Mumbai Diaries

Well, so here is my start of fascination for Mumbai I guess. I have finally started to like the place around. Very fast right? Ya, I have bipolar phases. Made a few tea friends at work. They invite me for lunch also. All senior to me with an experience of 4-8 years.  

Humans have encroached on humans

I live in Lower Parel. The place that was house to textile mills and mill workers decades ago. All the addresses around are in the name of these mills. But what happened to these mills? The urban jungle cropped up. The real estate prices went up. The mill owners sold the places to realty developers and shifted the mills to Bhiwandi which is in the outskirts, a completely another district and property prices are lower there. The mill workers were stripped of their living, they lost jobs, some lost their homes. There is a very good movie called Lalbaug Parel that depicts the plight of these mill workers. They still live here in chawls and have found alternate sources of income making their living as housekeeping staff, office boys, etc. 

Speaking of Lalbaug and the famous Lalbaugcha Raja, the story that I have heard is, there lived a fishermen community here that was about to loose their place these realty projects. They prayed to Lord Ganpati for saving the place and it was saved. And then was established the most revered Ganpati of all times in India Lalbaugcha Raja by that fishermen community.

Best of both the worlds

As I said Lower Parel houses these huge business parks and chawls as well. You get the best of both worlds around. There are really good street food joints and a city marketplace and there are elite pubs and restaurants and malls around. The office gives a view of the sea face and Mahalaxmi Race course. So there is no fight for food. Step out and there are numerous options to eat. And you get everything around.

So that’s my first in the Mumbai Diaries. Hope to make many interesting additions to this. My dearest Swati is gonna show me South Mumbai, supposedly a very beautiful and colonial place and the most expensive in Mumbai. Looking forward to the visit. With Swati its gonna be a memorable one. Cant believe how soon this is happening, just few days ago she called me to Mumbai in the vacation and always spoke of taking me to Colaba Causway, Candies and Poptates.. and I wouldn’t have been able to make it anytime soon if it would have been Chennai, but Mumbai it is. 

They say “LOVE LIFE AND LIFE WILL LOVE YOU BACK”.. And I have tremendous surge to do that right now. J

Talking of the flip side

Well all these days I have been talking about all things rosy and the flips that life has taken. There is no stopping to it. All this while the flips were rather pleasant but this one is surely not one for now. Guess what? I got posted to Mumbai… all alone… Yes, all those plans I made to be with Abhishek have shattered like a house of cards. And though I have been trying to put a smile everyday and trying to accept it to adapt to it, everything inside is tearing apart. I have gone weak in my knees and have been losing it with every passing day. No friends in Mumbai at convenient distances. And how would friends help? All I wanted was to be with him!!

I try to console myself saying everything in life has always happened for a good reason. Sometimes there were not enough resources to pursue some desires in life, but it has always been a no regrets life and whatever turns it has taken I have thanked God later for making that happen. So I have been consoling myself everyday that this too has a brighter side. But it just does not help. After all, all I wanted to do this job was for staying in Chennai. Huh… Sigh!!! Hoping everyday that either I get posted to Chennai or he shifts to Mumbai. Are some things just not meant to happen? Initially they retracted my offer. Oh yes, I found that out when I went for convocation. After a lot of drama I got it back. And when I got it back it was Mumbai. They first killed my morale and then all the motivation to work. You never realize sometimes how things get dirty and difficult. For me long distance was never a problem but now suddenly it has become the biggest problem in my life. My family is 3 hours away from here, but I am not bothered. I just try to sleep as much as possible, to stop that one question cropping in my head everytime.. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? And like I said before, every question that you ask gets answered. I am sure the answer is going to be a pleasant one, like it has always been. But right now I don’t have that answer and I am living with it. Maybe God is molding me for something better in life. I am a God fearing person and he knows what is better for me more than I do, so I must follow what he has in store whole heartedly.

Its strange, just when you think you have seen enough and are avert to all the hurt.. BANG!! There is a new one you never thought could hurt you.  

