How a Trip to Mumbai Turned Hilarious

Absentmindedness is a sin, they say, but it turns out funny for me every time. I am fond of traveling and I can hit the road at any given chance. My office wanted me to be there in Mumbai for a month so that I can give presentations to our clients on various projects. I obviously did not have a problem with it, but I made a mistake. I chose to live with my friend rather than staying at a hotel, which meant I had to spend at least one additional hour on the messy roads of Mumbai. Anyway, I was prepared for it because I did not want to get bored every night in the city for one complete month.

I took the flight and reached my friend’s place in Andheri. I had taken a week’s leave so that I could prepare well for my presentations, but I would sneak out time to visit places in Mumbai. Every day, I woke up early in the morning, and worked for a few hours on my laptop. Once the peak rush hours were over, I would leave to roam around the streets of Mumbai. I did not want to miss this opportunity to explore a new metropolitan. Although I don’t like urban travel, I don’t mind wandering around new cities free of cost. I came back home in the evening so that I could spend some more time for work. Thankfully, I did not have to depend on the crowded local trains and I could take Self-Drive Car on rent Mumbai for my travel needs.

Anyway, coming back to the blunder that I did, I had to join office on the coming Monday and I was getting ready for work. I was late, by three minutes or more. It was important to reach office on time because I was supposed to give a lot of Powerpoint presentations. I raced down to the parking area and entered my car. However, I felt that the pockets of my pants were lighter than normal that day, and it dawned upon me that I had forgotten my phone in the room.

I did not have time to search it in the room, so I called my friend to look for it. His phone rang and he answered it. I told him that I had left my mobile in the flat, and he should look for it. He was surprised at what I said, but I interrupted him and said I was coming to pick the phone up.

He: Stop it Rohan, wait and listen to me. You are talking to me on your mobile phone!

I was flabbergasted!

Obviously that was the most stupid thing of my life. I started the car and rushed to office, though we shared tremendous laughter over my foolishness that night. Thank God, I had not asked him for my car keys after entering the car! He might have banned me from coming over his place again!

A Refreshing Visit to the Marine Drive in Mumbai

I can come to Mumbai over and over again, and never get bored. I, belonging to Indore, find this city as mesmerizing as any small-town person would do.  I do have a satisfying life back there in my hometown, but I love exploring the city of dreams called Mumbai, or Bombay, as many locals still call it. I have been to several places in the city during this time of my visit in the month of December 2017, and I decided to go to Marine Drive as well. I should have done it long ago, but somehow I had to postpone my plans. Anyway, this time I could not defer the visit anymore, and I took my friend along to explore the place. 

I knew that going to the Marine Drive during the day would be a foolish idea on a weekend because it would be densely crowded as usual. I did not want to get stuck in the traffic and then struggle to find a place to sit on the boulevard. I drove to Marine Drive with my friend, Kashish in the car rental we had taken for the night, and thankfully did not brawl to park it. 

Even though I come from the not-so-fast life of Indore, I still like to enjoy the urban peace of the Queen’s Necklace. The fast-paced existence of Mumbai can make anyone feel tired to death, so it does to me. And whenever I feel exhausted from traveling, I try to find out places like this to instill some sense of calm in my mind. No doubt that as soon as I reached Marine Drive, I felt the serenity and calmness. Although it was the rainy season in Mumbai when I was there, it did not downpour much. Nevertheless, the breeze was just so awesome while we sat on the stones. 

Just sitting at this place makes monsoons in Mumbai a lot more pleasant, though we have to be careful of the high tides. When the tides are too high, we get the constant splashes of water that come from the strong waves banging on the seashores below. Mumbai-kars also come to Marine Drive for a morning walk and evening saunter. The students from the neighboring colleges have it as their favorite hangout spot. And it is needless to say that this location has been the preferred choice of shooting movies for a long time.

We sat there for at least three hours and not for a moment; we felt bored. It is always soothing to be there at a place as serene as Marine Drive, but we had to leave for our upcoming destination, which was Churchgate Station. Although we did not have any local train to catch, we wanted to try some local food outside the place. We took our Self-Drive Car Rental Mumbai and drove off to the station. 

A few food stalls were there in place outside the Churchgate Station, and even at 3 am, we could see at least a few dozen people enjoying the delicacies. The station opens at 4 am, which makes many people wait outside the station for the first train of the day. While we had the refreshing tea, we quickly grabbed the maska bun, and placed the order for bhurji pao and egg tawa rice. Considering the crowd at the place, it is inessential to say that the food, as well as the tea, was just so scrumptious. We were a little tired, and it did not take us long to gorge the lip-smacking food.

With our stomachs stuffed with food, we sat back in our car and left for home. Although we were tired, the people of Mumbai were not. The cars were still running at high speed on the roads, and it appeared that the people still had a task to accomplish. Without a doubt, Mumbai never sleeps.

A Superb Visit to Khotachi Wadi Village in Mumbai

After living in Mumbai for a significant part of my life, I have understood one thing that I am not a person who is made for constant commotion of the metropolitans. However, it is also true that I cannot escape this life because I have to sustain a reasonable standard of life, which is possible only in the urban cities. One place where I love going for a weekend getaway is the Khotachi Wadi village in the city; it is a tiny settlement in the Girgaum district of South Mumbai. People know this hamlet mainly because of the Chowpatty beach, but I try to explore things beyond that whenever I go there. I have a coincidental buddy who lives in the houses constructed in Portuguese style. Most of the people here are the original inhabitants of Mumbai, the East Indian Christians who came here more than a hundred years ago.  

The bright colors of the houses and their multi-storied structures are quite rare in the central city where tall skyscrapers are a familiar sight. The high ceilings of the enormous rooms behind the long-standing verandahs are a sigh of relief when you come from the congested apartments. I do not have any choice but to live in a tiny dwelling in the city, which I do not like very much because I come from Punjab where I have been brought up in huge Haveli style houses. The quiet ambiance of this place at my friend, Mahesh's house lets me relax and spend a good time with his family. I always go there early in the morning just to be able to smell the Goan and Konkan cuisines, most of which are made of fish. I never had much of fish during my childhood, but it was a fantastic experience to experiment with various varieties of it and fall in love with it.  

Mahesh's mother and wife, both are fantastic cooks, and they prepare such mouth-watering cuisines that I cannot help but lick every bit of food in my plate. They have even trained the male folk of the house to cook brilliant dishes. So whenever, the females of the house are not in a mood to toil in the kitchen; the men bring the kitchen to the verandah and cooking becomes a household activity. My wife and I enjoy being with these people, who are not indulged in the rat race of existence and triumph like us.

I work for Self-Drive Car Rental Mumbai, and it is easy for me to take a car and reach any corner of the city. It was just by chance that I met Mahesh while walking on the streets of Khotachi Wadi; I was asking for the directions to the chapel in the village. He accompanied me to the place rather than just guiding me with the instructions. I had loved his gesture of hospitality, which is rare in Mumbai. While talking to him for a while on our way, he told me quite a few things about the chapel and showed me the scenes depicting the birth time of Jesus. I found the mural of Virgin Mary with baby Jesus particularly amazing because of its simplicity. Mahesh told me that the villagers had constructed the chapel in 1899 to express gratitude to Jesus after they persisted the plague. 

After a few years of friendship with Mahesh, I realize that even Khotachi Wadi is gradually being converted into an urban town. The springing of high rise buildings poses a threat to the austerity of this place. Anyway, until we have time to enjoy the serenity of this little hamlet, I do not want to waste a minute that I can spend here.