My first Mumbai friend

Photo courtesy: Yatrablog.com

Moving to a new city is always challenging especially when you don’t know anyone in the city.

In this respect, I was lucky to have a friend in the city who helped me with everything from my first day in the maximum city.

Now that he is gone, I feel that my days in Mumbai could have been colourless without him. I looked forward to weekends, as weekends became my happy days. More than being happy days, those were ‘my’ days.  I reconnected with myself and enjoyed the little things and small pleasures in life.

Some of the good habits that I imbibed during those months now form a part of my larger nature.  

He had eyes like that of a cat and he enjoyed scaring me with those magnificent eyes. But  those very eyes was my shelter during the storm.  

He made me fall in love with Marine Drive. Even though it is more than 15 kms from my residence, it became my ‘go-to’ place to calm my mind. During such stormy days, we sat together in Marine Drive and he fed my mind with positive thoughts and did not let me fail in this journey called life.

I guess each one of us is strong and have all the necessary ingredients to accomplish what we want but it is always nice to have someone to lean on. Just mere presence of someone is sufficient.

I can’t say that he was my mentor. I used to look up to him in times of trouble and despair. I imagine how he could have reacted if he was in my position  and this made my thoughts clear and sorted.

He taught me how to keep an open heart and not think much about spending money on things that make me or others happy. For a large part of my stay in Mumbai, I used to dread going to cinemas on weekends just because of the sheer skyrocket ticket prices.  It now amazes me that I can hear myself say to others ‘dil bada karo’. He used to say the very same line with a huge grin and smiling eyes.

One of the few things I liked about him was the amount of attention he gave to himself for his personal, spiritual and physical well being. He loved pushing his boundaries. He cycled all the way from Andheri to Marine Drive just to test whether he will be able to do it or not.And now in Pune, he is taking part in half marathons. 

Most importantly, he introduced me to Toastmasters. Earlier, I had just one friend in Mumbai but with Toastmasters I got family. Toastmasters inspired me to go through every day with a smile.  It persuaded me to work on my public speaking and leadership skills.

He taught me to how to handle things like an adult and how not to get swayed by emotions. He made me realize that I should count my blessings and should stop comparing myself with others. In these ten months, he made me a little more adult.

Even though, I have made a lot of friends in Mumbai and my weekends are sorted, but Kanjurmarg CCD and Vile Parle Ramakrishna will always be our special place.

And if you happen read this, thank you for being there for me.