Monday, May 23, 2005

Mum"Bye" !!

All good things come to an end... So, have my days in my B-school... With the final project presentations due to be completed in a few days, I will bid farewell to this place within a week.. With it, I will also say adieu to the most multifaceted city in the country- Mumbai.. I’ve never been a great fan of the city.. Never liked the chaotically overcrowded streets.. the painfully long commuting durations (singular to a city that has grown longitudinally rather than expanding in a circle).. the sweat-soaked summers.. and the 3 month long non-stop rain-riot.. But over the last couple of years, I have begun to admire certain aspects of this behemoth.. Most striking is the high degree of professionalism and discipline possessed by the Mumbaikars.. Not once have I been witness to a squabble in a BEST bus.. or seen people breaking a line in ticket booking.. or heard of auto and taxi-walas grossly overcharging passengers (something which has evolved into an art form in other major cities of the country)..

Another striking feature is the high degree of indifference people have to things happening around them (which can be a good as well as a bad thing).. After all, in which other Indian city would couples be allowed to smooch and fondle their way through a local train journey without being interrupted even once!! Perhaps it is due to the acute lack of time from which the overwhelming majority of the populace grapples with.. People over here can hardly find enough time for themselves.. so, why waste it on thinking about others..

I have been most fortunate to have lived in a serene hill station right in the midst of this bustling metropolis.. And what’s more, the last 2 years have been a most engaging time in more ways than one.. Arbit, MastishK, CRship, blogging, brain-storming on anything and everything under the sun.... life had never been more joyfully challenging.... It's also been a time to find new friends.. understand others.. and build relationships that might last a lifetime... If I am taking one thing with me from here, it is probably a slightly better understanding of human nature.. Something no textbook will ever succeed in teaching.....

p.s.- Today is also the 1st anniversary of my blog.. All of last year, I have been releasing my mental exhaust on this page.. trying to relive my life.. ponder over the imponderable.. and understand the obvious.......
Keep checking this space for more such trash in the future.....

2 comments:

Nikhil Kulkarni said...

Congrats for completing one year .. that was for your blog!!;)
I too will be leaving NITIE though it seems Mumbai has stuck to me like a leach (or lets say the other way round :D) ... NITIE has given me a lot .. (more on that later in my own blog) but for me one of the most invaluable gifts from NITIE is a friend and thats you!!

chaos said...

many happy returns of the day...

and the mumbai description is too good... and so true...

I'll also be saying good bye to this happening city... but I am sure it'll be difficult to forget the time spent during the last 2 yrs... in Mumbai (and in NITIE)...

All the BEST ... where ever you go!

Cheers
>chaOs<