Marine Drive to Santacruz

The monsoons are back!....Hail! the Lord....and what a timing…..right before a weekend. It doesn’t get better than this in Bombay.

Dewang, Nama, Rahul, Pooja, Roshan and I went to catch the last show at Sterling (V.T) this Saturday(28th July). We are not going to talk about the movie. Period. It’s enough to know that we walked out during the interval and considered ourselves blessed for having the wisdom to do so. Once outside, like all good Bombay-ites, went to the nearest CCD. (0000hrs). After spending an hour there; which was spent short-listing candidates for my planned near-future elopement, we pulled out the bikes only to find Roshan’s grand bullet with water in her belly!!....... Took us another 10 mins to heat her (Roshan, you can’t blame me for gender-discrimination) up n get her started. Again we put on the True Bombay-ite mantle and decided to spend some time on Marine Drive…..(0100hrs)

Just as were reaching the almost-deserted Marine Drive,(0115hrs) the rain God woke up from his prized slumber and decided to bless us. The six of us huddled together; four of us under a single umbrella and Rahul and Pooja in their Undertaker rain coats. Not that we really wanted to stay dry, it was just more fun combating for space under the umbrella and getting wet at the same time. These are the moments when you thank the Lord again and again; for the rains and the sea, for the friends and the city.

After about forty five minutes of gratifying banter reality dawned and wisdom prevailed.(0205hrs) We realized that if we wanted to reach home without actually having to swim our way, we should head home immediately. We said bye to Dewang and Nama and pulled out the bikes. And off we went into the dark impishly inviting night. What followed will remain in my memory for a long time. Not that I have never ridden in rain or have not lived the Bombay Monsoon life, but this particular experience was unlike any other. My being prompted to write about it is proof enough.

We rode along Marine drive, up Peddar road, along Haji Ali, Shivaji Park, Bandra Reclamation, Western Express n finally Santacruz. All along we were washed down by the glory of the rains. The visibility was limited to 2 feet. It did take a breather a couple of times only to come down ever more forcefully. It was so strong, our skin hurt, and we looked up to the sky, opened our arms and welcomed the pain. We could barely open our eyes. It wasn’t the clichéd riding-in-the-rain; it was riding through a water blanket. It was like riding under a huge waterfall spread over kilometers. The road was disappearing under the tyres. We knew it could get worse, but the sheer joy of living the almost-revered moments far replaced the fear of finding a pot hole. As I read this paragraph I don’t think the words do justice to what we experienced. So I am gonna leave describing the rain at that, close my eyes and relive that ride. It’s one of those that have to be experienced to be understood.

The ride, other than giving the joy of the rain, presented to us the different facets of the city that I have come to love so much…..

If you have been on Marine Drive-Shivaji Park stretch after 12, you will understand what I mean. If you are on a bike and are riding on that road, for the life of yours don’t try your stunts even if you have a beautiful girl (read: me) sitting behind. Every few seconds you will find fast cars and very fast cars ripping past you. And somehow the rains add another ‘very’ to them. You can see all the latest models and the old models done up a la’ DC going (read: flying) pass you. Thankfully Roshan and Rahul were sane (for once) enough to keep to the left and let the four-wheeled ones have their way. Reminded me of Star Wars

We were fortunate to be at the Peddar road-Mahalaxmi crossroad during one of those hiatuses when another beautiful picture of Bombay presented itself;(0220hrs) the roadside cycle coffee-wala!!!.... Bliss!.... Don’t know if any other city can offer this treat at 2 in the morning. It was a perfect moment: The drizzle gently falling on already-dripping us, the cold and beautiful night, the wide empty (almost) crossroad lighted by high bright street lamps, the wind blowing in from the sea beyond the tall beautiful apartment buildings of the rich, the ever smiling coffee-wala n us, the four crazy wet shivering friends. We had coffee while chatting with the coffee-wala about his business model and his target customer. My friends also concluded that it will be a good idea for me to elope with him…. Well, its definitely a romantic idea, if not feasible, my coffee-wala and I, the two of us on his cycle riding through Bombay on a wet cold night singing Payar hua, Ikrar hua……… with the coffee can tinkling providing the background music….(sigh!)

Along the way, every now and then we saw young and not so young boys by the road side playing in the rain. Some were playing football, and some were more delightfully artless, just running against the direction of the rain, arms wide open and eyes shut, screaming beautiful incoherent lexis. Its amazing how this city has come to perkily embrace everything that The Creator has to offer.

As we approached the last stretch; the western express, (0235rs) all hell (read: Heaven) broke loose. We had never seen anything like that. Zero visibility, rain falling like a thousand pins and I found myself futilely wishing the roads stretched a little longer.

Am sure we are gonna talk about this night for a very long time….here’s to many more such nights…….. Cheers!

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