On the shore
And the night is slipping through my hand
I fall into the sea
Like the empire built on the sand
The song going on in my head is interrupted by the rumble of the crashing waves. It brings me back to the present. Once again, gazing at the distant horizon, I had gotten lost in my thoughts. But then again, wasn’t that the whole purpose of coming here.
It was Subhodeep who had introduced me to this place. A friend of a mutual friend, he is one of the inmates at Sheetal Apartments, Juhu where I am staying temporarily. On my first day here, he did not lose a moment after I stepped through the door to announce that Ajay Devgn stayed on the ground floor. He related the story of some fortunate fellow who had gotten the opportunity to click a selfie with the actor. That evening, he showed me around, starting with ISCKON temple that was located nearby. There I had a Dabeli for the first time. Two of those and you don't need dinner, he told me. From there, a road ran straight ahead leading to this part of the beach. Since then, I have been coming here after work, every day. This part of the beach is secluded, away from the usual din of Juhu Chowpatty. I have chosen a particular spot at an optimum distance from the shore. Here, the waves don’t reach me and the sand remains dry; all that without comprising the view.
The sky is clear today, a rarity in Mumbai. I don’t need an app to figure out the constellations. Orion, the hunter watches over as the waves approach me like hairy white hooves of many horses cantering at a battle frontier only to smash the surface with all intensity then disintegrate into the sand like glorified soldiers. Along comes a daft of fishy smell accompanied by a cool breeze; a respite, well-deserved after a long day of work.
The past week had gone by in a blur. My day began with rushing back and forth from one bathroom to the other in the 2BHK apartment where five people stayed. Thankfully, my place of work in Andheri was only an auto-drive away. However, the trouble was to hail an auto driver willing to take me there. Still, I managed to reach my office on time, only to realise that I hadn’t had breakfast. Hastily, I engulfed a ten rupees Vada Pav before entering the lobby of Kaledonia building where a giant Laughing Buddha assumed the centre space, greeting the people passing by, without getting one in return. The elevators in the building differed from the ones I was familiar with. Instead of a two-button system, each one of the four elevators had a keypad attached. One had to type in the floor number after which a display directed you to take a particular elevator. Surely, the system was in place to manage the crowd of people in a hurry. Reaching the office, I found my colleagues smiling at me. Unlike me, they had rented a flat closer to the office and usually arrived before me. Divya was the sincere one while Satyam just liked to wing it. Between working on our projects and meetings with the Project head, we found time for a little fun and flare during lunchtime and casual office breaks. Both of them had worked previously but had never been to Mumbai before. I, on the other hand, had been here before. I had even visited most of the famous places on my previous visit. The city wasn’t new to me. The corporate life was.
Out of nowhere, I recall something Subhodeep had told me, strolling on the beach that day; how he came here daily when he first came to Mumbai but over his long stay, the place had lost its allure. He had said that in a matter-of-factly way. He had even let out a chuckle but his disheartened tone hadn’t gone unnoticed by me. It’s just the way things turn out over time. It’s not very often that reality matched up to your expectations. I had found out later on that the flat on the ground floor was just an office and the actor hardly ever visited the place. I wasn’t a hard-core fan; still, I felt a little bit let down.
The sound of police whistles fills the air. It’s my cue to leave; for the last time. From tomorrow, it won’t be possible to come here daily. My temporary stay in Juhu has come to an end. I’m moving tomorrow to a more permanent arrangement, away from the seashore, if that’s at all possible in Mumbai. I would miss coming here. This place had its role to play in easing me into my new life.
(To be continued...)
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