India - My Life within and without

100 posts down the lane and I am still struggling to understand self, still fighting back love, still telling myself that I will bounce back!!!

I am sure of all the above and happy to know and feel that I am at least happy and peaceful in life...god bless HIM...and if God have some time for me, then please bless me too!!!


VJ

Where else would you go when its time to have fun during the Festival and we need Feast...well Mumbai obviously!!!

I lived in Mumbai for pretty long to call it my home land or one of my home lands. The best place to celebrate August to January is no where else but Mumabi. I have seen, enjoyed and obviously celebrated all the festivals there. From Ganpati to Diwali to Ramdaan to Modern festivals like New Year and New job Parties all...it was fun and as much as I remember it will be fun forever if I ever get the chance to celebrate a festival there.

I have lots of memories attached to Mumbai Festival time. Being in the advertising industry, Festival season is THE season to celebrate and make big bucks! I remember once it was a day before Choto Diwali and we were in Marine Lines for a meeting... That day we left early morning for meetings and didn't get the chance to come back until next day. We used to go to town by Motorcycle as its faster than cars and easier than crowded trains. That day while going to town his bike got some how messed up and it took long time for us to reach there. Our meeting got pushed back to evening and while the bike was getting fixed, we arranged new meetings. I had no preparation for coming up festival and no money in time in hand to buy the stuff. So I planned to buy the decoration stuff and some sweets after the meeting but as meetings got stretched, i got no time to buy anything. When we reached back to Andheri, we were starving...I was pissed cos I got no time to buy stuff and happy to get new work...

Finally I decided to speak up. Where he was craving some food, I was looking for shops around andheri station east to buy some thing before mid night. I finally found a small shop which was about to close and next to it was a hand cart wala with fresh pav bhaji and Anda bhurji...we both got satisfied. I prayed to god in my heart for helping me out and not letting him loose his temper.

This is a small event I just remembered with the connection of Festival, Fun, Feast and Mumbai... I have alot more real fun ones!!!!

But those later...

V.

I purposely skipped my last post just to show my dear committed friends that its easy to skip....and fun to write.. I enjoy it and well I am the one who is a bit over free...no work, no family around and then alot to do all the time...

I finally have joined a school - Yes I am going back to school. I will be associate in a year or two..depends on how many credits I get and achieve. I went to school some 13 years back...as much as I remember it was more of following the discipline and less of studies. I dont mean that I got the double masters and bachelors for free...nope I have worked hard for them specially the Masters and my professional degree. I actually enjoyed and loved those subjects so it was easy as butter..if thats right connection :P

So I guess I am off today's topic which is Humble abode - literally it means where I find my humble abode, my home.... I know why is he giving me all these topics, so I go back to India - Mumbai to be precise!

S. I am not coming back to India and I don't need to give same reasons over and over again but I can write about those in some other blogs.

My humble abode is my place in Hollywood. I love it, I decorate it, I clean it and I enjoy my precious moments here. I am a banjara - Gypsy.. I was born in one city, raised in another and then went to study to the capital of India - New Delhi. Then my profession took me to Mumbai and I loved it...I enjoyed my freedom, my style and my home there as much as I could. Being a banjaran (gypsy woman) I have traveled in most of my country and I am proud of it. After all whats the fun if I dont enjoy and see my own country and roam around in all over the world...right?

So recently, in frustration of being jobless and wasting time mode, I went to shopping with a friend to Ikea (ikea.com) and bought few things I always wanted to buy but my ex room mate oops my ex husband never liked my style so I never bought. I bought new candles, rug for floor and few more things only for home. I love Ikea stuff, its earthy and ethnic. I am from India after all - these things do attract me. I brought those things home on first day of Roza and wished myself a wonderful Ramdan and decorated my place. Now I need to take few pictures to show it to friends, but my camera is not with me so I have to wait....

After decorating the place I think I want to call this my humble abode, not because I live here and I sleep here...but I love this place, I love coming back to it..and I am lucky to have a place to come back too...

S. I think you need to work on your blogs more than just writing few words in sentence...you decide how and why...I think I gave you hint.

SA - Missed you, wish you were here to see my humble abode. Thanks for sharing your ranting ravings..it does make difference in our life. I never got any topic from you so please feel free to share and direct me to another level.

Hugs and tons of Kisses to both of you!

I am not coming back, this time you are visiting me...any one listening?


V.

So S. gave me topic for the day - Visit to Mumbai.....

Oh well, Visit to Mumbai...hmmm...When the very first time I landed from Rajdhani Express at Central station of Bombay, it was crowded & stinky. I was happy to see crowded station, full of excitement, full of people & kind of happening place...!!!

I was new to Bombay, a friend of a friend came to pick me up. We had never seen each other and cell phones were dreams for us. He had a pager, I had no phone at all. Anoop recognized me, dunno how but he did. I was still worried & scared to be with a guy who is unknown to me but I had a faith in my friend, which made me give a bright smile to Anoop. He took me to local station area, and I was introduced to local trains aka backbone of Mumbai.

I sat in weirdest looking train, empty and stinky. It was Sunday morning. The train took us to Nalasopara, one of the dirtiest suburbs of Mumbai. As I was not aware of Mumbai, so Nalasopara was also Mumbai for me. On the way, I saw Mumbai aka Bombay...the unknown city, the city of fun and the city of fast paced life.

We reached Nalasopara. After a cup of chai, the first thing I did was, checking and counting of my money and my bag thoroughly. I was paranoid not because Anoop was not my friend, but the stories of Mumbai, on top of combination of Mumbai and pickpocketing were common in the world, I came from. :))) Yeah this was my first visit to Mumbai.

Next day I had to reach at the studio in Juhu, where I was going to start working. So I took the train from Nalasopara to Andheri. Train was crazily crowded at 6.30 A.M. and I almost fainted while standing in Ladies coach...I have no idea how I got down at Andheri station but I was at right station. According to Anoop, during peak hours, if you can get down at right station, then you are really lucky. I took a rickshaw from Andheri west to Juhu. At my destination the driver asked for Rs 27, and I seriously had a argument with rickshaw wala...Delhi don't have meter rickshaws after all. I was getting used to the "system".......Rest is the history...

In my 10 days trip to Mumabi I just fell in love with Mumbai. I went back to Delhi and with in two months, I was back to the financial capital of India with my luggage and Dreams, never to leave..never to go back, to make it big in life, to be what I am...to be the part of Mumabi aka Bombay.

Alas!!! I had to leave, Mumbai, Hopes, Dreams and alot more for US, for HIM...but thats another History!!!