Mad About Bombay

October 7, 2008 | Filed Under life's answers 

Id happened on Thursday and I took off for Bombay on Wednesday night.

Pune is a charming city and it has much better weather than Bombay but I will never fall in love with this city. My heart lies in Bombay. I realized it this weekend.

I went for the Strand book sale on Friday to Juhu. It was a weekday and there were hardly any people there. It was a hall filled with books and without the hustle bustle of too many people. Perfect. I spent a couple of hours browsing through the titles. I had to stretch myself at times to prevent my back and body from getting stiff. I bought a lot of books too. I am extremely excited about them. Books are the best company. I may not travel too far away from the place I was born and books are my only source of reaching worlds that I have never seen, will never see, and those that don’t even exist.  As usual I have veered.

Towards the end of the book buying session, I met a friend who is recently back from studying in the US. She gifted me the book - The Film Club, which has a very interesting premise. So you see, I was feeling very rich.

We then headed for coffee at Prithvi. Sooner or later am going to take a sabbatical and spend my time sitting at the Prithvi cafe writing. Unlike other cafes it doesn’t have artificial noise and there is a constant colour about the place. At the cafe we spoke about a particular idea that I had for project10tothe100.com. I may never end up putting it on Google but interesting perspectives were shared and questions raised.

Post coffee I dropped my friend home, and after dropping her as I was returning home in the car, I realized how much Bombay is ingrained in me. How familiar the roads are, how in spite of sitting in an airconditioned car, I could feel the air of the city. How the radio made me feel with the vibe of the city. There was nothing foreign about it.

The car I was driving - the black wagon R - the family car, it was beautifully responding to my touch. I have driven it extensively and have fond memories of it. That drive back took me back to the numerous times I have been in the car on the Bombay roads. Driving on the western express highway, or through the sahar airport, or in the lanes of juhu or crossing the dreaded saki naka - it all seemed so much fun. And everything outside seemed so picture perfect, especially after I had muffled the outside sound with the airconditioning. I was in a happy bubble.

The rest of the weekend was as good, catching up with friends, spending time with folks. Saturday lunch was had at a place called Banana Leaf at 4 bungalows, good south indian food. The best part of it was the dessert called Gadbad. Nice restaurant but be warned that the quantity is huge and is tough for one person to finish it.

Am back in Pune now. Like I said it has its charms, but this city has no reason to love me.

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