My Bombay Trip .. Day One.

Dilip, Sunil, Praveen , Shivaji, Tarun, Joseph , Santosh ,Jyotsna , lots of good and lots of not so good memories.. That's what Bombay means to me.. Aamchi Mumbai !!

I was in Bombay for Praveen's marriage reception. Ditched my usual Jet Airways for Kingfisher Airlines this time upon recommendation by Mahendra for obvious reasons. But nothing special about it except the new and good airplane. Mr Mallya built an airline selling beer(amongst other things maybe...which I don't know of). So kudos to all beer drinkers !!

KF started 20 mins late on Friday evening and arrived 1 hour late at around 11 PM thanks to the incessant rains in Bombay. My usual escort Praveen, stays close to the Airport. So I usually call him as soon as my plane lands and he rushes to receive me. He asked me to do the same. But this time I knew he didn't mean it. So I didn't call. He wasn't a free bird anymore. Neither did he want to be. He married because he wanted to and not because it was "time" and he had to. So we all decided to leave him alone for a while till he comes back calling on us. As always Jyotsna came to the airport with Sandeep and their 2 year old Divya. My good old friend Dilip was there too. Like every other time, Dilip had annoyed Jyotsna about something and they were fighting. Divya was visibly disturbed because she had been repeatedly threatened by her parents that Sajit mama is coming to take her to Bangalore for not obeying them. So this time she kept a comfortable distance from me.

So after the usual backlog of gaalis from Dilip for reaching late, not sending mails, not calling Bombay friends enough times etc etc we went to our "Airport Hotel" just for a place to sit and talk for a while. I hadn't attended Jyotsna's wedding. So once more the girlish scold of hers came : "You have come all the way from Bangalore for Praveen's reception but you didn't come for my marriage. Yaad Rakhungi"

After promising to call Jyotsna the next morning with the logistics for attending Praveen's function, me and Dilip took an auto to Dilip's house. Half way through I realized I should have taken the local-train. A Bombay trip is incomplete without stepping inside the local train.

It was time for Dilip to give me the inside news of Bombay...what all my punters had been upto. Who went where, who did what sensational, who got beaten by the police etc..etc..( no..not really. All my friends are good law abiding citizens). Everyone was just leading a routine life. No one seemed to shake up things and make noise anymore. Very uncharacteristic of Bombay Boys. Those days are over I suppose. Now it is wife, kids, school admissions, promotions and savings. I remember my Engg study leave when I used to come home from hostel and we would all gather at Dilip's friend Sushesh's office and have a nice night long party. Joseph would sing old hindi songs upon request from each one of us. And of course there were cigarettes, Whiskey, Rum and lots of home made food. I once got an earthern pot from somewhere, kept it upside down and told Joseph. "Here...some tabla would go well with your singing". Within an hour or so, the pot was broken. He still remembers it fondly. Its been ages since we had one of these events.

On the way Dilip stopped the auto in Kandivali, went into his fiends building and bought out his Yamaha. I was stunned. He laughed. He said "I always carry one key of his bike. I take it whenever I want". I asked "don't u have to take his permission?". "Chalta hai", said Dilip. That's the Bombay spirit , I thought to myself.

I took the riders seat. It felt really good ..first ..to ride a bike after a long long time. And second the good feeling that I am in "Aamchi Mumbai" with my childhood friends. I suggested to Dilip that we roam around the whole night. I was in no mood to sleep. "Chalega", said he. I said I want to visit our school. Me and Praveen once decided to do something for our school. KV INS Hamla has given us so many good things, especially lifelong friends, we should give something in return. And that we will.

We reached Dilip's house at around 2 in the morning. He has a 5 bedroom flat. And a special room for guests like me. His parents, himself and his 3 brothers stay there with their families. It is the only joint family I know of. Its a mansion according to Bombay standards. Everyone was asleep and the door was left unlocked for us. I felt relieved that I don't have to go through the guilt of waking up his family members at this unearthly hour.

The food was ready. But Dilip woke up his wife to get it hot or something. I scolded him for that. We could have done it ourselves. I told him it would have been great if we had a car. I suggested him to hire one. I don't enjoy two wheelers now a days. We got a Tata Indica the next day from a travel agent friend of his and of course without a driver.

