Mumbai is full of energy and if you miss Marine Drive at late night then you are missing something for sure.Time stands still at this shore, if you are a movie buff, all the Bollywood sagas will have the most romantic scenes at this place. Remember Ektara from Wake up Sid!…it created magic on screen. As you relax and settle down at the promenade, there is a Manhattan feel that encompasses around but with the buildings being not so tall. It is pure ecstasy just to watch this place. Starry nights are best experienced at Marine Drive with the magnificent open seating arrangement. On the weekends, it does and is bound to get crowded but the weekdays are serene, calm and peaceful. Rejuvenation is the next word on the list, why go to a spa or a gym when the winds will gulf around you and make you relax within seconds that you come here.
After sundown everyone seems to head for Marine Drive walkway to get a bit of cool air after the day’s heat. Early morning walks here are a jogger’s treat. Along the way you will find beggars and hawkers who will try to get their business as the place attracts and demands so much attention, but that is worth ignoring. Serenity is redefined at this place not only because the air is refreshing, but also because some things here are just awesome. You need to experience it , to feel it. In a metropolis like Mumbai where it is difficult to find a place to let yourself be, Marine Drive is standing tall and boasts of the exotic scenery and panorama which engulfs our mind with thoughts of freshness and motivation.
There is a reason to applaud the magic that the sea created also with the joint efforts of the authorities who have spread across a chain of star – shaped stones across the shore to stop the waves from entering the walkway and avoid the floods. In the monsoons , the sea turns furious and the three way lane on the side is splashing with waves every second, giving an amazing example of how a serene place can be fierce when time demands. Literally it is just the seasonal cycle of nature but when you define life with these little signs that this place symbolizes, it becomes an instant connection to your own life where you may find a solution, discover happiness, ensure calmness or simple revitalize yourself for a task coming up.
Marine Drive is more than an attraction of Mumbai, it is what defines this city. The city of dreams. It shows how even in the darkest night, the stars and the pearls along the shore can spark and ignite anybody of us, and of course bring a smile on each one’s face. It is what the waves demand in the monsoons to rise when needed and then keep calm otherwise , silently moving beyond even the shores because that is not the end.
I discovered love in Marine Drive and hope each of you do.
Dedicated to my favourite place as the time comes to part from this city.
Rucha Khot