Don't want this to sound like Mumbai bashing but after last few weekends in the city when I was trying to find a place to stay my new found liking for the city seemed to be going downhill with the passage of time.
My first impression of the city when I visited it for the first time in Dec 2003 was of a city populated by a million people who were all walking on the roads.. In delhi you do see people walking, but that would just to the nearest car park or bus stand or their morning jog. People would be clustered at various bus stands etc but not swarming through the city. Then there was the realisation that except for a few parts of the city, you would cross vast stretches without seeing too many tress.. all around was concrete. No chirping of birds.. And let me not start on the smell. A million people who needed to go to the AXE academy.
But over the last few years post a zillion trips, I realized that these were superficial things... Yes Delhi had it's Luyten's area and it's Shanti Niketans which had flowers abounding for a good part of the year, but as a friend pointed out Delhi is a beautiful city filled with $%^$&%& people.
Mumbai on the other hand is filled with great people who are professional, friendly, courteous and all those things which we dilli wallahs can never be associated with. But there are so many people.
And what is amazing is that people are willing to spend good money to stay in a space bigger than a cubby hole just for the fun of being able to party at the most happening places in Bandra. Wonder what would Mumbai be without Bandra?
Used to space to relax in away from the pressures of work it was difficult to understand why people in Mumbai would not want to do the same... Why would you not want balconies filled with plants where you can sit with a book and relax on a quiet evening..
But I guess different things drive different cities.
With some trepidation and lots of hopes I move to this city which generates extremely different reactions from different people. Having spent 80% of my life in Delhi (G'gaon is part of Delhi) it seems wierd to be moving out from here. I think more than the fact that i'm moving to mumbai, it's the fact that I'm leaving Delhi which is causing these panic attacks.
Starting afresh
After eight long years, when you are left holding an empty shell of a relationship, things look pretty bleak.
Moving to one's own place, doing the singles scene again.... All of it pretty daunting. Not having stayed on my own ever except the two years in MICA. Staying in a hostel hardly counts since you don't have to think about paying utility bills....
Worse to handle is the dating scenario. Having been out of circulation for almost a decade, you are totally clueless on the rules of this game. In the secure cocoon of old friends, very difficult to meet anyone new.
But more than anything the biggest fear is of being alone. The fear of spending the rest of your life staring at the same walls on every friday night... All because you have had enuf of the party scene and all you want to do is relax at home. Added to this is the fact that all your really good friends have their own lives to lead especially if they are married....
Obviously when u reach this age most of your friends are married or in a serious commited relationship so you really can't be the odd one out at all times. The rest you end up hanging out with are the really young "lets party till 4" bunch. And there is only so much partying till 4 that your body can take
Some how some where during this whole process you learn to balance the slow easy evenings with friends with the mindnumbing alcoholic dancing parties which keep you on yopur toes till the wee hours. You learn that life has a lot to offer even if it means getting obsessive about keeping your house clean.
Renewing relationships that you had let fall on the waysidew for so many years... discovering the exhilaration of solitude after 17 hr workdays... Watching your balcony turn into a mini forest... Enjoying the rain while sitting in that mini forest... Cooking up a storm on sundays and feeding the team chocolate mousse on monday...
Well staring afresh can be exciting and it really shakes you out of the sameness of life which comforted you for years....
Moving to one's own place, doing the singles scene again.... All of it pretty daunting. Not having stayed on my own ever except the two years in MICA. Staying in a hostel hardly counts since you don't have to think about paying utility bills....
Worse to handle is the dating scenario. Having been out of circulation for almost a decade, you are totally clueless on the rules of this game. In the secure cocoon of old friends, very difficult to meet anyone new.
But more than anything the biggest fear is of being alone. The fear of spending the rest of your life staring at the same walls on every friday night... All because you have had enuf of the party scene and all you want to do is relax at home. Added to this is the fact that all your really good friends have their own lives to lead especially if they are married....
Obviously when u reach this age most of your friends are married or in a serious commited relationship so you really can't be the odd one out at all times. The rest you end up hanging out with are the really young "lets party till 4" bunch. And there is only so much partying till 4 that your body can take
Some how some where during this whole process you learn to balance the slow easy evenings with friends with the mindnumbing alcoholic dancing parties which keep you on yopur toes till the wee hours. You learn that life has a lot to offer even if it means getting obsessive about keeping your house clean.
Renewing relationships that you had let fall on the waysidew for so many years... discovering the exhilaration of solitude after 17 hr workdays... Watching your balcony turn into a mini forest... Enjoying the rain while sitting in that mini forest... Cooking up a storm on sundays and feeding the team chocolate mousse on monday...
Well staring afresh can be exciting and it really shakes you out of the sameness of life which comforted you for years....
Conferences
Workshops, Conferences, seminars.. the bane of ones life.
One starts off looking forward to it since they normally happen at locales which are pretty and offer exciting options of food, entertainment and scenic pleasure..
But then you land after pushing guilt, of not being able to finish critical work out of your mind and you are given the AGENDA...
Post reviewing it you realise well the fact is that there will be time to explore and do all the wonderful things the place has to offer if you have night vision goggles and local businesses are offering night time safaris. Otherwise the best option is to forgo the very critical post alcohol (till 3 p.m.) early morning sleep and much needed nourishment of breakfast and squeeze in as much as you can.
You might want to skip lunch as well, but I think in most cases lunch could well be a working session too.
The good part, only if it's not a workshop, is that quite possibly you would not have to work through the night. Thus you can party and drink every night till the wee hours and hope that you have perfected the art of sleeping with your eyes open. You definetely save on money which you would have spent if you were back at office (office compensates you only for food while working late)
Post all this, when you are landing at home base you realise that very cunningly the conference dates included a weekend also, so you did not miss too many working days and were back at work on Monday
All around you everyone winks and says "WOW, great trip? You must be all totally relaxed and ready to get back to the grind after this really long break?"
"Yeah right! As ready as I will be for the Tour De France"
One starts off looking forward to it since they normally happen at locales which are pretty and offer exciting options of food, entertainment and scenic pleasure..
But then you land after pushing guilt, of not being able to finish critical work out of your mind and you are given the AGENDA...
Post reviewing it you realise well the fact is that there will be time to explore and do all the wonderful things the place has to offer if you have night vision goggles and local businesses are offering night time safaris. Otherwise the best option is to forgo the very critical post alcohol (till 3 p.m.) early morning sleep and much needed nourishment of breakfast and squeeze in as much as you can.
You might want to skip lunch as well, but I think in most cases lunch could well be a working session too.
The good part, only if it's not a workshop, is that quite possibly you would not have to work through the night. Thus you can party and drink every night till the wee hours and hope that you have perfected the art of sleeping with your eyes open. You definetely save on money which you would have spent if you were back at office (office compensates you only for food while working late)
Post all this, when you are landing at home base you realise that very cunningly the conference dates included a weekend also, so you did not miss too many working days and were back at work on Monday
All around you everyone winks and says "WOW, great trip? You must be all totally relaxed and ready to get back to the grind after this really long break?"
"Yeah right! As ready as I will be for the Tour De France"
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