The next morning was the same setup which happens in his house every time I visit. One by one his brothers peeped in to the "guest room" to look at me as if I am some almost extinct animal brought in from the zoo. Two of his brothers are doctors. They both gave me a much deserved lecture on importance of exercise and how out of shape I looked. I could no longer point to my stomach and say "Sign of prosperity". It simply was the result of a lazy and sedentary lifestyle.

After exchanging the usual greetings with his parents and his wife, I called upon my entire gang one by one. We all planned to meet at the reception. I told Dilip I want to buy a nice pant since the one I got with me is no good. He took me to the Inorbit mall in Goregaon. Its been ages since I bought clothes. Dilip forced me to buy more than I planned to. He made me buy one size smaller so I would loose weight to wear them. He looked particularly annoyed with my screwed up dress sense.(I am annoyed too). He selected the clothes and I just bought them.

Now and then Jyotsna kept calling. She was having a tough time at work. She wanted to quit to look after Divya and her boss wouldn't let her go. I am her part time underqualified mentor in job and career matters. She trusts me a lot. I once told her I bought a Mercedez Benz and she believed me!! Just because I was a topper in school she thinks I have gone to Bangalore and become some big shot. She finally made it her last day @ work. I told her I might come to her house on Sunday. This time unlike earlier, I didn't promise because there were very good chances I would break it. And she scolds me for that every time.

We went into almost every shop that looked inviting. He dragged me into the Benetton showroom. It was crowded since there was a sale. He painfully picked some t-shirts for me which I bought again without complain. I asked him to buy one. He said "Yeah I will just to wear at home". I screamed "Abe Khajoor, this is Benetton. 500 Rs Its not for home use". But Dilip has his own ideas about life.

He gave me the good news that Santosh Uthaman is also coming to the reception. I had seen him hardly once or twice after I left school. He joined the Indian navy and now is posted in Bombay. I was excited to hear the news. He used to give a tough time to our English teacher Savant madam . She gave up after trying hard to make him speak to her in English. Not that he couldn't .But he simply wouldn't. Our 10th "B" division had a soft corner for Hindi. We are proud Indians. So we unanimously decided we will give more respect to Hindi speakers. Santosh is also known for his notorious acts in the Navy. It would be nice to hear about his adventures and how he annoyed his seniors.

We reached back home with a big booty of clothes. Rajesh bhaiya asked,"Oye .. shaadi Praveen ki hai ya tumhari ?? BTW Sajit, When are you getting married?" The question no one gets tired of asking me. I gave a contentless answer like I always do "jaldi hi kar lunga...setting chalu hai".

Dilip went inside to get lunch for me. I get pampered in his house.I have known them since the day I stepped my foot in Bombay at the Air Force Base in Madh Island where my dad was posted from 1981 to 1986. That's where I met Dilip and his family. Dilip's father, Sahini uncle was the first person me and my mom met in Bombay. His mother spoke to me for a while about how good times were when we were in the Air Force. She told me for the nth time how many cigarette packets my dad used to buy from their shop. Santosh bhaiya laughingly commented, again the nth time on the "2 sizes bigger than my fit" trousers I used to wear in school.

We finished lunch , and I had a bath . While I was inside my "guest room", I heard a familiar loud voice. I knew it was Santosh. I rushed to the hall. He saw me but could not recognize me. He looked at me the second time, got up and screamed "Abe Sajit!!!... tu kab aaya". I am glad he didn't call me with the nick name Sunil gave me in school. And we hugged like long lost buddies. He looks just like a fauji. With short trimmed hair and no extra fat. Santosh is due to retire from Navy next year. He plans to go to Kerala and settle down there. I wish I could do that.

And now the reception. A lot of known faces. Nikhil, Harish, Pranit, Rakesh Guliya. Sunil's mom was also there. She was very happy to see me. Sunil still lives in the Railway quarters next to the railway station. While coming home from my Engg college in Pune, I used to visit Sunil first with my suitcase full of books and clothes before even going to my home. Sunil was the closest to me in school. We used to sit on the same bench since I met him first time in 6th standard. He used to come to my colony bus-stop and wait for me. Then we used to go together from there. No cell phones those days. But I never kept him waiting. He used to carry a aluminium suitcase to carry his books instead of a school bag. During our Unit tests we used to keep books open one above the other in it. It was very easy to copy. Just open the lid, pull out the book, transfer the data to the answer sheet and slide the book back in. And that's why he never stopped using the box. I never let him buy a school bag. Sunil's suitcase was our insurance against a tough question paper. With Sunil, Praveen, Amitabha, Dilip, Santosh, Biant Singh, Yogesh exams time was fun time. If you are not prepared. No problem. Sunil's aluminium dabba will protect you. I used to pass on my answer sheet to others, it would circulate among the back benchers and come back to me in a few minutes. I was the book worm and class topper till Amitabha joined us in 10th. He is a born genius. I used to study only because of my mothers beatings.

