Page 53 - SAM CLUB DAY 2016 all pages.cdr

SAM CLUB DAY ‘16

Mumbai

- Parth Adhikari '2k11

I, amongst many others of my batch, celebrated the first day of 2016 on a train, travelling in our very own
carriage to Mumbai from Goa along the picturesque Konkan line. It will be the best first day of a year for
me; and the stay in the Maximum City, or the City of Seven Islands, perhaps, the best four days of my life.
I did many things expected of a young traveler arriving for the first me in Mumbai – visited the Gateway of
India, travelled aboard the famous Local lines of both Central and Western Railways (some mes without a
cket, turning a blind eye to I and II painted on the coaches, and then with a poker face, walking by the
cket inspector), had a photograph clicked in front of the name plate 'Jalsa', et al, but these were not what
ma ered, and these are not what I will remember.
Stuck in my memory will be the experiences – strolling along the Marine Drive in the morning, then also
around midnight, both alone and once with someone innocently and incessantly pra ling about their
intents and interests; watching crazy people skip upon the tetrapods there; gobbling down all the fast food
Chowpa y had to offer; looking out of the gra ng of the Suburban (travelling with the white-clad
Dabbawallahs) to realize that Dadar is awfully crowded (always being careful with my wallet), ea ng Pav
with almost anything under the sun – Vada, Bhaji, Omele e; in almost every form possible – grilled, bu er
grilled (thank you, Jumbo King); visi ng the orderly Godrej unit in Vikhroli, reaching Juhu Beach and finding
it a big disappointment; searching like a hound for a suitable book at Kitab Khana (way be er than the
Oxford Bookstore located nearby); picking up a lot of Bhindi (a portmanteau for Bombay Hindi) swear
words, straining my neck looking up at the Statue of Progress atop the imposing and colossal Chhatrapa
Shivaji Terminus, and, finally returning to Marine Drive for a farewell walk, with the waves breaking up at
the shore and the breeze in my face, taking in the panorama of the lit up stretch across the sea, and I
couldn't help but liken Mumbai to Manha an.
I did miss out on many predictable things – making a day of the Elephanta Caves; having a cup of tea at The
Taj; visi ng the billion dollar An lla; diving or prancing at Adlabs Imagica; watching a play at Prithvi
Theatre; driving on the Bandra Worli Sea Link (pedestrians are not allowed and there was not enough
money le for the to and fro cab with the toll tax); buying something at the Colaba Causeway, and many
other ac vi es, I am sure.

But I think Mumbai, or Bombay, as I prefer it to be called (like Madras for Chennai), is a wonderful city and
has been the highlight of the technical tour which we are comple ng here. There remain places to be
explored and experiences to be lived, but Bombay has set the bar pre y high.

I hope to return, more mature, to Bombay, and relive everything. And thus, live again.

Mumbai, like Norah Jones' New York City, is such a beau ful disease.

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