Mumbai Travails

After having a tiny vacation due to my joining date being postponed, I had some pleasant coincidences. My father told me that there is this guy named after a star named after a son of Shiva was staying somewhere closeby. The star dude was my father's neighbour while he was here. Turns out he was staying at the same place I was supposed to go to. Also, NY dude sends me a text message telling me to contact this guy! This guy is an engineer in an industrial piping company and has already left for a North Indian city.

We both went roaming one day and went to south Bombay. We found a tiny low-tide beach along the marine drive, not known widely but used as a bathing area by some of the labourers there. Then we went to the Gateway of India and saw the Indian aircraft carrier berthed in the sea nearby. That was quite a sight. While looking at that, we found some people calling us Mamooty and Mohanlal. Amusing, hahaha!

Next while looking at the sea, this star dude chats up with a Spanish tourist dude sitting there. He told some stories about his travel in India. Surprisingly, he pronounced Madurai and some other Tamil names like a Tamil - some feat not achievable by the Hindi dudes (even when they are bought up in that place). Turns out he has only $200 left and lot of his 6 month visa still to go. He told it was his dream to come to India! We guided him to a nearby cinema theater - he tells it is 'costly' in Europe to even go to a movie, the cheapest ticket being some 7 euros.

My flat hunting is not going too well. Visited some places where my new colleagues are staying and the place is a dump even by Mumbai standards. Asking Rs 3500 for those places seems like daytime robbery! I don't know for how many days I can stay with this person, he works for the same bank as my father and they haven't even met yet. Looks like I have to take the next place that comes by.

The star dude asks me to drop him off at the railway station and I accompany him. While returning, I took the wrong train by mistake and it goes only up to Bandra. Within a few minutes, the next train came that goes up to Borivali. People were packed like sardines and it was quite an experience. It was fun to get into a packed train and get down at Andheri. I used to wonder how people used to do it and I did it with ease, even while wearing my slippers - the transition from hippie is not quite over, you know!

Ah! Now have to start work from tomorrow and don't know how it might turn out. Thought I would start as Pointy Haired Boss but now actually starting as Stef Murky!

Aamchi Mumbai

My trip back to Mumbai started with a creepy train journey. Had to share a cabin with a 'US Return' Gujju family. That was not the creepy part, it comes later, towards the end of the journey. This guy has come back to India searching for an 'Indian girl'. No Indian Girls in USA? What he said was funny or something like that. He said Indian girls in USA (hereby referred to as AI girls) have no respect for their parents, much less than respect their husband's parents. He told he could have chosen from three girlfriends! One which broke her engagement to be with this guy. All three invariably said his parents were trash and when he was going to move the trash out. So, he wanted a truly Indian Girl who will become the perfect housewife. I remember reading somewhere how these girls become battered housewives after going to the USA (or UK or wherever). Now the creepy part, at the end of the journey, in the morning, I went to the toilet to relieve myself and was washing when the door suddenly opened. Bloody faulty latches on bloody Indian trains. Standing outside was a Muslim lady about 45 years old. Instead of closing the door and going away, she just kept staring at me and gave me the creeps (me with my pants around my knees). I am pretty sure I was not overexposed. I closed the door and later, when I came out and crossed her in the gangway, she gave me a smile which creeped me even further. Thankfully, my station came and I got down.

Now, I am staying with my father's 'friend' who doesn't want me there and my search for a house still not ending yet. Moreover, looks like some communication gap and my joining date has been pushed to 1st of april now. A very tiny team in this job, and I am one of the three (including my boss) looking after marketing. Whoa!

Oops

I was going around saying goodbyes to anyone here when I went to this guy's room. His room was open and he was sleeping with his back to me. I was about to kick his butt when I changed my mind and just punched his back. Good thing I did not kick him because it was not him, it was his father. His father jumps up shouting, from a deep sleep, and I end up apologising a lot, for the mistaken identity. After talking with him for a few minutes, I come out to meet none other than the guy himself. Talk about a red face.

Also, I found out the the net-filtering is only in the hostel blocks and not anywhere else. I already knew this about a month back when I stumbled upon some of the 'executive participants' downloading movies in the internet lab near the classrooms.

Irony

Today was the last day officially as a student of this pointy-haired-boss school and found out one more irony. During the 1st year, I spent a lot of time preparing for the classes and got low grades in most subjects. In the 2nd year, I didn't study much but got a 20%+ increase in my CGPA. Even the subjects I never touched the books for got me high grades than those subjects for which I diligently studied.

Also, this was the last eating out with some of the guys here. Maybe I will return and go out again, but not as a student.

The Corporate Hippie

The transition from a long haired, sandal wearing hippie to cropped hear and tie and shoe wearing corporate guy is not easy as it seems. For one, shoes hurt my feet, and my socks start to smell after a couple of days. And, I have to take bath twice a day (the horrors). I also have this cognitive dissonance, which I will think of writing later.

There was this bank executive today as chief guest and I was surprised to see him spouting such words as 'poor people', 'women trekking 10 kilometres for a litre of water', etc. I had to pinch myself to see that I was indeed listening to this suit wearing capitalist talk such things and not asleep in the sub-continent heat. Ouch! He started talking about missing his family when he is at work. Funny, only when they are filthy rich and have earned enough money to burn for a couple of generations do they even think about these things. Otherwise, they advice the minnows to sacrifice something for their employers, whom, by the way they are happy to chuck out for an increase in their profits. Talk about humour, eh? The world's richest Indian now says beyond a point, earning money means nothing - but he still wants to become even richer. Ironies!