May 25th...

Today after many days, i feel bored at office for the simple reason that I
dont have work . Yes my project guide after my last meeting didn't assign work to me :)

So I thought it might be a good idea to write about my experiences in mumbai..

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My First month @ Sandeep's
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(sandeep is a friend of mine who stays in Mumbai)

Though it began on a disastrous note, It was the most luxurious period of my stay in Mumbai.

The Bad
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The day I landed in Mumbai, sandeep was busy juggling his parties and left a key with his friend. I got the key and walked in just to find out that the watchman won't
allow me inside. I was prospecting spending a night sitting with watchman waiting for
sandeep with no signs of him answering his mobile. I found about a nearby hotel which was a few meters away ( Better that i dint venture there.. got to know later that they charge 9000 bucks per day :)..
All my savings in verizon could not have afforded me a week's stay there )

Its almost 12 pm now ...

So I tried playing my IIMB card :)
I spoke to the Apartment secretrary..

dekhiye bhai saab..main bangalore se hoom main IIMB mein pad raha hoon chaho to app mera ID car dekh lijiye...
sadly..though he appreciated the fact that I was from B but wasnt willing to let me in..

Its 12:30 now...

I was desparate enough to search for a nearby park ..
Suddenly this young gentleman walks up... He is on the board of directors
( well an MBA way of calling the apartment association)..I tell him my prob..and hurrah my IIM B card works now :)

I realized there are lot of things that money can buy but for others youcan play up your ID card as well (Well thats a PJ and I suck at that :))

The Good
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sandeep stays alone in a 1 bed-room platform and given the fact that he stayed long
enough before I could move to Xavier's was a blessing for me. I could afford the luxury of avoiding travelling by the LOCAL ( When i moved in Mumbai, i used to refer to it as a METRO and it used to raise more than a few eyebrows "who is this unpad gawar comin into mumbai"..now I can definitely see why) The travel to office was one hour by auto where
I could happily sleep..(ppl who know me or even attended the training can definitely vouch
about my gift)

Most of my sight seeing was directed by the auto wallah's... Each one used to show me a new route in the first week.. and I used to end up paying twice the normal charges... I developed a
knack for gettin robbed :)
Then I discovered teh Magic Mantra..get into auto say BKC tell him LBS Marg se jayenge...
It solved all my travel woes..well almost... as I said I had by then perfected the art of being cheated...and would some how manage to find a loophole which would even surprise sandeep at
times..

The good part about staying at sandeep's place was we could order food together.. there was a maid who washed clothes (even though she did at her own terms and wud arrive at just the right time to ensure that i reach office late..)..there was a tv...and an AC which wud occassionally work...

sandeep stays at Hiranandani..one of most posh localities in Mumbai..so everythin is available right from Mocha's to Pizza hut..(that was just to give u a hint that I went to Mocha's :)) and most importantly teh evening crowd is good.. You get to see the rich and bright side of Mumbai here...

The UGLY
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Now just because i plan to use the film title as a theme .. does not mean that i will write something here also :) ( Well the original title is the Good, bad and the ugly and i have interachanged the order to align with my experiences... This is probably because of the fact that I have a bought a dvd of clint eastwood movies..now u understand how bored I get at hostel )

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Xaveir's
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My days of luxury were over once i moved out of sandeep's apartment... I live the life of a typical mumbaikar now..where the day begins with the first thought being will I be able to make it to the 8:10 bandra train ? If I make it will i be able to get down at bandra or atleast the
next station?? (Yeah thats right ...One time me, sandeep and another guy tried to get down at a
station n succeded at managing to get down at the next station..and it was a sunday...)

I share a room with a guy whos from IMT Nagpur...We dont talk much except for a few mins in the evening

Life in mumbai is a mad rush progressing almost mechanically with adherence to time
to the last nano second...every day is the same...


Xavier's is nice place with buildings resembling ancient catherals following the old gothic style ( what i meant to say was they appeal to an artistic eye..I dont know anything about gothic except that Goths champions are cheap in age of empires)


@LOCAL
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Life in mumbai revolves around local trains....You see all kinds of ppl in the local train..some one standing over you..some one sleeping over you...( I found ppl whose sleeping talents even I would feel jealous of :) ) To put it simply you dont need the support of some rod .. you have ample support from all the four directions..in fact it gets painful at times...

STATUTORY WARNING: Stay away from teh area around the exits lest you shall
be thrown out by the barbarians...

There is this funda of are you travelling in the direction of traffic or against the traffic (sthing on the lines of are you with the US or Russia during the cold war times..)

The direction of traffic is the one towards south mumbai or other areas. where a lot of offices exist..and you get crushed by the rush in the train...if not what's tommorow for :) (yes my friends death has a scheme for every one...aaj nahi to kal)


There are particular stations where you can hear the sounds that even defy the sound effects of LOTRs ...

The setting is "Vadala Road" station...

The train is 5 minutes away....ppl in the train start getting restless...each one in a hurry trying to make way for the exit...Each one navigates his way through the sea for the ultimate destination... the door on the side of the platform.. newbies like me making anxious enquires like
is vadala the next station?? Experts shouting profanities at ppl to get out of the area around exit or get killed..

At a distant land (vadala) 5 mins away ppl start getting restless in anticipation.. flexing their muscles and stretching themselves for the ultimate battle which will give them eternal glory and
direct entry to heaven...

The train approaches the platform.. the battle is going to be swift and short..with duration not exceeding a minute..

The train is at a slow pace.. two armies waiting to match their wits.. one in the train ..the other outside it.. And then.. you can hear marching soldiers ( I swear even an army cant make
a louder noise..you have to hear it to know it) their footsteps striking hard against the cement platform making a rhythmic beat...

No one is sure who strikes first.. no one is at an advantage... In a minute's mess every thing is over..leaving soldiers hurt and bleeding....

( TO PUT IT IN A SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE...THERE IS INFLOW AND OUTFLOW INTO
THE COMPARTMENT..NOW WHO WINS IS A QUESTION A SCHOOL STUDENT CAN
ANSWER..so i am not goin to waste my time explaining who wins the war)


No body is sure what happened.. there are winners and losers on both sides... The ppl who manage to get in get take guard at the entrance displaying their prized possesion.. the gateway..
The ppl who get down smirk back with a sense of achievement and possession of

the platform which would rival the satisfaction of a yogi who has achieved nirvana...

and there are ppl with hurt prides.. they failed in their mission..their life's ambition...and only the next train came redeem them which is another eternal ( 5 minutes ) wait...

Its a battle which would even make the spartans feel a chill down their spine...

I want to say that i am Maximus decimus meridius (oh i dont remember the hero's name in 300) who defeated the barbarian hordes and secured the platform..but then i dont get down at vadala station :)


Now I still want to write about my internship and places i have been to mumbai and a lot of other stuff.. But i m person who believes that the pen is mighter than the sword (or is
it the email now)...so i want to use it sparingly..

I want to write more but ppl around me have started givin this glare sayin..we know that u are free but dont be blantant enought to flaunt it...lest someone jealous might get you...

If you have survived this and have the persistence and patience of Thomas
alva edison,i may write again..

Till then REST IN PEACE..