It's been said that Bombay has the most active night life. With the growing influence of Western Culture more and more of discotheques, pubs, lounge bars have sprung out in the various corners of this most vibrant city. The darkness of the night enlivens the sparkles of the lightings in and around every hoarding and happening joint, reverberating in the music emnating from the night ride lovers vehicles of flight and some stray corners that are all silenced out by 10 PM. But I am not going to speak about all of these. What I want to share is what a common man sees out here beyond the so-called night life of the young n' wild from midnight to twilight!!
I have been covering the ongoing India's Tour of New Zealand 2009 Series online at http://www.cricketnirvana.com/ . The nocturnal timings has shifted me towards working on the graveyard shift and this has been my precursor to seeing n' living the midnight to twilight life in my good ol' Bombay (I am amongst those who still prefers its old name to that of Mumbai!).
Whenever I have to trod myself to work at such unearthly hour, my cynical take on Dr. Seuss The Lost Poem is all that keeps echoing in my mind...
I love my job, but not its pay
I hate is when I can't work in day
I love my boss, he is full of zest
I hate his boss and all the rest
I love my office but not its location
I hate it when I can't go on vacation
I love my work and all its chores
I hate the meetings with the deadly boresI love to work amongst my peers
I have been covering the ongoing India's Tour of New Zealand 2009 Series online at http://www.cricketnirvana.com/ . The nocturnal timings has shifted me towards working on the graveyard shift and this has been my precursor to seeing n' living the midnight to twilight life in my good ol' Bombay (I am amongst those who still prefers its old name to that of Mumbai!).
Whenever I have to trod myself to work at such unearthly hour, my cynical take on Dr. Seuss The Lost Poem is all that keeps echoing in my mind...
I love my job, but not its pay
I hate is when I can't work in day
I love my boss, he is full of zest
I hate his boss and all the rest
I love my office but not its location
I hate it when I can't go on vacation
I love my work and all its chores
I hate the meetings with the deadly boresI love to work amongst my peers
I hate their leers, sneers & jeers
I love my job, I say it again
I hate to work without any gains
The dark alleys leading to the highways give you creeps in the midnight hours. The silence of the night gets on your nerves and you long for company if you are the lone person walking in the light of the stars. The stares you receive from the few folks who by chance are out in the open makes you wonder whether you are commiting any blunder for having to travel yonder. As long as the public transport system works which is till late midnight, you see it in full throttle and the traffic jamming! The moment they stop its an ordeal to make it to your destination as all the night riders charge you double the day fare burning a hole in your pocket. It leaves you pondering why do you have to work at such odd hours!!
The railway and road side shanties are a world of its own! One gets to see boyz (as young as 11-12 yrs old) to men sitting in groups making merry singing raunchy songs, smoking charas, marijuana and ganja and drinking the desi daru (tharrah as they call it locally) through the night till the wee hours of morning. These men covering their head in shrouds while away their concerns and worries. No wonder we hear the crime masters emerge from such cacoons!!
The roads seem an expanse of an endless stretch and an aimless walk does wonders to your mental stress. The fresh air rejuvenates every cell in your body and it seems like you are floating in a misty atmosphere. Life by the beach is heavenly bliss in this time zone save for the massive patrolling done to curb untoward incidents. In the melee of answering all the queries of who you are and what you are doing at this odd hour, you forget to live the tranquil moments that nature has got to offer at the unearthly hours and rush to the concrete confines of your office cubicles.
There is no redressal to hunger at this hour as no shop or mall or hotel is open that would serve food to calm your pangs. You are forced to starve or make it a point to carry ya own food and drinks going forward. Except a few paan wallahs who still keep their shutters open, the rest of the city appears to be asleep. This is in stark contrast to the very line that speaks of Bombay as the city that never sleeps!! It does have its exceptions, after all. One thing that sure stands out is the fact that its the very spirit of Bombay that has rendered it safe for even a girl to travel alone at any time of the night. The freaky incidents that do happen once-in-a-while are just those one-off cases and should not be generalized.
With the public transport system prying itself loose once again at 4 AM, the mass starts clamming for their rides. It amazes how we have atoned our lives to flow in sync with the available travel modalities. With the first ray of twilight, when night paves the way for day, the hustle-bustle gather momentum steeply to gear and face the challenges of a new day head-on!!
Zendagi Migzara...
The dark alleys leading to the highways give you creeps in the midnight hours. The silence of the night gets on your nerves and you long for company if you are the lone person walking in the light of the stars. The stares you receive from the few folks who by chance are out in the open makes you wonder whether you are commiting any blunder for having to travel yonder. As long as the public transport system works which is till late midnight, you see it in full throttle and the traffic jamming! The moment they stop its an ordeal to make it to your destination as all the night riders charge you double the day fare burning a hole in your pocket. It leaves you pondering why do you have to work at such odd hours!!
The railway and road side shanties are a world of its own! One gets to see boyz (as young as 11-12 yrs old) to men sitting in groups making merry singing raunchy songs, smoking charas, marijuana and ganja and drinking the desi daru (tharrah as they call it locally) through the night till the wee hours of morning. These men covering their head in shrouds while away their concerns and worries. No wonder we hear the crime masters emerge from such cacoons!!
The roads seem an expanse of an endless stretch and an aimless walk does wonders to your mental stress. The fresh air rejuvenates every cell in your body and it seems like you are floating in a misty atmosphere. Life by the beach is heavenly bliss in this time zone save for the massive patrolling done to curb untoward incidents. In the melee of answering all the queries of who you are and what you are doing at this odd hour, you forget to live the tranquil moments that nature has got to offer at the unearthly hours and rush to the concrete confines of your office cubicles.
There is no redressal to hunger at this hour as no shop or mall or hotel is open that would serve food to calm your pangs. You are forced to starve or make it a point to carry ya own food and drinks going forward. Except a few paan wallahs who still keep their shutters open, the rest of the city appears to be asleep. This is in stark contrast to the very line that speaks of Bombay as the city that never sleeps!! It does have its exceptions, after all. One thing that sure stands out is the fact that its the very spirit of Bombay that has rendered it safe for even a girl to travel alone at any time of the night. The freaky incidents that do happen once-in-a-while are just those one-off cases and should not be generalized.
With the public transport system prying itself loose once again at 4 AM, the mass starts clamming for their rides. It amazes how we have atoned our lives to flow in sync with the available travel modalities. With the first ray of twilight, when night paves the way for day, the hustle-bustle gather momentum steeply to gear and face the challenges of a new day head-on!!
Zendagi Migzara...
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