Our lunch used to be a true team event. One guy would open his tiffin and everyone would pounce on it. No sharing.. only grabbing. Only the strong would get anything to eat. So we changed strategies. We started having lunch during the 5th period itself. That gave us the full recess to play cricket. We would sit with food in our mouths and munch slowly like cows. So the teacher wouldn't know. Of course we still ran the risk of the teacher asking anyone of us a question and we would have to open our mouth. It once happened that I foolishly dropped on the floor the lid of a steel tiffin box during Livingstone madams Maths class. It made a loud noise and rolled over two benches ahead of me. I still remember the laughter the entire back benchers had. The front seaters didn't know what was happening behind their backs. The teacher didn't say anything. I think because I was a rank holder. I was forgiven some sins. Atleast till 9th std. 6th period after the recess was Bhatnagar madams history class. Our entire gang used to come 10 minutes late. Our excuse always was that the cricket ball over shooted the compound wall and went into Patelwadi, the small locality adjacent to our school. And we had to go searching for it. I don't remember how we managed with that silly excuse.

Jyotsna didn't attend the reception. Sandeep had gone on a offsite with his team at work. She didn't feel comfortable coming alone.

After we finished dinner we went to Praveen. Some leg pulling was due. He was sitting with his wife. We pulled him aside and drilled him for a while. Well we didn't trouble him much. He got away easily.

It was time to leave. We all assembled outside the hall and everyone started sharing their "discoveries" and questions. Who was the one in the white saree ? And the one in jeans ??. How many sisters Praveen's wife has ? When are they going back to Delhi? How about going to his house and getting an intro ??? Joseph had to keep quite because his wife was standing right next to him. But he still managed to pass on a few comments when she was not watching.

After few minutes of jokes and laughter.. we parted ways. I told Joseph if I come to Malad, I will drop in to see him. We hadn't spoken in ages. Joseph was the only guy working in a Software company when I was studying. I used to have endless discussions with him about life in a software company. My dream during college was a 15 K job in SEEPZ in Bombay and a bike. That's all I wanted from life. But I got much more. I had never even dreamed that I will settle down in Bangalore. And that I will prefer Bangalore to US. Sunil had come with 2 of his office friends so he had to be with them till they went home. We decided to meet later in the night after Sunil was free.

Santosh wanted to rush home because he had to report to work next morning at 7. For the Indian Navy, 7 A.M means 7 A.M ... not 7:03AM or 7:04 AM or 7:05 AM . No flexi timings. Me , Dilip and Sunil planned to roam around Bombay in our newly acquired Indica. Its no fun to drive an Indica but it was ok. The company of friends mattered more. I told Dilip we could go all the way to Colaba and drop Santosh and on the way back visit Marine Drive and Taj. But Santosh calculated that he will reach faster if he takes the train and was in no mood to trust my driving skills. So we dropped him to Andheri station and waited for Sunil to call us.

We met Sunil and his friends and sat in some restaurant called Harish ...somewhere in Andheri I guess ...which is supposedly well-known for its sea food. It was 1 AM when they finished food. They hadn't eaten anything in the reception. We goodbyed Sunil's friends and the three of us got in the car and Dilip suggested we go to Bandstand in Bandra. Bandstand is Bombay's famous seashore where Shah Rukh Khan has his controversial bunglow. I was excited at the thought of getting to see my Junior college again which is close to Bandstand. We took the link road...We reached Bandra but lost the way. Sunil screamed at me..."You don't even remember the roads??. This is the place where you, Shivaji and Alok loitered for 2 years during your junior college." I said "I am not a Bomayite anymore. You are . You should remember the roads". But that argument didn't work. Anyways we asked for directions and finally reached the sea shore. We parked , got out and went to a "cycle wala" who was selling cigs and coffee. He had no tea. Sunil took coffee and a cig. We talked for a while and they gave me a detailed account of Praveen's marriage in Delhi. And some tips on how I should conduct mine. Almost 30 minutes later the police came and started chasing away people. There were college kids in big gangs walking on the shore at this unearthly hour. Sunil made a passing comment on them and we got into the car and drove away. He said .. "Lets go to Carter road .. we will surely get tea there". What an important beverage tea must be for 3 grown up adults to search for it on Bombay roads in the middle of the night !!

