Wake Up Sid, one of my favorite movies, ends with a beautiful song, boondon ke motiyon mein ghul ke ehsaas aaya, waqt se nikal ke lamha dil ke paas aaya..I have lost the count of the number of times I have watched that scene on youtube, but whenever I think of writing a blog about Mumbai, I tend to recall these lines from Konkana Sen's article, 'New Girl in the City', "jo bhi likhti, lagta ki kuchh kam hai, iss sheher ke bare mei aisa kya keh sakti thi jo pehle nahi kaha gaya" ..for now I can relate to these lines completely.. Right from its beaches to its people, right from its tall buildings to slums, right from its glamour to its lifestyle, there is so much about this city that evokes and arouses the observer, the philosopher, the day dreamer and above all the writer in you, that I simply could not put an end to it in just one article..And, hereby, after a hopelessly long phase without blogs, I am back with a series : Mumbai Weekends!!
Everyone here talks of a so-called fast life, where people fail to find time for themselves, time for their family, time to interact with their neighbors, but even with this fast life, you might not realize but you would always have time to think of your problems..So when you are fed up of your job or your boss, when you are heartbroken after a breakup, when you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, or simply need a break from your monotonous life, there is just one place that offers you incredible peace..and that is the subject of the very first blog of the series- Marine Drive.
You will find hundreds of articles describing the place, but you won't find any wiki-google-ish article here, I know nothing about its location or its history, for me, Marine Drive is all about desire, tranquility, ecstasy, love, happiness, freedom, inspiration, fantasies, romance and much more !!
At night, the street lights on the C-shaped road look like a string of pearls and diamonds, popularly known as the 'Queen's necklace'
When you sit on the wall and look at the sea waves hitting the rocks, when you are walking along the promenade and the breeze caresses your hair, even when you are surrounded by so many people, you feel lost for you forget everything else and you tend to enjoy being free, emancipated from all inhibitions and apprehensions, all cobwebs of negative thoughts that preoccupy your mind, which are replaced by the feeling of letting yourself go, getting high !!
Your romantic side turns on when you come to this place, perhaps it is the most suitable place for going out for a date, or for simply sitting and talking to someone, or for day dreaming and fantasizing !!
You will always find a lot of couples there, couples with their public displays of affection, groups of friends clicking pictures, old couples sitting and talking, kids jumping around and people like me, sitting and smiling, enjoying the breeze, the freedom, the feeling that can't be put in words..
One may say that I take it as a medium to escape, but sometimes its better to take a break, when the past and the future becomes unimportant.. Perhaps everyone deserves someone like Marine Drive, someone who can make you feel free, someone who can make you forget everything for a while, someone who won't walk away, would always be there, would always stay, for you...
Such places and such people, aren't about escapism, they are about spending time with yourself, being happy and looking forward to life, for it happens to be beautiful, as beautiful as Marine Drive is!
Whenever I tend to forget this, I just walk around this place, and it get the same feeling again.. life is as beautiful as this place!
Cheers !!
Mumbai weekends always have something interesting to offer, next blog from the series from a hard core Delhite trying to explore the city that never sleeps, coming soon!
Sonia
