Reminisces - City of Dreams!!

If I were to wander around alone... I ask myself... Where would I go... 

Which memory..... hidden in which crevice of you should I start with...where should I begin... And where does it all end... If there is an end that is.... 

Maybe from the very day I had stepped into you... With dream filled eyes... And was overwhelmed to be surrounded by those innumerable  teeming eyes..... crowding... all around me... Everywhere that I could see... The sea of eyes and the strength of perseverance in them...each with their dreams....each to their own....And each comforting the other silently... 

What's there in brick and mortar they say... What is there to re-visit them.... But there in lies some memories ....that always come to life when I walk into those very buildings....tall they stand as always surrounding those roads which were a daily fight with the unbeatable traffic and those unforgivable rains. Surprising that my heart yearns to relive those days again if time could be reversed... Never mind the traffic... Never mind the rains!!Seems like just yesterday that I walked through that very sub-way leading to VT station....

The fun and frolic of that childish banter with long lost acquaintances and few lasting friends...will always remain in those office cubicles and those street side lanes... And those frequented restaurants and road side food which were the only escape to the boring office canteen lunch... My eyes search for that lone bhel guy who used to call it as masala mudhi....and my mind sneers...isnt that too much to ask for!!

Those restaurants that we frequented.... Every weekend without fail.... That familiar smile of the head waiter who knew my menu choice by heart.... But the place said closed and shut .....and the sign was clear... Some things in life just can't be repeated....and are meant to be enjoyed fully while they last!! 

Those late night adventures to the sea face....the only solace that even if the whole city changes... With all those once loved and cherished places shut down or rebuilt... There will be one thing which will always remain the same.....along with a few others... Ganesh Chaturthi - Lal Baugh,Ramadan - Mohammed Ali Road and Kala ghoda festival... The irony is, the same me who used to fret when stuck in traffic infront of the marine lines....and didn't know whom to curse when once stuck in front of lalbaugh for almost the whole night during the festival... Is trying to relive them and is revisiting them as cherished memories!!

Maximum city.... that taught and reinstalled the concept.... Loud and clear... That vastness is not in spaces but in hearts and mind... And that life is not in anything else but in the daily pursuits....!!

And I hope....this is where I dog ear you... as my Mumbai chapter !!