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Postcards from an evening




It was Niharika's birthday.


Anumita, Chandrika, and I get into a busy train. Chandrika finds a seat and wedges herself in it. Anumita and I stand near the door. It's better to feel like a sardine in a crowded fish tank than a dead one in a can. A tells me these incredible stories of her early years in Mumbai. We find that I'd applied to the office where she was working many years ago. Big city but small world, I think to myself.

We reach V.T. and catch a cab to Marine Drive. On the way, A & I point and shriek at those quaint places in 'town' that you visit when you're either studying or underpaid. We gasp at a pretty Japanese rock garden in the middle of a road. They've even styled a gnarled tree-trunk to look like a magic lamp. Chandrika, through it all, wonders what the big deal is.

Anumita, Chandrika, and I are walking towards Niharika's building. Mumbai's skyline looks all grey, opaque, and misty. The lights have just started coming on. Our hair whips about in that humid, strong, breeze and we feel pretty.

Niharika shows us her beautiful, big house on Marine Drive.Her house is huge and old and quaint - where genteel people stay; where children play the piano after dinner to entertain guests; where, if you rummaged through drawers, you'd find a pair of black, silk gloves that someone wore to an opera. The bedrooms are roomy and have letter tables. You think of jewel encrusted snuff boxes and solid, gold monocles when you look around.

We settle in the balcony. Niharika has gone off to try the chandelier ear-rings we've gifted her. The sky is now inky-blue and the skyline seems to have hundreds of colorful firelies clustered around black, solid hives. Niharika peeps in- and her profile, with those mauve chandelier ear-rings, makes her look like an actress from the '50s.

We talk a bit while Anumita finishes her drink. We talk of birds. Nihariks tells us of one grey swallow with a blood-red chest. Anumita tells us about a one-legged pigeon.

We go to dinner where we exchange occult stories. Despite my resolution to be vegetarian this year, I have the chicken and fish. Sorry - Korean chicken, and sizzling fish.

On the way back, we board an empty train. Anumita does a cute Rumpulstiltskin jig (she looks cuter than the character though). A & I sit by the window. C sits next to me. We talk of this and that. As the journey wears on, A slumps comfily and I lean my head by the window. I tell Chandrika that the sound of a night train taking you back home is so soothing - that, and the sea - what I achingly miss when I am out of Mumbai. A smiles. C smiles too - though I think she still wonders what the big deal is.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Lovely post.

I know what the big deal is.
Mukta Raut said…
Hi Kahini,

:-) How are you, by the way? Is thr trip from home to station getting any better? I know the answer to that one - yet I ask.
R. said…
Only in bombay can an empty train ride can be considered romantic!!

Lovely writing though. I had this nice dreamy sleepy feeling at the end (in a nice way! nice way i tell ya!)
Nagesh Pai said…
Beware of korean chicken!! the bird flu is still on, which gives the infected host severe writing symptoms!!

Kidding

Was reminded of someone sleeping on my shoulder long time back put to sleep by the rhythmic rattles of the tracks!
Mukta Raut said…
Hi R and nagesh,

There would be this one post that would get me the back-handed compliments! hee hee!
Anonymous said…
I love the tone of your post. And yeah, I totally understand the big deal.

And I miss it oh-so-much :(
anumita said…
Remember what we said, "we should do this more often..."
Heh Heh said…
came from desipundit.. am a bombayite, so this post brought back some fond memories.
Hemant said…
Nice photo's
And nice writing at the same time.
Hemant said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hemant said…
Thats incredibly fast ...
Mukta Raut said…
Hi!

Ash - yes, mumbai is easy to miss.

Anumita - we always..but always..say that.

Fingeek - hello! welcome to my blog (said the spider to the fly!) :-D

Hemant - thanks! i got those photos from one the forwards. Pretty!

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