My third day in Mumbai and I get
a wet rainy welcome! Unlike Delhi, rains here come with its own whims and
fancies. No storm, wind, dust…just clouds and rains are here, like guests who
come uninvited. This time around, rains made Mumbaikars wait a lot, and finally
arrived with me! Somehow all my friends have been telling me since morning –
madam, you came and brought rains.
Thinking of rains, the first
thing that comes to my mind is ginger tea and hot pakodas, perhaps sooji halwa
as well, if mom is in a generous mood. But since everything in Mumbai has a
different nomenclature, pakodas here become Bhajiyas…big dumplings of potatoes
(needless to say, sweet) and onions, bound generously in gramflour batter, and
deep fried. As everybody in office enjoyed Bhajiyas, I missed Delhi, where we
order an assortment of onion, potato, chilli, paneer pakodas.
The good old lauki/ghiya has
become dudhi here. I still am unable to understand why the vegetable vendor
wraps each dudhi in plastic…if it is to save it from the rains, why such
partiality towards dudhi? Hehe…
For first timers, rains may play
spoilsport, but the normal Mumbaikar has befriended even the moody rains.
Truly, the city never stops. While I was frowning at the sight of my sandals,
spoiled in rains, my friends’ shoes were shining, despite their long travel in
metro….oops locals. Aaakhir raaz kya hai? I wondered. Then a friend told me,
people keep an extra pair of shoes in office, and wear plastic flip flops to
work. Also, never before have I seen raincoats and umbrellas of this variety.
Even spotted a guy wearing a plastic pants and enjoying the rains!
Mumbai women too know, how to
tweak fashion to their convenience. Spotted many women in sarees who had tied
it like a skirt, but didn’t like to miss their local train!
Throughout the day, I was looking
at the rains, reading twitter updates about water logging (even the Mumbai
metro wasn’t spared by rains) and wondering what would be the sight on roads in
the evening. But what I saw in evening took me by surprise. Everyone went
around doing their business as usual. Apart from few potholes, there were no
major water logging on the roads. In Delhi, the day we have rains like this,
reaching home is an endless struggle with water logging on every road.
When things don’t go the way we
want them to be, we go in the cribbing mode. Perhaps we should take inspiration
from people who have learnt to befriend the odds. Not even a single person in office
was making faces at the sight of heavy rains. It was first major shower of the
season, and Mumbaikars celebrated it like a festival with tea and Bhajiyas!
As much as I miss Delhi, I also
salute the spirit of Mumbai, the city that never stops.
And before I sign off for the
day, one more update…mom in law finally got her spicy food. She threatened the
steward to prepare North Indian style North Indian food – hot n spicy else she
will enter the kitchen and prepare herself!
She will have to wait for a few
days to relish her Dilliwalla alu subzi though!
Nice post there!
ReplyDeleteI just returned from Mumbai after a month long stay. It was my first visit and yes, I was looking forward to the rains. But alas, delayed monsoon! (Do check out my post about Mumbai, in case you are interested: antarik.blogspot.com/2014/07/mumbai-40-days-of-adventure.html )
Enjoy the rains :)
I came to know about it via a friend too. She loves rains and she is enjoying the monsoon a lot.
ReplyDeleteNice post :)
Nice post :) loved reading :)
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ReplyDeletehttp://nikhimenon.blogspot.in/2014/07/book-giveaway-sidney-sheldons-tell-me.html
No wonder Shaivi that Mumbai is known for its never say die spirit! :)
ReplyDeleteRains... loved reading the Mumbai spirit! :)
ReplyDeleteha ha ha welcome to the land where bhaiyas are are either plain onion or plain potato at most methi pakodi you will get! SO much rains but they don't know the magic of pakode and chai in rains :P
ReplyDeleteNice article.
ReplyDeleteRead more.