8′hours with Mumbai and Mumbaikars

It was another busy day… a week ahead to follow… new dreams to fulfills… new hopes to lead on…

It was another day for me… a medical reason to land in Mumbai… a day off… and I thought of experiencing Mumbai…

What better way but to get on a taxi. My driver!! a man in his 30s, he had seen Mumbai in all its flavors. His eyes had seen Mumbai as common man…  with new hope each day.

What’s in a name? He was a mumbaikar in his soul and we decided he will be my guide…

Our first stop was at the famous Gateway of India… Mumbai is no Mumbai without this… a few good little big things that define Mumbai. The free birds gave me a sense of a free soul, bounded by no hatred, no borders, and no wars. Childhood is the best time of ones life and these two kids were living it with panache.

We moved on towards the MCGM building. It was a busy day. Hundreds of people were moving… moving towards their destination as the world turns by them. The newspapers had the world in it and there sat the man with the stories, quietly amidst the chaos.

Mumbai in its night look is a night if light and glow. Mumbai nights glow as sparkling as a star-lit sky. The morning had given a rest to these lights Dawn gives these lights a break from their stardom… Yet they wait forthe day to pass by, another night to come along.

And here comes the messiah with foods!!! And there thousands more like him. Serving homemade foods every afternoon to the millions at work at different corners of the city. The Mumbai Dabbawalas!! A profession hallmarked in management courses to a special mention by Prince Charles.

Finding the right notes to tune in the meaning of our lives??  The day moved on and so did I. The kawali from Hazi Ali, filled my ears and touched my soul. I visited Hazi Ali!! Its beauty, its eternal peace, its heart filling essence made my day!!

Slumdog millionaire anyone???? There lies my friend having a mid day nap. As the world moves on, this boy sleeps in peace with the world scattered by his side!

Mumbai, the city of dreams, aspirations, ambitions, heartbreak, success… everyday hundreds and thousands of waves hopeful souls thrash to these stone-studded seafront.. a few remain afloat and pass over the tides. But amidst all this bustle and chaos.. a friendship remains the last straw for many who didn’t make it?

I return back to Gateway of India at the end of my journey!! And nothing had changed. There still lies these common men with their hope and dreams… My experience made me see a new picture of life, No matter what the world holds, we live by our hopes our dreams, thats our strength..our soul…