The evening was soothingly pleasant to the humidity-afflicted souls living in Bombay. The first downpour in the morning had washed the roads, adding an extra charm to the ceaselessly vibrant city immersed in innumerable colors of evening lights. The dark gray roads glistening in streetlights made you want to keep wandering endlessly. I felt a bit hungry, so asked a taxiwala to drop me at some good restaurant.
The ambience of the restaurant was passable, as it looked from outside. So I decided to step in. Well, nothing was worth mentioning till I cast a glance at a corner of the restaurant. The calm on her face belied her lively features. The soft creamy skin which looked as touchable as the peel of a ripe alphonso, contrasted well with the colourful and sumptuous interiors of the restaurant. Her blond hair tied in a ponytail seemed to invite you to untie it and feel its silky touch, her perfectly carved body made you mistake her for a Greek Godess. To sum-up, her exuberantly sharp features were enough to drive a hermit crazy, let alone an ordinary guy. There appeared absolutely no reason for her sitting alone. Her deep brownish eyes were apparently glued to the page of a booklet. God knows what it was.
The dormant impish spirit in me all of a sudden wakes-up and I start toying with the idea of walking up to her to ask if I could sit with her. But my inhibition in the form of commonsense prevents me. "She may be waiting for someone", it says. Not more than 5 minutes later, God knows from where this sanuwabitch walks in and as if with a premeditated thought comes over sraight to her and whispers something in her ear. The guy sporting funky casuals looks cool and handsome at the same time. Was she waiting for him? Now trust me, I wasn't eavesdropping but still overhear, "Hi! is ne one comin over here". No!, she said. Can I take the seat? Yaa sure, she replies.
So, he sits there, right in front of her and starts blabbering, "Which country u from?" France, You? UK. And the conversation goes on... The guy now rolls-up a cigarrette and offers it to her, which she readily accepts. In about 10 min. they both get-up, and walk out together, blowing rings of smoke.
My meal? Well, the waiter comes over to tell me that the stuff I ordered isn't available, so I order something else. My order is placed before me soon. I plug my ears with the earphones and tune in to 91.1 FM. "tu pasand hai kisi aur ki...tujhe chahta koi aur hai!", nice song!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
SATURDAY T(RAIN) IN MUMBAI, 7/6/08
PART-II
I reached Kharghar railway station at around 4:30 in the evening. Generally, there is a train for CST (VT) every 20 minutes but today it seemed like something was wrong. The station, unlike other days, was almost empty, with passengers countable on fingers. A good sign though, as far as availability of seats is concerned but it also posed question on the availability of the train considering the heavy downpour of the morning. About 15 minutes later, the station echoed with the announcement-"due to heavy rains in the morning, the tracks between some stations have gone under water, resulting in cancellation of some of the scheduled trips. Some trains are re-scheduled, whereas the transportation is being restored". Now that was pretty confusing since no specific train was named and so the fate of my train was uncertain. While I was stuck between waiting on and getting back to flat, a train apparently coming from CST came trundling on Platform-I. This reinforced my hope of getting a train. So, I decided to wait on. 20 min. later 2 more trains had trundled past platform-I on the downside towards Panwel, while my platform i.e. Platfarm-I was yet to see its first train.
In a state of boredom I looked-up at the electric supply wire that passes from above the train when out of nowhere a strange thought crossed my mind. The wire, despite constant rubbing with that equipment which sticks out from the head of the train never breaks. Why, it is metal after all, it should also wear down. But I chided myself for allowing the stupid thought- "The entire mechanism is designed by experts who would have considered such a silly thing and a million more, a thousand times. So practically its impossible."But what would happen if it broke off? The train was on the platform within the next 5 mins. I boarded the train and forgot the whole idea.
About an hour later...
The train halted abruptly a little ahead of Vadala. What's so peculiar about it? Trains generally do stop in the the middle of nowhere owing to congestion or other technical problems, thanks to the mismanagement of Indian Railways. But there was something peculiar about this halt. Not only the train had stopped, but the engine had died down completely which generally does not happen. People started getting down, whereas I decided to wait and watch until only a few were left inside. Eventually, I got-up and asked someone- "what happened?''. "The electric cable that runs above the train has snapped", the man replied.
I reached Kharghar railway station at around 4:30 in the evening. Generally, there is a train for CST (VT) every 20 minutes but today it seemed like something was wrong. The station, unlike other days, was almost empty, with passengers countable on fingers. A good sign though, as far as availability of seats is concerned but it also posed question on the availability of the train considering the heavy downpour of the morning. About 15 minutes later, the station echoed with the announcement-"due to heavy rains in the morning, the tracks between some stations have gone under water, resulting in cancellation of some of the scheduled trips. Some trains are re-scheduled, whereas the transportation is being restored". Now that was pretty confusing since no specific train was named and so the fate of my train was uncertain. While I was stuck between waiting on and getting back to flat, a train apparently coming from CST came trundling on Platform-I. This reinforced my hope of getting a train. So, I decided to wait on. 20 min. later 2 more trains had trundled past platform-I on the downside towards Panwel, while my platform i.e. Platfarm-I was yet to see its first train.
