The Maximum city

Bombay-The biggest,fastest and the richest city of India.The city that never sleeps,the city of dreams,the city with spirit of steel.The city of the teeming locals and Dabbawalas,the city where weather has two names-Monsoon and Humidity.It's a city of Malabar hill and Dharavi juxtaposed together.A city where no one can be claustrophobic staring out at the sea from a Marine Drive. A city where you understand the meaning of the term "PDA" staring out at Reclamation and Bandstand,and a city which is always running,chasing a hope.

A city where "Enigma" crowd will gladly step out of its Merc to eat out at "Bade Miyan".Its the maximum city where everyone takes a shot-for a better life. A city where the chain of MacD's coexist with scores of Vada pao eateries.The city with its own lingual identity of a "Bumbaiyya Hindi". Its a city where Real estate prices in Nariman Point will equal that of Manhatten. The city of "Bollywood" where no Mumbai darshan tour is complete without seeing a "Jalsa" or a "Mannat",its a city of Wannabes and Page 3, all wanting a tryst with 5 minutes of fame. The city where you'll get a fag,cutting chai and food even at 3 at night,a city never in darkness,ablaze with al the neons,pubs and discs.A city buzzing with a contagious energy which grabs you as soon as you step out of "VT" marvelling its architecture.Its a city where solitude is a luxury.Its a city where everything centres around business and whats in it for me? Intimacy and privacy is a elusive entity here. Its a city where thousands escape disillusionment every night in the countless bars tucked away in every nook and corner of the city-waiting for a better tomorrow. Its a city where people are perpetually struggling- right from the locals,to the traffic,to meeting deadlines,balancing the personal and professional life,maintaining relations. As go the words-" Aye dil hai jeena mushkil yahan, jara hat ke,jara bach ke,ye hai Bombay meri jaan".

reliving the past

My two years in Bombay are coming to an end.It remains for me as impersonal a city as it was two years ago. What for me defines Bombay?Bombay for me means so much i hold near to heart,yet it means nothing.Behind all the glitz and glamour and a "happening" life, essentially lie lonely hearts.As i look back, Bombay consists of a set of memories,vivid,so life like-yet doomed to fade away.As the days pass by I desperately try clutching to them-recreate them for one last time- before things,life and relations are altered forever.Im reminded of a friend asking-"why do all things we cant live without have to come to an end?"As soon as i started making bonds, it was time to move on.Its time to readjust and prepare yourself for your new life,new place,new friends.We all will form new support systems,people to move out with,watch movies with,go on walks with,go out for lunches and dinners with, the new will replace the old-as is the law and some will move on in life and some wont-or maybe they would.As of now moving on seems to me as incomprehensible and waiting for these memories when im alone fills me with dread but as they say-the show must go on.The things , the people and the life i had learnt to take for granted and learned not to live without has shaken me from my complacency and would soon be gone. The times are about to change, yet instead of looking ahead with a sparkle in my eye, i find myself looking back wistfully willing time to come to a standstill,wanting to recreate and relive all that which stood dear to me these two years for one last time.