Mumbai life!!!

To start off on a blog is not the easiest of things. I now regret for all the comments I would have made in various blogs. So now what should I write in my first blog.
I thought I will start with one of my earliest memories, that off a bleeding nose while playing "sat" with some of my friends. Then I thought, no that would be a very bloody begining. So here I am with a fresh begining...wish me luck!!!
I stay with a couple of friends in a suburb which is very much a part of Mumbai but doesnt come in the political purview. Well I have lived in this particular place for around an year before starting my second innings with corporate life in this city. The city of dreams that get built into high rises, fast cars, crowded roads/suburbs, nightlife, money and fame. But its nice to be part of this city which has a culture of its own and life like nowhere else.
Getting up at 6.30 AM is a pain for some but I have been so used to the timing in the last 7 months (which is how long my second stint has been now) that I wake up just before my phone alarm rings :( And then by the time I end up in a formal dress and make it to the bus stop it is almost time/past for the bus. And then it is a such a silent, hassle-free ride to the Station. Mornings are perhaps the best time in a day when everybody and everything in this world is so fresh. The slightly warm sun rays, the l'il chilly breeze...
It all starts, once you reach the station. Slowly the pace of the people walking next to you make you feel as if you are going to miss the next moment in your life if you do not keep pace with them. And thus starts the story of a Mallu from the slumbers of his Trichy/Calcutta life to the the pacy Mumbai life.
There are couple of things in life which I cant do without every morning. 'Indian Express' and my breakfast. One is food for thought and the other food for health. Breakfast is something which I have rarely missed, be it in Trichy or Calcutta. There was this expert cook in our Final year mess at Trichy, Selvam I think is his name, who used to make this exotic dish in egg. It was awesome!!! Anything, no...somethings in life can be exchanged for that dish any morning. In Calcutta I never missed a sunday morning breakfast because that was the only day they made Dosa and I would go to sleep the previous night thinking of next days breakfast. And these days, well its Poori-Bhaaji / Bread-Jam / Idli-Vada for breakfast :( I am actually surprised why hotels cannot serve harmless Bulls Eye and Bread for breakfast.
Now about my other compulsion. There are newspapers and then there is Hindu, which reports only news and news as it is. (I know this is a cliche, but I have hardly seen any newspaper like Hindu who keep themselves out of all that the Times of India report) TOI is planning their Chennai edition in May/June 2006, planning to enter the Hindu bastion. They will definitely sell because you will find people who will read TOI/somthing like that all over India/World.
But why IE(Indian Express)? Well I think, it is like one of the few newspapers which has got an opinion of its own. And a strong opinion for that. This is where it has this close similarity with Hindu. Every newspaper needs to sell to survive. So you will find the popular sections of entertainment in IE also, but in the way it should be reported/published, unlike TOI. The exclusive detective journalism they carry out is admirable. Currently they are behind the audio CD with all telephonic transcripts during the Godhra riots of the politicians/police in Gujarat. And this is just one of them. Harsha Bhogle I think writes better than Ayaz Memon. And if you want to spend the whole sunday reading, try Sunday Express. Believe me it is awesome.
Ok now lets get back to the train. Well so I have read the headlines/sports and business section by the second station. Then I take a much needed nap in the train. I have not bothered to find out if I snore in the train too!!! Then comes the phone call that wakes me up. My people back at home do not understand the importance of this nap nor does my friend who is also commits this sin. Well my office is in the middle of the city, which is famously known for all the old mills that were here in Mumbai from the British era. My office is a brisk walk away from the station and then I am in office till 7-8pm. Official work is not very interesting to read.
I think debut post need not be too long. But I have to mention this group whose songs am currently hearing - Strings. If you havent heard their latest album, Dhaani, you are missing something.
So till the next post bye!
~s