Author - Surabhi Dalmia
“Jaa Surabhi jaa, jee le apni zindagi” (Go Surabhi Go, live your dreams) – with tears in his eyes, Papaji bid me goodbye at the airport. An introvert girl with a bag full of dreams was finally ready to take off to Mumbai. I grew up in Calcutta, a city that has always wrapped me in its warmth of love - family, friends, my all-time favorite puchkas (pani puri) and lifetime memories. A dream of mine was quietly turning into a reality - a dream to move to a new city, to live independently, to step out of my comfort zone, a dream that has been so close to my heart. My heart was exhilarated with the thought of realizing my dream and at the same time unhappy for leaving my family. With a mixed bag of emotions, I bid my family and this city a final goodbye. I was literally and metaphorically flying and above the clouds. My 'Journey of 1285 miles!’ - from the City of Joy to the City of Dreams - had begun.
“How would the new city turn out to be? Will I perform well at my 1st job? Will I be able to survive without my family? Will I be able to make new friends?” - And other innumerable thoughts crossed my mind as I landed into the new city. I was welcomed at the airport by my aunt and cousin brother. Luckily, they were in Mumbai for a week and the onus of helping me settle down in Mumbai fell on them. The week went by in a flash with mornings in the corporate world and evenings in finding a place. Mumbai, being one of the most expensive cities and with so many newcomers every day, house-hunting is an uphill task. I can literally write an essay on how difficult it can be to find a place that is beautiful, spacious and affordable in Mumbai. Finally, we zeroed down on a PG setup within a 3BHK house - The landlord’s family stayed in one room and the other two rooms were rented out. This would be my “home” for the coming days. Due to some issues, my landlord asked me to delay my plans. My aunt dropped me at one of the relative’s place who were happy to help me. I hugged my aunt and started crying like a baby, asking her not to leave me. Everyone around me tried to compose me but, for the first time, my heart felt lonely. That night I wept and learnt the pain of loneliness.
I woke up next morning with a strong mind and self-belief that things would be fine. Travelling from Andheri to Dadar, in Mumbai’s traffic was exhausting. Till then I was commuting to office using cabs which soon started pinching my monthly budget. My office peers then suggested using the local trains – the lifeline of Mumbai. Travelling in Mumbai locals is an art which Mumbaikars have learnt and have excelled over the years. People literally dare you to get down at a specific station of a train on a specific route. Being a newcomer, my friends passed on useful tricks of the trade – trains that would be empty, apps that showed train timings, how to identify the ladies’ compartments, catching trains having last stop at my destination or max 2/3 stations later. With these tricks under my sleeves, my train journeys soon became less exhaustive. I was now saving on both travelling time and expenses. I would spend my leisure time with my relatives. We would head over to Juhu beach, make sandcastles and enjoy kulfi’s with the cute little munchkins. I soon moved to the PG. Unpacking my bag, I arranged my belongings and tried to make that little space my own with few photographs that I carried along. I sent pictures of my organised room to the family WhatsApp group assuring them that I was settling in well at the new place. Dinner was kindly served by landlord’s wife. In all honesty, I had just gulped it down my throat, badly missing the food made by Mumma.
My weekdays were quite sorted - Wake up, get milk and other stuff from outside, cook breakfast, get ready for office, come back in the evening, call up home and friends, spend some time with my roomie, have dinner and sleep. But weekends were still a mystery for me – I seemed to have too much time and nothing to do. I am an Actuarial student and was appearing for exams (well, I am still appearing for them) so weekends should have been ideally spent studying but I just could not concentrate. Then I started going to the Siddhivinayak Temple on weekends and pray to Bappa to give me the strength to stay positive and adapt to this new way of life. Sometimes, I would walk it down to one of the beaches closest to my place and sit there for hours, watching the sea and enjoy the serenity. Out there I used to find solace of different level, quietly sitting by the sea and reflecting on life. There were moments when I would feel like running away from the city thinking that I had made a wrong decision. In those moments, I would call up my loved ones and they would remind me of the kind of life that I had envisioned for myself. This assured my heart that I would soon make a place for myself in this big city soon.
