"I fell a little out of place as the couples sitting next to me in the compartment got a little cozy." Did I not mention earlier; Mumbai is a famous honeymoon destination too. However, any feelings of apprehension that I had about visiting the place alone went right out of the window as the train arrived at the Mumbai Central Station and I forgot about everything.
Mumbai is like a really gratifying meal. It has all the right flavors, topped with perfect ingredients, perfectly blend together. Due to its colonial history and immense multicultural diversity, there seems to be something for everybody. It is an enigma of sorts, but a beautiful one at that. It's as modern as you can get and traditional at the same time. When one walks its streets, she is sure to get awe struck by the ultra modern architecture and cars juxtaposed with small tea stalls and vendors. It is a city so metaphoric that it gives life a new meaning; a phoenix in itself.
I took a cab from the station to my hotel in Juhu, welcomed by the traffic jam. Mumbai is a city missing curves; don't apply your brains it simply implies that there are few alternative routes to reach a place. So traffic is inevitable. Switching over to my feelings, every passing moment brought within a sense of anticipation. For, I was here in Mumbai!
The next morning I set forth to the famous place of worship, 'Haji Ali'. The most intriguing thing for me was that it was a mosque built in the middle of the sea connected through a walk able path way! You often get wet on the path way by the huge sea waves. Perhaps 'Allah' washes your sins away before you enter his home. A place so pure, so tranquil that it soothes every inch of your heart and overloads you with positive energy. Your soul will bless you for going there. I decided to stay there to witness dusk overtaking dawn and the 'dargah' being lit up by small yellow lights making it look like a shining star amidst the dark sea. There was a lot about the place that put me into a state of blissful inertia.
Elephanta caves were the next target destination that I decided to conquer on my second day in the city. It is an island so beautiful where dense green forests run down steep slopes and eventually flatten into meadows where the caves are situated just before balding near the thrashing shore. Covering a two hour distance from the Gateway of India didn’t bother me much; instead it gave me the pleasure of riding on a ferry and watching the giant navy ships. A mini train runs from the ferry dock up till the long set of 200 stairs taking you up the island to the caves. The caves exhibit sculptures of Lord Shiva and other deities of the Hindu mythology. The sculptures portray Lord Shiva dancing and standing with his family along with Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. The place mesmerizes you with its centuries old heritage and interesting stories about them and has been given the title of the world heritage site. The place is also a habitat for a lot of monkeys, either hanging around the trees or sitting near the staircase. Besides the caves they are second most important attraction for the eyes of the tourists. The hills have also been a hot spot for various movie shoots.
You must be wondering how I could possibly ignore the legendary 'Gateway of India' and move forward to the Elephanta caves. It’s just that I wanted to visit the three glorious buildings together. The three buildings which give us an example of courage and perseverance; the three buildings which have faced the greatest of terror attacks, the three phoenix of Mumbai; the Gateway of India, the TajMahal hotel and the Trident hotel. They teach us how we can rise from the ashes and start afresh. Besides, the Gateway of India is a historic building signifying the "monumental memento" of colonialisation by the British. The gateway stands as a symbol of the "power and majesty" of the British Empire; it still is. So, I considered giving it more importance.
On my way back to the hotel, I decided to shop and the best place to do so when you’re on a budget trip is the Colaba market. Colaba market is a display of colors and lights. It offers a shopaholic the heaven of markets. It has something for everyone.I managed to bag a dress and some earrings, my favorite! What made me happier was that it rained. Think rains. Think vadapao. Think Mumbai. It goes like that. After some walking around and getting wet, I found a little shop offering me tea and vadapao that warmed me up instantly. Oops! Did I forget to mention that I was walking through the marine drive?
I dedicated my last day to the beaches, challi’s and movies. How could you possibly not watch movies in the city of dreams? The Juhu chawpati has been the best chawpati ever. Not that I visited any other though! It had challi stalls, paobhaji stalls, paanipoori and things enough for my taste buds.
Like they say you don’t know what you are missing until you know what you are missing! Mumbai has a way of connecting and before you know it under the sea and its starlit sky you end up taking a little bit of Mumbai back with you. May be this is why even those who aren’t from the city fit in just as well if not better. I’d love to visit it again and be a part of this quaint town I was almost starting to fit in.
P.S. On your way back home, visiting Goa is just another amazing brilliant idea!
