"Ae dil hai mushkil, jeena yahan,
zara hatke, zara bachke yeh hai bambai meri jaan....."
This is a very popular song on the financial capital of India, Mumbai and the song carries this note that living in Mumbai is a little difficult as you have to be careful in my dear city Mumbai.
I first visited Mumbai in January 2008 for a couple of days but didn't know to join the biggest hotel in the country, Grand Hyatt Mumbai[soon it will be 2nd biggest hotel, as ITC Grand Chola opens in Chennai] I would have to move there.
It was the first time, that I had to stay away from home, for professional reasons, so first & foremost, I had to look out for a place, to live. Mumbai is one of the most expensive cities in the country so finding an accommodation was difficult, with the limited salary I had[back then, it was around US$130 a month!!!]. So after a lot of runaround, I was able to find one, that too on the compulsion of a friend[or another fake friend????]I started living in that apartment, with limited facilities. The rent being close to US$ 90, was too much for me, since I had other expenses like, food[food is served to employees on duty!!], internet[another addiction], cell phone...less expenses for conveyance, since I had my accommodation next to my hotel.
Work was going nice along, else long hours at work..from 12 hrs to 14-16 hrs in any given day. From 7 pm[i.e. from 6:30 pm] till 8 am the following morning & then at 2:30 pm the same day...yes, the schedule was this hectic, but I managed to perform...though my sous chef used to shout extra to me than anyone else. Why????Well, the excuse was "You can do better...."
Fortunately, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, in Khar was located pretty close to my place;whereas, I used to stay in Santa Cruz East, & the Ashrama was in Khar West. Somtimes, I used to take an auto, sometimes, half-bus, half-on foot...or sometimes, on foot..there, I used to find solace, some emotional support, mental peace, when I used to frequent that place. Seldom, I failed attending the Ramanam Sankirtan on Ekadashi days, followed by the prasad which generally used to comprise, Jalebi[my favourite] & some fruits. But perhaps, than any place else, one would either find me at work...or sometimes at home..
With 3 offs in 15 days, life was in control...never to extremes. I remember, with two days off at a stretch, I went to visit Nasik, Shirdi & Shani Shingnapur--pretty famous places for pilgrimage from Mumbai. Though the journey was hectic, as most of the times, I was sleeping, in the bus or train, but enjoyed it to the fullest...and I love to travel....
Food was pretty much ok--since my accomodation didn't have facilities of cooking, most of the times, I used to buy food from outside.Generally on my day offs, my meal was simple egg curry with some chapati[around 50 cents!!] or Mixed Noodles[75 cents] or ChannaMasala-Roti[50 cents!!!]
Boozing was absolutely No-No in these months...since I was concentrating more on work, more on saving money[despite my intentions, I seldom could, so my mom used to send me money from Kolkata...such a pitiful situation...]
In the meanwhile, I got an employment offer from Atlantis the palm, Dubai when I had to put my resignation. I was happy & excited to get rid of the expensive Mumbai, but the old saying goes perfect...Man proposes but God disposes....God had different plans for me...I came back home...in just five months...to celebrate Diwali at home, whilst trip to Dubai was deferred due to recession...
After Mumbai, I moved to Chennai, in between, I was without job for four months, on which I will write soon....
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