With an affirmed decision of adapting to the city, I started making plans for the weekend. I started hanging out with my Bhabhi (sister-in-law). We went to beaches to have gola, shop in Bandra, watch movies, enjoy pani-puris instead of puchkas (yes, they taste very different) and doing things that I would normally do in Calcutta. By now, some colleagues had turned friends too. I would explore new places to eat - enjoy the variety of street food that the city has to offer ––vada pav, misal pav, pav bhaji, usal pav, Mumbai sandwich – and the list of items with bread is endless. I also moved on to exploring new cuisines too – Thai, Burmese, Lebanese, Mediterranean and so on. Slowly I started settling down and have a homely feeling for this city.
One Friday evening, my friends asked me to chill out with them at a house party (a concept alien to me then). With nothing planned for the weekend, it was an instant yes. We were enjoying till late in the night when I noticed that I had crossed the deadline set by my PG owners. I told my friends that I would have to crash somewhere. However, a brilliant idea struck my friend. She asked me “Have you been to Marine Drive?” I said, “No, It is still on my bucket list.” It was already past midnight and I was not sure if I should be going out this late. But with my friends around, the love for sea and remembering the phrase “Mumbai is a city that never sleeps”, I chose to enjoy than worry about time of the day. In no time, we took a kaali peeli (Mumbai cabs) and reached the iconic Marine drive. I could see children riding bicycles, jamming sessions with guitar and drums, couples walking hands in hands, people working out, tea vendors selling tea and snacks, hawkers selling balloons, people simply strolling and enjoying the view. We were there that whole night having fun and enjoying the splendid moments of life without knowing that it would be a memory that I would cherish forever. In a few hours, the sun rose, we had breakfast at a famous Parsee cafe and were on our way back home with a tired body but a happy heart. The series of hangouts had just started – sometimes with office friends, roommates and flatmates, friends of friends, family friends and cousins. Beach and seaside visits were more often now with Marine Drive and Worli Sea face being on the top list. I started striking things off my bucket list like attending stand-up comedy shows, watching plays, travelling to weekend gateways, going for a solo hiking, attending an art workshop. However, nothing can beat enjoying the monsoons at Marine Drive with a corn in hand and a beautiful sun setting in the backdrop.
Soon it was time for the most celebrated festival of the year – Ganesh Chaturthi. I had grown up seeing Durga Puja in Calcutta - the magnificence and scale of which cannot be matched with any other festival in the country but this too had its own uniqueness. Huge idols of Lord Ganesha adorn the streets in big pandals. People get idols and perform rituals at their homes too. I got a chance to visit the most famous idol “Lalbaughcha Raja” (the king of Lal Baug) with my relatives. Lalbaughcha Raja is believed to be the wish-fulfilling deity. Every year crores of devotees offer their prayers to the Lord. We had planned to visit late in the night so that it would be less crowded. But, Mumbai being Mumbai, you will find every place crowded no matter what time of the day it is. No cars were allowed in the vicinity of the pandals, so everyone had to walk it down to the main stage where the idol was placed. After standing in the queue for almost an hour or so (quicker as it can take up to 7-8 hours for mukh-darshan and up to 15-17 hours for charan-sparsh), we finally saw the idol. The idol was huge and visible from quite a distance. With a digital LED background, priests looking like tiny ants and with the chant of mantras, the atmosphere was surreal. We offered our prayers and continued our pandal hopping for the rest of the night.
A few months later, I finally shifted to an apartment where I had no restrictions and could handle things my own way. Finding helpers for the house, getting electrical appliances fixed, paying electricity bills on time, cooking my favorite food, ordering groceries, getting my laundry on time – I was doing things that I had once taken for granted. From asking for a pocket money from parents to paying the house helps, I grew up. But I was happy. Later, I got my mind got back to also focus on studying, balancing it with work and leisure. I was finally standing on my feet and living independently. I now felt like being a part of the city, settling in the vibe and living my dream. I started enjoying the transformed form of myself, the new way of living - being responsible and having fun at the same time. Surviving happily for a couple of years now, I have my favorite spots in the city and favorite people to hang out with. I know where to get the best South Indian Food, the café that serves the best hot chocolate, the famous vada pav store, the party spots in the city, the best street food lane and lots more. I am so acquainted with city that I can take anyone for a Mumbai Darshan. Well, there are many places and activities in Mumbai that are still on my bucket list. Hopefully, once this pandemic is over and things are a little back to normal, I will be in that part of the world and ticking off all the items!
