I Love You Mumbai!

On my way towards the Elephanta Island from Mumbai - A majestic view of the Taj Hotel and Gateway of India

When I am with her, I ignore her
When she is near, I wish to be far off
When she smiles at me, I give her a frawn
When she loves me, I hate her

But! Donno why...
When I am away, I miss her!

Yeah! This is the effect Mumbai - the city of my dreams has on me. Greater than her greatness is my fascination for her! Now! an obvious question, why do I say I hate her? Well that's nothing but a natural human tendency to hate what we have and to love what we don't! The same is the case with me. I remember, many a times I just hated this city because of its pollution, traffic jams and ever increasing population. Just when you are away from all this you realize the impact it had in your life. The things that you just hated suddenly becomes a matter of so much so importance that you start missing it. And of course, a city like Mumbai where-in I was brought up, breathed for the last 22 years is not so easy to forget. Despite all the problems it has, Mumbai is an indivisible part of my life.

Nothing great to do today, I wished to visit each and every place in this city sitting here in Mangalore; places that were my favourite hangouts, the memory of which is simply hardcoded in my mind. No matter I am aware of each and every street of Navi Mumbai but it is a matter of great amazement to just wander around the streets of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Thanks to Google Earth for understanding my world and bringing up this great technology due to which I am now able to visit places just as quick as my thoughts.

This is my college where I completed my engineering studies. The most famous and the best engineering college in Navi Mumbai. Located in Nerul, Navi Mumbai just being the heart of Navi Mumbai. Each and every moment I had spent in the college is still evergreen in my mind. Everything seems like yesterday. Our famous college festival HORIZON which was an event of bliss for all of us is what I miss a lot. The Rock show and the informals was a matter of attraction for me.

Nerul Railway Station or the Nerul Airport as we called it :) just 10 minutes from the college was another hangout for most of us. I remember when we bunked lectures and went there to catch the train towards Vashi to catch the afternoon or evening movie show just to know the other day that our proxy attendance was caught! So good were those days. And every thing in Nerul still reminds all these things to me.


The Palm Beach Road where I used to test the UBound speed limits of my bike. Hardly could you find such a wide and smooth highway in the city. I remember the days when I drove at the speed of 100 kmph to my office at CBD-Belapur on this road. Absolutely no fear!! The palm beach road started at Vashi and ended at my previous office at CBD-Belapur.
Vashi is what we all think of when we think of Navi Mumbai. There are my numerous memories linked with it. The Railway station, the Center One shopping mall where we friends have our get togethers even today, the Meghraj cinema hall an usual hangout during the college days, Vashi Plaza building - the knowledge hub wellknown to have various coaching classes all under one roof and the time I used to spend on the Sanpada Railway Station to catch the train towards Airoli.

CBD-Belapur one of the nicest places in Navi Mumbai, the railway station of which could not be removed from my mind. The place is mostly known for its commercial offices and call centers. It was another bliss to walk or drive on the streets of Belapur. Thanks to CIDCO for building such a good layout and breath holding buildings at this place.
Thats just about Navi Mumbai - my home city but there are lot more of such Navi Mumbais which Mumbai has and which are very difficult to be described in one shot. I Love you Mumbai!

The Mumbai Skyline through my lens