Mumbai...a new chapter in my life

While writing this blog I was thinking what could be the title...Mumbai: the city of dreams or something else. It has been over six months since I landed in Mumbai. When I took up a job in Mumbai, my flatmate in Delhi told me that I was going to the swapan-nagari or the city of dreams, as Mumbai is known as. I wondered if taking up this job was indeed a step towards realising my dreams. I should wait and watch, I thought. And, with several thoughts about life in a new city, here I came. But six months later, I am still not sure.

The first month just whizzed past. I was staying in South Mumbai. Walks along Marine Drive. Sunset beyond Gateway of India. Shopping at Causeway. Bhelpuri and Paav-bhaji at Chowpatty... I was enjoying. And I succeded in avoiding the legendary Local Trains!

And, then I started looking for a house!
The hunt started...a 50sqft room for Rs10500 pm... I was suddenly thinking, if this was a dream or a nightmare!

Somehow I managed a decent accommodation in Suburbs. Wow! I won a battle!

But the path from suburbs to town was through another battlefield-the suburban railway network a.k.a. the local trains. Phew! I was thinking again...

For the last five months, I have thought a lot, and I am still thinking... whether this is a city of dreams.

A couple of months back, I came across a taxiwallah who echoed my thoughts. I was riding a taxi, along with a friend, when the taxiwallah asks us, "Madam, aap Dilli ke ho kya?" I replied in affirmative, and he poured his heart out. Apparently, this guy hailed from a small town in UP, and recognised the dialect in which me and my friend were conversing. He had been working with Indian Army, when he thought of making more money and trying his luck in the swapan-nagari. He quit his job and landed in the city, with dreams in his eyes and thoughts in his mind. I reached my destination wondering will this guy be successful?

All of us do think a lot about our dreams and how to realise them. We do act towards that in our own different ways. I have done the same, and so has that taxiwallah. My thoughts go back to him as I recollect his voice full of sadness and regeret, and I wish the city does fulfill his dreams.

As for my dreams, it is a long way to go...