In a state of boredom I looked-up at the electric supply wire that passes from above the train when out of nowhere a strange thought crossed my mind. The wire, despite constant rubbing with that equipment which sticks out from the head of the train never breaks. Why, it is metal after all, it should also wear down. But I chided myself for allowing the stupid thought- "The entire mechanism is designed by experts who would have considered such a silly thing and a million more, a thousand times. So practically its impossible."But what would happen if it broke off? The train was on the platform within the next 5 mins. I boarded the train and forgot the whole idea.
About an hour later...
The train halted abruptly a little ahead of Vadala. What's so peculiar about it? Trains generally do stop in the the middle of nowhere owing to congestion or other technical problems, thanks to the mismanagement of Indian Railways. But there was something peculiar about this halt. Not only the train had stopped, but the engine had died down completely which generally does not happen. People started getting down, whereas I decided to wait and watch until only a few were left inside. Eventually, I got-up and asked someone- "what happened?''. "The electric cable that runs above the train has snapped", the man replied.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
SATURDAY T(RAIN) IN MUMBAI 07/6/08
PART-I
It was raining outside when i opened my still sleepy eyes. Saturday being an off day, I could afford the luxury of lying in bed as long as I wanted. Initially the plan was to get-up around 10 in the morning, complete all the essential morning rituals by 11, and then set out for the churchgate bookstall I had spotted yesterday. But the temptation of that cozy feeling in the bed while it was pouring down outside was more than an excuse for a lazy guy like me to push the time of getting-up on and on till a conscious part could bear it no more and stood-up in protest. So, finally when the voice of that conscious part became too loud to let me enjoy my bliss, I extended my hand to reach out for the watch which cast almost a contemptuous look at me with its hands displaying 11:30. Bitter though, it was truth. So finally, I lay my feet on the ground, and guess what? I go straight to...(bathroom? nay!!!) computer, and start chatting with some damsels . While, as usual, nothing materializes, my friends also get up and want to use the computer. So, an annoyed I (after 1 full hour of fruitless effort at chatting) very readily give it.
ABOUT AN HOUR LATER...
My friend was now done with his work on computer and offered it to me again, and i grabbed the opportunity with both hands. I've just sat before the monitor when this (who'z this?) unknown guy sends a message- Hi F##k! Now this was like a spark in the gunpowder. I wait for a while. But the fellow starts bragging- "I dunno y everyone wants to stay wid me", only to annoy me to the extent of losing all sanity. So I reply- "Well, thats coz ur sis is very pretty!" but what's this? Instead of my name, it shows 'Manish' in the bracket. So, I figure out the whole thing instantly and realize my blunder.
Manish, my dear friend and generous host (he's the guy in whose flat i'm putting-up presently) had kept his id open and the message which pissed me off was actually sent by his best friend at college and was meant for him. OOPS!! to set things right, I had to apologetically explain the whole situation and call Manish lest the scene might go out of control. So this is how I began the day!!
It was raining outside when i opened my still sleepy eyes. Saturday being an off day, I could afford the luxury of lying in bed as long as I wanted. Initially the plan was to get-up around 10 in the morning, complete all the essential morning rituals by 11, and then set out for the churchgate bookstall I had spotted yesterday. But the temptation of that cozy feeling in the bed while it was pouring down outside was more than an excuse for a lazy guy like me to push the time of getting-up on and on till a conscious part could bear it no more and stood-up in protest. So, finally when the voice of that conscious part became too loud to let me enjoy my bliss, I extended my hand to reach out for the watch which cast almost a contemptuous look at me with its hands displaying 11:30. Bitter though, it was truth. So finally, I lay my feet on the ground, and guess what? I go straight to...(bathroom? nay!!!) computer, and start chatting with some damsels . While, as usual, nothing materializes, my friends also get up and want to use the computer. So, an annoyed I (after 1 full hour of fruitless effort at chatting) very readily give it.
ABOUT AN HOUR LATER...
My friend was now done with his work on computer and offered it to me again, and i grabbed the opportunity with both hands. I've just sat before the monitor when this (who'z this?) unknown guy sends a message- Hi F##k! Now this was like a spark in the gunpowder. I wait for a while. But the fellow starts bragging- "I dunno y everyone wants to stay wid me", only to annoy me to the extent of losing all sanity. So I reply- "Well, thats coz ur sis is very pretty!" but what's this? Instead of my name, it shows 'Manish' in the bracket. So, I figure out the whole thing instantly and realize my blunder.
Manish, my dear friend and generous host (he's the guy in whose flat i'm putting-up presently) had kept his id open and the message which pissed me off was actually sent by his best friend at college and was meant for him. OOPS!! to set things right, I had to apologetically explain the whole situation and call Manish lest the scene might go out of control. So this is how I began the day!!
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