An ode to Mumbai

This weekend I got the chance to visit Mumbai and old friends from college who are there. Mumbai is an amazing city - and I've been there many times - I spent a long time there while I was vacationing during college, and I got a chance to spend a week there in 2006 when I was on my Bharat Darshan. I also visited Mumbai in 2004 while attending the World Social Forum in Goregaon, a suburb of Mumbai.

I loitered around, as I tend to do during holidays... and according to me - should be done. I finished The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury and started Friedmann's Hot Flat and Crowded. I went for an evening walk on Marine Drive, sampled the local cuisine and ate crab for the first time.

Me and my friend watched two movies almost back to back - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (tooooooooooooo long) and Dilli 6 (toooooooooooo blah.... no words can aptly describe that experience). We all went for a heritage walk around the Precinct area of Mumbai -- starting with the old Town Hall (now the Central Library). We ended up at St Thomas' Cathedral - which is actually the oldest part of Bombay.

Did you know that Bombay is the portuguese for new bay? Interesting right? The walk taught us quite a bit and it was just a great way to spend a nice Sunday. Even sitting on the steps of the Central Library was an experience - and I had a good friend along with me which made it even nicer.

Driving through Mumbai is a nice experience. I attended a wedding reception of a very handsome young man which made me feel a bit on the oldish side.... but on the other hand I met up with a very old friend and we all had a great time!

Furthermore --- I was there in Mumbai for another friend's birthday!! So all the more cause for celebration!! :) Had nice chinese food (now I'm paying for all the excesses). We met up in (This is going to sound very very cool) Alisha Chenoy's old apartment in the posh locality of Bandra (Yes, I am a jet setter!).

So even though my flight entering Mumbai was an hour late and the train reaching Delhi was an hour late .... the travelling wasn't too bad. I finished 1/3rd of Friedmann's new book and I'm just dying to get through the whole thing now. As a person who loves nature and the Himalayas, it is very sad to read about what is happening in the world today.