Statuatory Warning:This is a personal log. Those not aware of the following days might find it boring.

A random attempt to keep a log of some of the days I remember that took my breath away, since my life in Sophia’s started.

·         A conversation Piu, Sharan and I had at UTBT with baked potatoes and cold pasta(I think it was something to do with kids)

·         The day Vini wouldn’t accept that she had met AND spoken to T (I deliberately keep the identity discreet)

·         India-Pakistan final Twenty20 World Cup match (we had a salsa workshop and then we ran home to catch the match; Piu came home. People exchanged scores in the traffic through cars and cabs!)

·         Welcoming the Indian cricket team after winning the Twenty20 World Cup

·         The day I realised who one of Antu’s close family member was

·         Piu’s carol singing and Leopold’s

·         The Lit conference, especially the ‘space’ paper

·         When all of us mass-bunked psycho to educate and get educated about, ahem, ‘colours’

·          The day I had kheema paratha and mint tea with Piu and Antu at Samovar during the Kala Ghoda festival last year(it was very cold and I was wearing Gauri’s college sweatshirt)

·         The day we (Jo, Piu and I)shared a single blueberry cheesecake at Moshe’s coz I was 19 years and 19 days old and Piu was 20 years and 10 days old

·         Flowers and Sex and the City!

·         15th and 16th March 2008

·         The night we(Sharan, Vini, I) spent at Piu’s granny’s place before EXAP seminar component presentation(the topics of discussions covered almost everything I can think of right now)

·         EXAP seminar component presentation(I know what euphoria feels like)

·         The night Piu, Jo and I slept really late at Ooty, chatting in front of the heater

·         Ganpati at Gauri’s home with HAHK!

·         Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2009

·         Today :)

 

I am pretty sure I am forgetting many more. Will try my best to remember them and update this list.

Material Girl?

Just when I thought that I don’t really need anything more in life to be content, I also realised that I want...

·         Admission at Oxford University

·         A Mini-Cooper

·         A walk-in wardrobe with a separate custom made section for earrings and shoes

·         Jewellery- Diamonds from Tiffany’s, Pink Diamonds set in Platinum, Rajasthani jewellery in Uncut Diamonds, Frey Wille jewellery

·         Jimmy Choos

·         A trip on The Palace on Wheels

·         A stay at the Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur

·         An apartment in La Reve, Dubai

·         Outfits designed by Abu-Sandeep, Ritu Kumar, Sabyasachi Mukherjee

·         Own personal DVDs of- F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, I Dream of Jeannie, Full House and innumerable favourite movies

·    Gourmet food with expensive wine twice a month   

·         Many, many, many more gorgeous earrings

Gosh, when will I stop being so materialistic? :P

Mumbai, my Bombay

Bombay has always been Mumbai for me; I never had a conflict of calling it Bombay or Mumbai. Perhaps Bombay reminds me of the British influence that made it ‘Bombay’-South Mumbai architecture, trains, Gateway of India, etc. Not that I don’t like these, mind you, if South Mumbai was a food item, I could have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can’t be thankful enough for my college being in an area I so love. At the same time, it makes me uncomfortable, to not see Mumbai in its totality-including the suburbs, the koliwadas, the beauty of the Marathiness of Dadar, the new developments in areas like Bandra Kurla Complex and Powai, and the history of the city before the Brits made it ‘Bombay’. After all, these are the things made by us.

Maybe I prefer calling the city Mumbai since I am a Maharashtrian. Would Parisians call Paris the way we call it? Would the Germans call Munich the same? Palestine? Mumbai, for me, retains my roots, my Maharashtrianess.

I, having been fortunate enough to study the history of Shivaji Maharaj, don’t have a problem with naming landmarks his name. I am proud of my history. Why do I call a station by some Brit Queen of the 1800s, who exploited colonies, which incidentally, includes my country? What’s wrong with calling it instead by the name of someone who resisted the Mughal invasion of this very region commendably? Those who complain of the complicated pronunciations and long name of ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’ , ‘Franz Josef Strauss’  is the name of the airport in Munich, ‘Charles De Gaulles’ is of Paris and of course, ‘John F. Kennedy’ of New York. It is probably our more Anglicised exposure as compared to our own language, that makes it easier for us to pronounce and remember the others better. Those who still want to be critical should be excused to call it as they please. Their choice  should be respected.

 

It is a wonder, how infrequently I speak Marathi once I step out of home. Thankfully I get my enough dose at home, where it is the only language spoken, however my level of fluency in it may be. How many of us learn an extra foreign language, but have never attempted to learn Marathi in spite of calling Mumbai our home? Because it is not exotic enough? I have never gone out of my way and explored the rich culture my language provides; never made an attempt to read Marathi newspapers which might have something different to say. Shame on me!

Mumbai is a cosmopolitan city, yes. It is secular, yes. It is welcoming, yes. But let us not ignore the roots.