Off from Magarpatta at 9 and we headed to say hi to Jyo (short for Jyotsna) and Asha maushi - their house being on the Mumbai path. Jyo got a lovely brunch ready - sol kadi, parathas, tomato chutney - and we spent a good hour with them before hitching a ride with one worldly wise gentleman from Varanasi who had the air of someone who has seen everything. He had issues right from the way I would load the luggage - arre, aise nahin, appa jald baaz kar rahe hai - or stuff like that.
Anyway I was seated next to him and asked him about his journey - he had come from Varanasi some thirty five years ago and his uncle taught him to drive, goes home once a year, mainly in January when the weather is great and vegetables are fresh where he can get carrot for 5 rupees and other such details ( his eyes clouded over at the memory).
So many like him work in Mumbai he said and have been working here for years - they earn, send money home where the rest of the family lives and tends to their small parcels of land. He told me about one accident that he survived, taught me how to drive in tunnels (hold the white line and go along it, don't look at anything else). Soon we were at Mumbai and were dropped off at Kalanagar.
Suhita was home and so was Miskil and Khayal. Some lovely lunch with rice, fried fish and fish curry, and I headed off to buy some beer with Kabir. Watched some movie - Shaitaan - and then crashed out. I can see a full bookshelf with lots of books, a TV which has some movies I have not watched and a nice place for long walks in the morning.
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| The little play ground in Sahitya Sahawas where I was taking calls - Sachin must have played here as a kid |
Made a pact with Suhita to go on the morning walk and she was game for it. Mumbai is not as muggy as I thought it would be.
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Walk around the Bandra area and the new Jio Drive In mall was nice. Breakfast, book reading, movies, good food, conversations, that's pretty much what happened the rest of the time. When we took a flight back on Sunday I was well rested and relaxed. I liked it.
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