Hello 2022, you have been full of adventure already!
No, I have had no time to take aside and reflect on life or make yearly goals. While this is very unusual, it is also not surprising! After all, I was busy wandering in Mumbai streets, like a tourist in my own hometown!
What a start to the year, 2022!!!
An impromptu road trip +COVID Quarantine + 3 root canal treatments +a family wedding + Getting tattooed +meeting ma loved ones every day….and this is only the end of January 2022.
This adventurous trip brought much-needed excitement-drama-pain & love to our lives. If you ever have lived overseas and missed home ( read as trapped on an island in the Far East, Australia, for more than 2 years), you know what I am talking about!
So when everyone around me, asks so what did you miss about Mumbai — we have just been stuck at home, what’s out there? And I feel the urge to pour my heart out and I do, this is what I end up ranting…
The joy of picking up the phone and subtly convincing friends to catch up over your favourite coffee place & doing nothing ( or probably discussing life).
Revisiting the sea-facing quiet spots around the city, yes there is a special one that I know — in Juhu, Khar, Bandra, Worli, Colaba — you name the suburb and I shall guide you there
Binging in the old bakeries in Bandra, the Malvani seafood places, the Bombay street chaat and of course the famous Vada Pav ( The food was so tasty, that there are no photos of them)
Embracing the organised chaos of crossing a road with the honking sounds as background noise( You don’t have to wait and press a button, unlike in Melbourne)
Reminiscing the familiarity of the Bombay lanes, where I exactly know the shops are and I don’t need Google to tell me how to reach my destination
An exchange of a smile with a fellow passenger via the mask in the local train — when we see the sunset skies filling all over when we cross Bandra station
People who look like me — are all around me. I don't have to put in efforts to fit in.
A cab ride at midnight — where the driver is excited to share their excitement about Mumbai roads & development
The surprise of not finding any traffic on the western express highway! (Courtesy to WFH tribe)
No amount of video calls and Amazon gifts can substitute the joy of being there for my family & friends in whatever possible ways I can.
So if you are out there, contemplating whether to go back for a homecoming visit, whether is it worth the money & seeking leaves from the office. YES, please. Go seek the land that you feel most connected with.
Instead of picturesque landscapes and touristy photos from a long holiday, what I take back into the new year — is the smiles, conversation & never-ending selfies of loved ones around that weave the most beautiful tapestry of life!