We drove all over the place ..talking.. mainly me asking them lots of questions about their lives and the lives of my other friends. They were both getting too tired and sleepy to answer my insignificant questions. Bombay was daily life for them. But for me was something I always wanted to get back to. So I was very curious to know. And unlike them, I was wide awake. "I didn't come to Bbay to sleep.." I said to myself.

By the time we dropped Sunil to his house in Kandivali, it was 2:30 in the morning. I was sure his family wont mind him coming late this one night because "Sajit had come from Bangalore". Since I am not around most of the time, whenever I am , I get more attention than I deserve. He gave me a time to meet him again the next day afternoon in Andheri and we said goodbye.

We headed towards Dilip's house. Dilip said "You said you wanted to go to "ek number"???" That's the name of township I used to live in. It is in the suburb called "Malad". I enthusiastically said "Yesss!!!" and immediately took a U turn. He gave me directions till we reached Malad. Then on it was "my area".

I thought of Allwyn as we drove through Orlem. That's where he used to live before shifting to Panvel. How many hours me and Allwyn spend there making up big dreams for a bright future. Of course we haven't forgotten anything. It will all come true one day. I was planning to meet him the next day.

Next came the locality called "Midh chowki" and Shivaji's Asmitha Jyothi apartments. Dilip was asleep by then. I felt bad for dragging him along with me through the night. But I guess I don't do that often so it was ok. And then came the fire brigade and the "Ek number" bus stop ... the place where me and Joseph used to stand till late in the night and talk about our concepts of life. How to make it big in life and how to live a good life etc..etc..And also give hidden looks to good looking passer-byes..girls I mean..of course. I slowed down the car to notice if anything has changed since the lasttime I was here. Bombay nothing seems to change only new things come up. Old ones remain the same. Deepmala .. the banner on the first gate... Yes I remember that name "Deepmala Building". Few gates ahead was the gate of "Unity apartments". The building I used to live in. I looked at everything carefully trying to recollect my old days. I bent down and peeped through the windshield to have a look at the window of Apartment number "4-B/40" on the 4th floor of Unity Apartments. The flat we used to live in. "The extra grills on the windows are still there." I thought. "The new owner hadn't removed them.It looks just the same" I shook up Dilip and said: "Dilip... dekh mera ghar!!".. He opened his eyes slightly and went back to sleep again. I was excited but he wasn't. Bafhira Nagar and Unity Apartments mean nothing to him. Bahl nursing home in the adjacent building still stands in all his infamous glory. I thought about asking Rajesh bhaiya about Dr. Bahl.

I drove all the way to "Cancer Pisces" building and turned. Reminded me of the long walks I used to take with Alok and Vishal on these same very roads. I didn't feel like going towards Jankalyan Nagar..I had seen what I wanted to see in "Ek number" and was in a hurry to hit the road for "INS Hamla", the Indian Navy's base where my school was located. By the time I reached back to the bus stop Dilip woke up. I asked him "Are you too tired ? Shall we go to Hamla? I don't know when I will be able to come to Bombay again. I want to visit all those places once". He said "I have no probs. But you cant see anything. It is so dark". I replied "Its ok...I don't want to see anything. I just want to be there once".

I took the right turn and headed off towards my school which I really miss very much. Looking back I realize, I forgot to look for "Chachu ki dukaan" which was behind my building. The small 2 X 2 cigarette and paan shop. I wonder if he is still around. My father used to send me there to buy "half a packet of Wills" for him when I was small. In a few years I upgraded and started buying them for myself. Wills was my brand too. I am sure if Chachu is still around, Joseph gives him good business.

Soon we reached the locality called "Malvani Church". Shivaji, Sunita, Manoj, Vinod.. the place belongs to them.

I was excited to see the narrow road go down towards "Marve beach" ... It was still the same.... beyond Malwani Church... all the way till the end .. it was all the same....nothing seemed to have changed. It was all greenery just they way it was in my school days.

