SEEMITA DAS

One month. That’s how much time has elapsed since I landed in Bombay (the name I like). And I didn’t realize it until yesterday when my mamma, over a call, brought up the topic.

About 38 days ago, an abrupt, unforeseen change at work uprooted me from Chennai – a city I had called home for over a decade – and set me up to shift base to Mumbai (the name they like), and to make that move within a week’s time.

I was stunned. Out of words. Intimidated, betrayed, unconsoled – all the banes of ‘unanticipated change’ sprung around me in no time and dug their fangs into my being. It took me a one full day to gather my marbles, scratch at all the hidden resources of optimism, uncover similar memories of past that had eventually turned promising and exchange a thousand words with my mamma and bhai to tear clear of the darkness and step into the light.    

The next 7 days went in a jiffy – closing open jobs at work, handing over reigns, farewell parties by colleagues, a gorgeous send-off by my stunning coterie of bibliophiles (more on that later!), packing and sending stuff (I was moving a mini library, mind you!), transferring utilities, coordinating travel and stay at Bombay, and meeting some absolute essentials of my life before saying goodbye.

And I landed in Mumbai on 19^th July 2023. Welcomed by, well, monsoons. And not just any monsoon, the PEAK of this year’s torrent! I stepped out of the airport with two small trolley bags and a sling bag, and I might as well have patted my back for travelling light cuz my dear lady, there was no way you could drag two heavy tons across two terminals and two levels to get to your cab and get into it without a sumo-level struggle.

And that set the tone of my entire month – Silver lining amidst challenges.

A home after a furious trail of official communication. A nap in between breakneck commuting. A good cook to serve after day-long mauling. A sunshine to compensate for ten days of incessant pouring. A metered taxi to conserve energy for the business calls. Bookish citadels (and graffities) holding their own in a sea of corporate jungles.

Even as I write my first piece from Mumbai from a place of recuperation from a nasty flu and cold, I can’t wait to see what this city has in store for me.

Onwards and upwards!