the city that gave me goosebumps. several times.

A city that accepted me whole heartedly for what I was. Made me part of it. Allowed me to experience some great moments. This is the city where I fell in love all over again. With myself. With Mumbai.

On October 15th 2013, I got down from an early morning flight at around 7:12 am and entered Mumbai Airport. With thoughts and dreams that always overwhelmed me about the city I aspired to be part of.  All by myself, I moved to Mumbai leaving behind a city that churned the person I am today – Chennai. The most important people in my life – amma, appa, grandparents, friends, teachers, gurus, home, my comfort zone was all left behind. I got a cab and addressed the cab driver as sir. Straight ahead, he dropped me at ‘Raj Legacy’ in Vikhroli. I bucked up and got ready for my first day at work after settling into the guest house.

Work routine happened. The next 4 weeks, I got into preparing for a certificate exam. Amidst that, I found a house in Vikhroli, about 600 meters away from my work place. That’s a dream life for any Mumbaikar. No travel. Not much distance. Prime location on the main road. Decent locality. And a house was found. It was that time of the year that I started experiencing real life. In those 4-5 weeks (until November 6th 2013), I explored different parts of Mumbai and these experiences mean a lot to me.

Some of them include –

1. Chembur Fine Arts, Chembur
2. IIT, Powai
3. Shanmukhananda Sabha, Sion
4. Crawford Market, Victoria Terminus / CST
5. Badshah’s Falooda, Victoria Terminus / CST
6. Sidharth’s place, Powai
7. Radhakrishnan uncle’s place, Wadala
8. RCity Mall, Ghatkopar
9. Phoneix Mall, Kurla
10. Marine Drive
11. Prithvi Theatre, Juhu
12. Pop Tates, Vikhroli
13. Bandra Worli Sea-Link
14. Bandra Market
15. Walk around Dadar
16. Out of Blue, Powai
17. Siddhi Vinayak Temple, Prabhadevi
18. Powai Lake
19. Andheri
20. Santacruz

I was mostly accompanied to these places by friends, colleagues, family friends. I am really grateful to all of them who made time to take me out and show me places around. But, I have been to some of them on my own too. These were times, I wish I had a lot more time to explore Mumbai. The train journeys, the auto rides, the people I met, everyone had a story to share with me.

And, one day, the city I aspired to live in abruptly came to an end due to decisions of shifting to charming Pondicherry 🙂

On Dec 20th 2013, at around 7:12 pm I was back in Mumbai Airport. And this time, I wasn’t alone. I was filled with memories worth a lifetime.

Mumbai. Thanks for taking me into your arms. And, allowing me to leave away with fond memories. 

Until we meet soon, be the awesome place you’re 🙂