Life in Bombay- 2

As time flew, I was getting familiar with the place and was beginning to love it. I got very attached to our gang of friends- 6 of us, each from different parts of the country and backgrounds, yet had the similar wavelength. I was beginning to pick up the typical Bombay slangs- kyaa re, bindaaaaz , timepass, kahe ko tension, abe yaar- pakka math etc none of which had any touch of grammar to it.

College was fun and was actively involved in the extra -curricular activities- dance mainly. We used to fool around the entire semester, but do get very serious just a month ahead of exams – The “Study leave”, which was the time to fetch notes, hunt for reference books, syllabus and refer past question papers. It still seems unbelievable to me as how I managed to study 12 to 14 hours a day in the library during that one crucial month, but it sure was a necessity. Julie/Bindu/Juls- were the names I have been used to, but I was coined with a new one -“Julia” by our librarian- Gadgil Ma’am- a typical Sindhi. Since I was a chatterbox even then, keeping mum among the other serious students was very hard for me and hence used to get these frequent shouts from our Ma’am- “Juliaaaaaaa, Be quiet Pleeej” and with that a few started calling me ”Julia” thereafter.

Library sessions, reminds me of an incident with one of our seniors. A girl in my class secretly mentioned to me that this senior who knows her very well, wanted to talk to me and asked me to wait outside the library on a certain date/time. I was quite tensed and immediately brought this matter up with my gang for advice on how to tackle this situation. All said I must go and check it out, if he proposes- say “no” outright! Boy!! This senior was handsome and I had met him a couple of times, the first time being after “Freshers day” when he came and praised my dance a lot. The tension doubled as the exam fever was setting in too and I just wanted to get over with this meeting. Gathered all my guts and received wishes from my friends and waited at the spot for him. I could see him at a distance, walking with his friends and as he approached the library they gave him a hand shake and said bye and left.
I was sure- “This is it”- if my parents know, they would bury me “alive” coz he is not a “Malayalee catholic”! But no doubt, handsome! He came upto me and said “hi”, I was trembling inside with a high paced heart rate. He again told me my dance was great and he has never appreciated Classical dance upto this extent. I said “Thank You”. He wouldn’t get into the matter, but asked me few generic questions on how studies are going and if I needed any help I could ask him etc. Finally he said,” Ok Julie, the reason I wanted to meet you is very personal, and please do not discuss this with anyone". Gosh, I was “dead meat” by then! He then said “I have this friend of mine who is madly in love with your close friend in your gang of 6, and he wants you to convey this matter to her”. Pop- burst the bubble !

I said “Ohh this is what you had to tell me, OKK..! He immediately caught that sheepish look on my face, and asked what I thought it was. I said oh nothing! I just wanted to run away from there and bury my face somewhere!! I told him I will tell her and ended the talk and prepared to leave. While I was leaving, he repeatedly asked me, but I just bye and ran. And the irony of this whole story is, he is right now here in Seattle working with a telecom firm! Yes, and I do run into him with my other college seniors who work here at MS and we do talk a lot about college and all the fun things- everything except this! Some things are just “best”, when not spoken!

Train journey in Bombay is one of a kind experience. People are packed in compartments like “Sardines packed in a box”. Learning the mechanism on how to get in and get off from a compartment was a challenge in itself, but got the hang of it soon. Thumb rule is push and pull with all your might and forget the word “courtesy” for a while. It is the survival of the fittest! The hardest part was to deal with the fisher women who lavishly sit on the floor of the compartment right at the exit door, as if it was their own home. And yeah, if any body part of your touches them accidently, you would get that cold glare from them, sometimes coupled with a few “Marati” swears. Mastered the art of train journey after a few rides and that was not a trouble anymore.

Marine Drive or The Queen’s necklace - A beautiful manmade structure and one of the favorite places for any Bombaite. This was our designated place to hang out after final exams at the end of each semester. Our minds, relieved after a stressed out study leave, was desperate for a much awaited break. We would just lie down on the bench and gaze at the star studded sky, enjoying the sound of the mild waves from the Arabian sea in the background. That was a paradise in itself- a rare bliss and one of my most missed moments.

To be contd …