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 –
- Chembur Fine Arts, Chembur
- IIT, Powai
- Shanmukhananda Sabha, Sion
- Crawford Market, Victoria Terminus / CST
- Badshah’s Falooda, Victoria Terminus / CST
- Sidharth’s place, Powai
- Radhakrishnan uncle’s place, Wadala
- RCity Mall, Ghatkopar
- Phoneix Mall, Kurla
- Marine Drive
- Prithvi Theatre, Juhu
- Pop Tates, Vikhroli
- Bandra Worli Sea-Link
- Bandra Market
- Walk around Dadar
- Out of Blue, Powai
- Siddhi Vinayak Temple, Prabhadevi
- Powai Lake
- Andheri
- Santacruz
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 🙂