, the constant thought that bothered me was that every step I was being drawn away from here. I knew I 'had to' write this blog and it would a challenge to pen down moments of pure silence and all that happens between ppl when words aren't spoken. So, taking the easier route, I decided to fill it with a few moments - drinking 'Narial' (coconut water), sipping on Gola followed by 'garama-garam' chai - an insane mix of drinks in haf hours time ;o). Papa calls me up inquiring about where I was, reminding me of the flight's time. and it was this knowledge I was trying so hard to be ignorant about. Sajal, probably understood when he comforted me telling that I'd be over with it in bout a weeks time. The sunlight was fading; I knew - the sun was dying at the horizon and so was my hope to beat time. In a last attempt to do so, I called up dad and brought 15 mins of time. Now I had the time but no heart to let it pass yet again. We clicked some of the best pics, capturing life on busy Mumbai's busy beach busttlin with ppl, in those moments. Nothing could be spoken. Even after all that liquid, my throat went dry.


Beach busttling with life


Sajal - standing tall


Supriya - happyness knows no bounds


Rahul - Tired and Proud


Teaming with Life...

We jump into a rickshaw and move towards the airport. I committed felony - I expressed my gratitude to both Sajal and Supriya for everything they've been to me, for the beautiful relationship that transcended work. Felony - because thats what Sajal would have termed it. I guess can say I read him now.

I got dropped off at the airport.

That night was probably the longest in the days to come. All day long I wanted to save sands of time in my fist and now I craved for a storm to blow it away and take me along. My heart felt heavy; eyes wet. So I closed them. I wished that when I opened them, it was over. But it did not. Yet another example of the relativity of time and speed. That night was the End of Days in Mumbai; not of the Time.

Mumbai Calling - Day 2

As I stood there, recollecting the exclamation - "its morning already!!??' it occurred to me that yesterday had passed.

Sajal went about his work, while I toyed with the Milk Bikis and sipped the hot masala Chai. We regrouped after a lill' while to watch the games begin, some of which were coordinated by Salonee, who had turned almost a zombie by now. After a bit of chit chatting about the previous night's 'items', Sajal and I walked to the indoor games room; Table Tennis (or Ping Pong [American lingo]) ruled the house. It is hard to think that you could match the calibre of those who were smashing their way to victory. but, yeah we did get an oppurtunity to showcase our skills as well... lol.. I was playig after more than 2 years and Sajal was a beginner. But we did well, and even before we realized, we were sloshed in our sweat. I fared pretty good despite the 2 years gap, but I was more than happy to see Sajal's instant passion for the game. I say that because, everytime we finished a game and walked out, we chatted for a bit, and we would ourselves walking back to the club. This guy was addicted !

That was how most of the day passed. By the end of it we were so damn tired that it wasn't possible to deceive sleep anymore (why ?? see Mumbai Calling ). After lunch we decided to take a nap.

Theres one part, the exact timing of which I can't remember quite - before or after lunch? We met this person from the Pune divison (who was playing TT with us earlier), near the lunch spot. While he shared the same pain as most s/w enggs., his humour and sarcasm amazed me; a real cool guy. I hate to have forgotten his name, but I do recall that he sang us all a very melodious song and the spot had, for an instant, transformed into a 'mehfil'. Was fun meeting that group of his.

We might have played a game or two more of TT, before the group started to pack their bags. The picnic was over and it was time to leave for Mumbai ! Sajal decided to be seated next to 'Nainsukh'. It was kinda boring to be seated alone but I managed to pull through the journey, watching the fleeting glimpses of the Sun in its orange and pink shades.

It was already night when we reached FAM Society, Vashi. I was staying @ Sajal's place. Time was short - just this one night and about half a day of the next, before I left Mumbai. We freshened up and decided to go out for dinner. It was interesting to see the impeccable manner of coordination between Sajal and Supriya as they planned for the night out.

We hired an auto to some Mall. First thing we tried to see if we could get tickets to 'Taare Zameen Par' but 'nah' - the house was full. Next thing, we walked into Cafe Coffee Day; got settled in some cosy sofa; pondered over the menu card to choose some flavour of cofee of the so many they had, to gauge the difference between which seemed next to impossible to me. We sipped the coffee over some chit chat and we took some shots, one of which was particularly an intelligent one. Here's me and Supriya, courtesy Sajal (photographer).



We then went to 'Shikara', a Saloneee's recommendation ! It was indeed a 'one of a kind' restaurant. Basically, a Shikara is a large Kashmiri house-boat. And this Shikara was no different. The guys had modelled the restaurant to give you almost the same feeling as walking down a boat house. The eating area was raised above the ground and multiple such areas were separated by narrow pathways decorated with lush green grass. The highlight of the restaurant was a mini pond decorated with colored lights and rocks on which stood real Swans !!! Mann !! I was flattered. Another thought that hit me as we sat there was that this restaurant had a group playing 'Ghazal'. It was over a decade since I had been to a restaurant playing 'Ghazals'. I was happy to be here. The recommendation was 'Perfect' !



After we had settled and placed our order, I chose to have a ghazal dedicated.
Just when the drinks arrived - Smrinoff for me and Chivas Regal for Sajal, the song began - "Yeh Nayan Dare Dare... Yeh Jaam Bhare Bhare" and we did the 'cheers'. Over the dinner Sajal showed us snaps of what 'his' meaning of 'having 'a' drink' was - pictures with tens of bottles of alcohol from a previous party !!! Phew, quite a capacity he has ! Everythin was perfect - the drinks, the food, the song, the ambience and the night !!! That was our team dinner :o)





It was around 1 o' Clock in the night when we returned home. Sajal and I chatted for a bit before crashing on the bed while a song from 'Taare Zameen Par' played in the background. Lights out !