Loving Mumbai...

Am back home :-)
Back to the shouts of my building children cycling, smells of my neighbour aunty's delicacies wafting in and the pampering of my parents. Also back to the sweat and grind and yells of Mumbai...I happen to like it...though these months in a quieter and less polluted place has made me more aware of the quality of life we live here. After playing guide to quite a few people over the past six years, I have my own favourite list of things to do in Mumbai. In random order, here they are:

1. Watching sunrise at Juhu with birds flying all across...after a nightout and a long drive at dawn (incidently, that was the day after Black Thursday with the CPLC group)
2. Watching a play at Prithvi with friends and Irish coffee (the name of this post was the last one I saw with Snehal and Megha)
3. Having kala khatta and pani puri at Juhu chowpatty with experimenting friends (imagine Nithiya and Beatrice trying them out...)
4. Eating vada pav outside Mithibai and hanging out at JRM during Umang (Yeah, i know...i qualify as a true blue NMite :-)
5. Window shopping for accessories at Colaba Causeway and chappals at Linking Road (recommended that you go with friends with good bargaining skills...I dont have any such...though Rupal and Aku come close :-P)
6. Walking along the Madhoba temple at Charni Road on a Jain festival afternoon (there is something about this place which makes you suddenly feel calm and at peace)
7. Walking along this tiny flower strewn footpath adjacent to Churchgate station (no one notices....but its sooo pretty, its almost out of a picture book)
8. Driving to Lonavla, eating corn bhujia and watching the sunset (with great company like Sanjaya maam, heavenly!) Dont forget to buy chikki and chocolate fudge on your way back :-)
9. Travelling in an empty local (if something like that exists!) on a rainy evening (am almost nostalgic about junior college train journeys with Puja)
10. Eating pastries at this quaint little place called Theobroma and walking up to the Gateway (taking the ferry would be a cliche)
11. Shopping for illegal copies of novels around Flora Fountain...(dont let them fleece you...this place has the best bargains...brand new books for 60-70 bucks!)
12. Celebrating Ganpati and Janmastami (Govinda aala re....aala...)
13. Going bird watching at Sanjay Gandhi, BNHS, Goregaon (brings back fond memories)
14. Idling around Powai Lake at the IIT campus (nothing beats early morning)
15. Siddhivinayak Temple (anytime...)

P.S.: Yeah, i know, there is a overwhelming dominance of food on my list...unintended and surprising....really, i swear ;-)