It was that time of the year again DECEMBER and THE MOOD INDIGO FESTIVAL AT THE IIT MUMBAI. I am too late to share it but since it is december again, all I can collect are some exciting and romantic memories with Mumbai 2018.
I fell in love with Mumbai in my childhood. Without even visiting? Yess, it was mumbai. The land of the dreams. Correct place for a person like me.
We boarded the train to Mumbai on 24th December. Supposedly a 30 hour train journey makes you feel a lot in your stomach but it is the best part of the trip when you have mad people travelling with you. From ordering Dominos in the train to the chai chai chai, sleeping together on top of each other, making jokes, being silent together and longing to reach and poop sincerely.
Departure - Bandra Terminus
Destination - IIT MUMBAI, POWAI
We made our way into the vivaciousness of the campus streets with the hopes to win the bhangra competition. Our tiresome bodies relaxed in the hostel accommodations for a while, all geared up to vo kya kehte hai dilli ki bhasha mein 'IIT ki sadke naapne ko tayaar'.
Although we did not win the competition we were shattered but hooked up to not let go of the last few days of 2018 in an unmarked victory.
Being the most explicitly filmy one out of the whole lot, I convinced everyone to spend the night befikre at The Marine Drive.
3 am in the morning at Marine Drive. It was cold, calm and cute. While I was calculating the whereabouts of my self, the goals and the next step. The only thing I proclaimed to do was to get a cab, drizzle down the window, rest my head on the arms of it and feel Mumbai.
Instead we cuddled into the sweetness of the cold whole night. Talking and living. My two favorites. It was 9 am when we took upon our sleepy and grumpy eyes to visit The Elephanta Caves after having a shot of chai and vada pav at The Marine Drive.
The ferry was a 1 hour long ride, with the tiny little birds flying next to us and our attempts to get the best pictures with sleep deprived eyes. With a bottle of beer we sincerely proceeded into the heart of the caves. The tipsy me can only remember a lot of people, sleep, and some gorgeously engraved graves.
We headed back to rest the dodging eyes. The eyes were sleepy the will was not. And we did not sleep. We were at Mumbai - yaha sote nahi, khuli aankh se sapne dekhe jaate hai.
The following night we were adventurous. We discovered a trek into the campus, we somehow fooled the security guards who warned us of the 3am situation, the darkness, and the animals. A bunch of 35 freaks went up the hill, trekking and sweating for the sun to rise in front of our monstrously eyes. Upon reaching it was dark, bonfire it was, melancholic it was, memorable it still is. The moment our sights matched the length of the sun shining rising from the clouds we were content and accomplished.
The following day had to be spent at The Aksa Beach because it is beautiful, insanely mesmerizing. I wore a dress to remember and ouch the vibes. The orange skies, blue pearls in the sea, people. Surreal.
Later that night, it was EDM night at the campus. This trip was as vivacious and trippy as it could have been. After the EDM night we spent the leisurely time with the people across the continent. Jamming songs, playing guitar, spread across the circle of the bonfire were a bunch of people who were just some raahi pyaar ke.
Since I wanted to explore the vibes of Mumbai. My friend and I took a day by ourselves to get lashed in the Mumbai railways and pull jokes on how the people were still learning to use the metro (v bad of us). And to also visit the Versova Beach, which eventually turned out to be a huge disappointment.
Our last day was a spiritual possibility with us paying our visits to The SiddhiVinayak Temple and The Haji Ali Dargah. We took the rest of our day to be on a one o one with the slippery island of The Band Stand, sit and eat everything the vendors had to offer.
While constantly trying to peep into the house of SRK we found a lane attached which lead us to the most beautiful church ever.
Running late on the New Year's Eve to catch the train back home - kaash ye bhi ek sapna hota par nahi tha. Par khushi thi ki mein apne saath yaadon ka ek suit case bhar kar leke jaa rahi thi, jo mujhse koi nahi cheen sakta tha.
