It's the Journey MAYBE...

It was my birthday last Friday and I had full plans of going to Mumbai the next day so that I could celebrate it (though belated) with my parents as well. OK let me be honest, the impetus behind going to Mumbai on Saturday was also to satiate my curiosity about the birthday gift my parents have stashed away for me ;)

But alas! I couldn't make it to Mumbai during the weekend due to office work and found myself missing Mumbai! It wasn't just the stay that I missed. What I missed was also the journey from Pune to Mumbai. I realized that half the charisma of Mumbai (for me) lies in the scenic scape, rolling green fields (during the monsoons at least) and the general atmosphere in the Volvo while traveling on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

"What's so special about this particular journey and this particular route", is what I ask myself and I have always come up blank. I have no concrete reason for it. I have no definite answer to it.

Is it the scenic beauty? No it couldn't be. I mean no doubt it's pretty and green during the rains but am sure it's something else. Is it the people in the bus? Hmmmm... no not really :) I mean they don't seem any different from the people traveling on a Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani. Is it the company I have during my journey? LOLZ... I don't think so especially when my sister has been giving me company all my life... So what is it exactly?

I ponder... I think... I analyze... And I realize that maybe there isn't anything specific that makes me enjoy the journey. It is more like an amalgamation of emotions like apprehension, awe, appreciation, excitement and contentment that make the journey so interesting and worth it.
Apprehension for traveling to a big city like Mumbai and what new it would be treating me to.
Awe for the marvel that the expressway is. Awe for the technology that has gone into bringing Pune and Mumbai at a distance of a mere 2 hours.
Appreciation for nature's abundance and sense of beauty.
Excitement for feeling independent and traveling alone.
Contentment about going back home :)

My first step towards Mumbai...

When I initially shifted to Pune some 9 years back, the Mumbai-Pune expressway was a very new phenomenon. People were still getting used to it and the Expressway was considered with awe and great respect. Only the brave and the adventurous ones drove their cars (read only Sumo, Qualis and Scorpio) on the Expressway. Today anyone and everyone drive on the Expressway. It has become the lifeline of this region and has proved to be a major reason for Mumbai and Pune to come closer, both geographically and culturally.

Of course I am no one to give any verdict on a subject like this but my recent trips to Mumbai have left me thinking and wanting for more. Before I start (though I have already started), let me tell you that I was never a huge fan of Mumbai (until maybe now) and have been very comfortable being a Pune-ite!

Since long, Pune has been considered as the "Oxford of the East", with a very palpable student culture thanks to thousands of students thronging the city to take advantage of its university and university affiliated colleges. Pune has also been known as the "Pensioners Paradise" with retired people relaxing and enjoying their retirement. Mumbai, on the other hand has always been perceived as the city of opportunities with its fast and hard work demanding life. The city never sleeps they say... Well it really doesn't...

I have made loads of trips to Mumbai in the past for a myriad of reasons- for giving my GRE exams, for catching cheaper flights to the North Eastern cities of Imphal, Dibrugarh and Guwahati, for catching Rajdhanis to New Delhi, for catching direct trains to cities like Benaras, Gwalior and the like, but I have never really fallen for Mumbai... I have never felt Mumbai welcoming me with open arms as Pune had. Pune was my home and Mumbai? Mumbai was the big city where one had to go to get things done.

This feeling of mine was doomed to change and I realized that Mumbai doesn't welcome you, it simply beckons and lures you and you can't help but embrace it with your "arms wide open", with a foolish grin on your face and a feeling of hope in your heart. Such a change of heart? Well, this change was brought about by my father getting posted to Colaba, Mumbai and I was left with no choice but to travel to Mumbai from Pune on the weekends ;)

I have made two trips to Colaba in Mumbai in the past one month and it has been enough to change my perspective about the city which is home to India's Hindi film and television industry, to Asia's largest slum and to great heritage monuments like the VT, BMC building, The Taj and the gateway of India.

True Mumbai-kars tell me that living in Colaba and visiting these tourist places isn't really living the Mumbai life. The Mumbai life is all about deriving pleasure out of getting stuck in traffic jams, journeying in local trains, shopping on Fashion Street and winning over rush hour to reach your school/college/office on time every single day.

But I have made a start and I am sure it would be soon when I will be brave enough to live life in true Mumbai-kar style :)