Talking of the first day at work… the office is a huge business park. They keep cleaning it all the time for no reason. Its new and plush. The lady I reported to, Prema, was very pleasant and positive. She made me feel very comfortable on day 1. But the happiness of starting to work is overridden by the emotional turmoil I have been going through. The locale I got a house in is a plush one. There are all business parks and IT parks around. And the best part is my office is 2 buildings away from my home. In Mumbai where people have to travel for hours and in overcrowded local trains, they say I am lucky, I hardly have to walk. But for now this just does not matter to me. Roommate is good. House is cozy. I am going to start making an earning soon. People world over live away from family owing to work. Even Abhishek lived in Delhi all alone. Now I realize what he was actually going through. Its tough and people do that. Respect for all those who do, few days later I will respect myself for doing that. They say, home is where the heart is, and for now MY HEART IS IN CHENNAI…

Life takes you places...

I am amused after reading my older posts.. how I wished I study at an IIM after meeting the candidates who were aspiring for a Tier-I B School. I wasn't really aiming for one and just appeared for the sake of it. Filled up the form on the last day of registration, gave exams in a festive mood and appeared for the WAT/PI just because I was shortlisted. I was aiming for the Mumbai University MMS degree. How I wished I was taught by professors like the Director of IIM Trichy after meeting him. How I noted random thoughts about life taking a 180 degree turn.. And there I was. Life took a 180 degree turn!

Yes, I am now an IIM graduate. It will sound like a destiny's call after reading the earlier posts. After appearing for CAT's WAT/PI, I got a call from IIM Trichy. Amidst all the confusion of going so far, how will we arrange for the fees, I had never thought of leaving Maharashtra for studies.. and now Tamil Nadu!!!
I was leading a carefree laid back life until the day I got a call and within 4 days I was packing my bags, searching for loans, arranging tickets, formals and was ready to go down South for 2 years. I was so nervous, whether I will survive the competition there. How will I find my ground amidst all the IITians and NITians who must have got 99 percentile on their scorecards?? But all went well, I found my feet firm in that ground, dint have to struggle a bit to make an identity.. Studied things I always wanted to, the HR subjects and voilah what a splendid journey it was.. like it was an extension of my previous life.

2013, such an eventful year it was. Why dint I document it all this while? The most beautiful part of my life happened in this year. No brownie points for guessing :p its so evident.. I fell in love. How??? Well thats a story. Its with my senior in college. Had a long due crush on him right from the first day in IIM - T. Never spoke to him in the entire year and then got drunk on his farewell and blurted everything out. All this happened towards the end of my first year and his college life. I apologised to him, we started with being friends and soon discovered the fondness for each other which grew into consumable love. He is Abhishek Singh, this guy who carried a bad boy image, played football, marketer by DNA, pink cheeked fair northy guy. He plays, sings, acts and is witty. It was not easy to not fall for him, but he falling for me was a surprise.

Then Bangalore happened..! The city I would love to live in. I stayed there for my summer internship. The internship turned out to be a troublesome one, we were not required to report the office or do some worthy work and I ended up visiting malls and pubs everyday and exploring the city for a month. Also had a lovely time courting Abhishek there. I fell in love in Bangalore.. with Abhishek and the city :) Stayed at IIM Bangalore which was again a once in a lifetime experience, staying at a beautiful campus of the most coveted B School in the country and wondering how learning in this school would be.

It will almost be an year now, having met him and sailed through this torrid journey. He got posted in Delhi from Chennai. Could not meet for a couple of months. In the course, I also visited Delhi and Kozhikode. Finally I was out of my closet of not visiting places outside Trichy for it would make me feel guilty if I dint do good in studies. By God's grace, the report card was complaint less and I was on the go :) Then he came back to Chennai. Met a couple more times.

I got placed in HDFC Bank. The location they would offer is 90% Chennai. And the only reason I am in love with this job is the location is going to be Chennai. Looking forward to a good worklife ahead. Hope the smiles prevail throughout.

So yes.. Life took me to places.. I spent 22 years of my life in Nasik.. but these 2 years were a ride.. I was taken to Trichy, Bangalore, Delhi, Kozhikode and now its gonna be Chennai. I never planned for it, but it kept happening.. and I am thankful it did.

That's when Abhishek came for the Alumni match

The wonderful friends I made :)

At the IIM Kozhikode campus

Le Rock Cafe in Bangalore

TGIF Bangalore