The Marve bus stop brought back some good memories . Sometimes we used to walk down from our school to Marve bus stop ...a good 30 - 40 mins walk....to catch buses which started from Marve. One day Sunil said we will not go to Marve today. We will wait till we get a bus from our school bus stop itself. We waited from 5:30 till 8 in the night. Not a single bus stopped for us. My mother send Balram uncle and Kannan's father to look for me. We were still waiting at the bus stop when they both arrived. So Sunil and I got a free ride on their scooters back home. And we also decided to not make that mistake again.

We reached the main gate of Indian Navy's base "INS Hamla". It still has maintained its old glory and the whole thing looks just the same. No change. Some navy guys were taking their routine rounds along the boundary wall. This Navy base also housed our old school. We shifted to the new one .. I don't remember when. Must be in my 3rd or 4th std. It would be great if I can go in and see what state our old school is in now. Probably the building has been broken down by now.

A few minutes more and we crossed "Mulchand's Store" the place where we used to buy books... toffees.....magnets ...ice creams...etc. We used to call him "Kanjoos Marwadi". Because he was known for his stinginess with money.

And then came the most beautiful place in Bombay (for me)...my school.."Kendriya Vidyalaya INS Hamla". I slowed down and peeped into the narrow lane which leads towards my school gate from the main road. A gate which I had entered every day for 10 long years. Every single friend of mine is very senti about our school and has great respect for all our teachers .. no matter how much fun we made of them during school and no matter how much they tortured us. The sight also re-strengthened mine and Praveen's decision to give back some value to our school.

I wanted to stop for a while. But Dilip had asked me not to stop anywhere. It was 4ish in the morning and there was not a single soul around. I woke him up again and said I want to go all the way to Madh Island. That was the tip. No road after that. Only sea. Around 10 km from where we were. He said go wherever you want to go. Just make sure u drive fast and don't stop for any reason. He slanted his seat further back and went into sleep again.

I was wide awake. Not a bit of tiredness or sleep in my eyes. I was feeling like I was in some wonderland.

Drove past JJ, Patelwadi.. Aksa beach.. Resort. Dilip was fast asleep.

"Erangel" .... that sounds familiar. I almost forgot a place like that exists. What else have I forgotten ? There was a time when I remembered each and every turn on the road from my school all the way to Madh Island IAF base. Because that were the 2 end points my whole life was restricted to for 10 years. And some occasional shopping visits to Malad once or twice a year.

Soon I reached Madh Island. Saw the temple on the hill top behind which was the Indian Air Force's Madh island base where my dad was posted since 1981. It was truly like re-living my childhood.

I drove all the way to Jetti. I had forgotten the word Jetti also. It was when Dilip mentioned it that I recalled. Some where on the road to Jetti was Shivanand's house. Shivanand is the only guy who became a Doctor in our gang. He even did his M.D. I feel proud of him. He is the only guy who did what he said he will do when we were in 10th. Rest all of us followed the easiest available option. It was Deepak bhaiya, our tuition teacher who made us think what we wanted to do with our future. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have even given a thought to this mysterious thing called future. I was too uninformed about life in those days.

I reached the dead end at Madh Jetti. Madh Jetti is 2 kms from the Madh Island bus stop. And finally I stopped to decide which way to go. Dilip got up looked around and said. "This is L&T. Take a U turn". I did. Reached Madh Island back and asked Dilip: "Can we go to the Quila?" , There was a fortress next to the Air Force base which has appeared in many hindi movies. He jumped .. "No!!!!.. it is not for civilians any more. But u can go till the Air Force gate and return". Ah !! Civilian.. yes that's what I was. I drove up to the Air Force station main gate. And started taking a U turn. The guard looked towards us with curiosity. Little did he know that this place belongs to me as much as it does to him.

I decided to drive fast now. I had seen what I wanted to see. Now I had to plan who all I had to meet on Sunday. I decided to spend a good chunk of time with Jyotsna, Sunil and Allwyn. Sunday was for the three of them. I had already postponed my return flight from 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM to make time for Allwyn.

I didn't think much as I drove back. Wanted to reach home fast so Dilip's torture could end and he could sleep comfortably. Just as I reached Charkop, I woke him up for directions. "Your old memories !" he smiled and said in Hindi.

We reached Dilip's house at around 5 in the morning. By then I had started planning for the next day. "I want to meet Sunil , Jyotsna and Allwyn tomorrow. I will leave as soon as I get up in the morning , meet them and go straight to the airport at 7:30 in the evening." Dilip replied "Chod na yaar. Kal ka kal dekhenge" He just asked me to shut up and go to sleep. And switched off the lights.

End of Day 1.