Mee Mumbaikar

Well, I am a Mumbaikar at least for the next two months, i.e. till I complete my summer internship with CNBC TV18. Hmm..should be an activity filled 2 months, to say the least.

There were a number of things I wanted to write about, so here goes..

1. Ghar ki yaad

I know, I know..I have just come back from home. But I'm already homesick. In fact, on the night before I took the flight to Mumbai, I suddenly did something which could be very well be expected from a 5 year old (of course, there are scores of people who'd argue that THAT is my actual age, but that is a completely different debate).

I simply turned around from all the hectic activity, all the packing and re-packing and all the time calculations for leaving the next morning..and simply refused flat out to go!! "Mummy, main Bombay nahin jaunga...mujhe ghar pe rehna hai." If there is one thing I'm good at, it is throwing a tantrum. *devilish grin* I haven't grown up as much as people think, and obviously, I've become an expert at some things. I could very well give a lesson or two to kids who are novices in the field of khaoing bhaav.

*Sigh* Anyway, it finally took a lot of pampering from Mom, a confused look on Dad's face and a lot of coaxing from friends I called up in the dead of the night that convinced me that I had to go the next morning, irrespective of what I felt. And here I am, sitting typing a post titled 'Mee Mumbaikar', so you know what ultimately happened. *Deep sigh*

2. Hawaai udaan

The last time I was on a flight was 7 years ago. Like I've already mentioned, there doesn't seem to have been much of a mental development since then. However, I've definitely become more observant..or so I would like to believe (I do vaguely remember trying to memorize the clothes that girls' would wear to parties even then). But, I must say, flying was definitely a different experience this time around. For one, I was definitely not headed for a summer internship the last time I flew, I was off to take a vacation with my parents on that occassion.

I must say, it was fun the first few minutes of the flight. Soon after we took off, I was observing how the clouds below looked more like a comfortable 'razai' that I would just like to get under. Hmmm..that would really bring a deep, comfortable sleep; something that is a premium these days. A few minutes later, the flight attendants served breakfast but I quietly avoided the food. I feel giddy in an aeroplane and all the rumbling in the stomach is not the correct time to load yourself with food. So, I sweetly accepted the air-hostess' request (she was sweet to look at) for a cup of coffee. Mom was surprised when I gulped the half-filled cup of coffee without any sugar or milk; it's been some time ('some time' being a major understatement) since I had coffee with my parents at a coffee shop, or else, Mom would've known that I love black coffee.

3. 'Yeh hai Mumbai shahariya...tu dekh babuaaa'

Of course I've been to Mumbai before, but this is the first time I'm here on a professional assignement, the only other city where I've been on a 'professional assignment' (sounds as if I'm an FBI agent who gets to work at different locations) being Calcutta. After my first day of work at the CNBC TV18 office, when I walked towards the Lower Parel railway station, I must admit, for the first time in my life, I felt dwarfed.

I felt dwarfed by the crowds, the teeming hundreds who were headed back home, the crowds who were visiting the sabji mandi, the elegantly dressed Maharashtrian women who were selling their vegetables...everything. All of a sudden, I realised how I was just one of the million Indians who was headed back home from a day at work.

How was I ever going to stand out from the crowd?

How was I ever going to make a mark for myself?

How was I ever going to etch a name out for myself?

These and a number of other questions worried me..only till the time I reached home, to Mom and her simple home-made dinner.

4. You're watching CNBC TV-18...Profit from it...

The CNBC TV18 office is the 'coolest' office I've ever stepped into. The walls are not the conventional office types where everything is painted in the same 'cream' colours. The walls are actually a riot of colors, blue, red, and sometimes a shocking orange.

The people working there are again different from you would expect at an office; at least, that is the impression I got on 'half-day' Saturday. The folks wore jeans and a shirt. Some looked ready to be strolling the grounds of a golf-club. Of course, I saw the studio where the shooting actually takes place. In fact, do not be surprised if one of these days you spot me running across the screen behind Udayan Mukherjee... that would just be me making a dash for the cafeteria