CAT '07 didnt go gr8, well honestly speaking it went BAD, yeah it was disappointing, just made me realise dat there is still a long way to go when it comes to my preparations.
After CAT, came by IIFT, and I really didnt have any hopes on the exam, nevertheless I had to head to Bandra west, my examination centre along with my colleague.
I have to admit, Bandra West sure is a nice place to be, people dressed in designer wear, a lot of designer boutiques , from Ritu Kumar to GAS, imported cars and d typical fast food restaurants, a lot of shopping arcades, a seemingly happening place from all angles. After a bit of sight seeing and some hogging, me and kalam( my colleague) lodged up in a hotel and had a good nights sleep.
Next day, exam day, the IIFT exam went okie dokie, a different pattern this time though, kalam soon left for Pune, while I was waiting for my college mate, Prabhu.
I was just about to experience what Mumbai is all about , coz i was heading to the railway station, the life line of Mumbai. Prabhu got the tickets after a 20 minute wait in the queue, and we headed to the platform.
The platform was flooded with people, it was just people, people and more people, we were more like drowning in a sea of people, heading to every possible place in Mumbai,
And then a train comes by, and what follwed was a virtual stampede, a two metre wide open door, with atleast a 100 people tryin to get out and another 100 people trying to get in all at d same time, to me it looked more like the start of a rugby match , when the referee blows the whistle and the players ram into each other for the ball, but in here people felt boarding a train and alighting the train was a life and death scenario, such was the intensity and the vigour.
Prabhu patted on my back, and said " Welcome to Mumbai", and dats how it is in the worlds most densely populated city with nearly 30,000 people every square metre and an overall 16 million population. In one word, I could label a mumbai railway station as " Overwhelming", for a newbie in Mumbai, but soon people get used to the hustle bustle, the stampede rush, the noise and everything so typical about Mumbai, and that people get so used to the so called Mumbai rush, that life otherwise seeems to be very laid back in nature.
Prabhu then told we had to board the next train, and I had this adreanline rushing into my nerves at the very thought of it . The train came over, and I was already slow to attack to get in, the oppostion team( people alighting) had made their move, push , shove , squeeze ur way thru, and i finally got into the push stream but my hand got stuck in the bar that stood between the doors, meanwhile the crowds kept on pushing, and i was virtually stuck there for a while and it , those seconds, seemed like forever, and finally after a lot of effort i got my hand through without much damage and officially boarded the train. I hung onto a metal holder that is suspended, and hung on, in the midst of a tight packed compartment, stuffed with people, all of them hanging on to those suspended metal holders, clinging onto their journey called life in the commercial capital of India, looking to make a living, and chasing their dreams.
The next station came by and a guy next to me, got up , so i was finally able to sit, though not completely , coz i only got the space for resting my single butt, and the other one was in air, so the relief of getting a seat didnt last long, coz sitting on a single butt is actually not all dat comfortable, and on top of dat you have people standing in the place, which is supposed to be the leg room, and me already being in an awkward position, i had my head in between a couple f guys butts, virtually sandwiched and immobile, and I am not sure if it was the suffocation or fatigue, taking the butts as my pillow, i dozed off, and i woke up up when i felt this excruciating pain in my feet, a lady was actually stamping on my feet with her heeled sandals, while she was making a move to the trains doors, by then, the train was approaching Thane station, so time to get up from my single butt seating posture, and gear up for another game of rugby, and the push flow took me out with a gush, and me and prabhu were finally at our destination, thane, it was a feeling of relief, a feeling of accomplishment, and an experience worth every second. It would sound pretty trivial to a normal mumbaikar, but for very the first time, it sure is an overwhelming experience.
We headed to prabhu s flat, went out for bowling, followed by a good booze with some gr8 tandoori chicken recolllecting the good old college days, followed by another bowling session and a sound sleep.
Next day morning, packed up, headed back to pune.
After CAT, came by IIFT, and I really didnt have any hopes on the exam, nevertheless I had to head to Bandra west, my examination centre along with my colleague.
I have to admit, Bandra West sure is a nice place to be, people dressed in designer wear, a lot of designer boutiques , from Ritu Kumar to GAS, imported cars and d typical fast food restaurants, a lot of shopping arcades, a seemingly happening place from all angles. After a bit of sight seeing and some hogging, me and kalam( my colleague) lodged up in a hotel and had a good nights sleep.
Next day, exam day, the IIFT exam went okie dokie, a different pattern this time though, kalam soon left for Pune, while I was waiting for my college mate, Prabhu.
I was just about to experience what Mumbai is all about , coz i was heading to the railway station, the life line of Mumbai. Prabhu got the tickets after a 20 minute wait in the queue, and we headed to the platform.
The platform was flooded with people, it was just people, people and more people, we were more like drowning in a sea of people, heading to every possible place in Mumbai,
And then a train comes by, and what follwed was a virtual stampede, a two metre wide open door, with atleast a 100 people tryin to get out and another 100 people trying to get in all at d same time, to me it looked more like the start of a rugby match , when the referee blows the whistle and the players ram into each other for the ball, but in here people felt boarding a train and alighting the train was a life and death scenario, such was the intensity and the vigour.
Prabhu patted on my back, and said " Welcome to Mumbai", and dats how it is in the worlds most densely populated city with nearly 30,000 people every square metre and an overall 16 million population. In one word, I could label a mumbai railway station as " Overwhelming", for a newbie in Mumbai, but soon people get used to the hustle bustle, the stampede rush, the noise and everything so typical about Mumbai, and that people get so used to the so called Mumbai rush, that life otherwise seeems to be very laid back in nature.
Prabhu then told we had to board the next train, and I had this adreanline rushing into my nerves at the very thought of it . The train came over, and I was already slow to attack to get in, the oppostion team( people alighting) had made their move, push , shove , squeeze ur way thru, and i finally got into the push stream but my hand got stuck in the bar that stood between the doors, meanwhile the crowds kept on pushing, and i was virtually stuck there for a while and it , those seconds, seemed like forever, and finally after a lot of effort i got my hand through without much damage and officially boarded the train. I hung onto a metal holder that is suspended, and hung on, in the midst of a tight packed compartment, stuffed with people, all of them hanging on to those suspended metal holders, clinging onto their journey called life in the commercial capital of India, looking to make a living, and chasing their dreams.
The next station came by and a guy next to me, got up , so i was finally able to sit, though not completely , coz i only got the space for resting my single butt, and the other one was in air, so the relief of getting a seat didnt last long, coz sitting on a single butt is actually not all dat comfortable, and on top of dat you have people standing in the place, which is supposed to be the leg room, and me already being in an awkward position, i had my head in between a couple f guys butts, virtually sandwiched and immobile, and I am not sure if it was the suffocation or fatigue, taking the butts as my pillow, i dozed off, and i woke up up when i felt this excruciating pain in my feet, a lady was actually stamping on my feet with her heeled sandals, while she was making a move to the trains doors, by then, the train was approaching Thane station, so time to get up from my single butt seating posture, and gear up for another game of rugby, and the push flow took me out with a gush, and me and prabhu were finally at our destination, thane, it was a feeling of relief, a feeling of accomplishment, and an experience worth every second. It would sound pretty trivial to a normal mumbaikar, but for very the first time, it sure is an overwhelming experience.
We headed to prabhu s flat, went out for bowling, followed by a good booze with some gr8 tandoori chicken recolllecting the good old college days, followed by another bowling session and a sound sleep.
Next day morning, packed up, headed back to pune.
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