Rohan Karamandi

My dad and I just returned from a trip to Mumbai, India, visiting family, and reconnecting with old friends (well..my dad’s old high-school friends, who were pretty awesome). Even though I’ve been here many times before, this trip was not like any other trip I’ve had here. Even though I’m living with my family, and being around my family all day, I feel more like a tourist than a person on a family trip.

I got to see a lot of Mumbai this time, most of which I haven’t seen before. In the past, I usually just visited a few places that we usually visit, and that’s it. I always thought of Mumbai as a second home, but at the same time, didn’t like it because a lot, if not all of the very little places I’d seen were noisy, congested, polluted, and dirty. Also, I was sheltered to a lot of things; and always told to be careful of everything and everyone.

This time, however, I learnt a lot and got to see Mumbai and the people that live here in a different light (given, a lot of Mumbai is still noisy, congested, and polluted. It seems a lot cleaner than when I was last here though). For example: even though people on the road seem to be in a rush to go everywhere, and people can’t seem to stay in the lanes while driving; everyone is still very helpful to one another to provide directions, etc. and there are no hard feelings for not giving someone way, etc.

Another moment that I though was quite touching(?) inspirational(?) I’m not sure of the word, but either way it showed true selflessness:

My Dad and his friend, who they call "Lamboo"

We went to see the colony where my dad was brought up, where we saw an old friend of his who used to work at a laundromat opposite to my dad’s old building. Turns out he owns it now. When they saw each other, he recognized my dad immediately, got up greeted him and hugged him. Not once did he ask “what did you bring me?” or anything of that sort; instead he said “materials don’t matter, they’re just going to break or get lost anyways. What’s important is that we’re healthy, and that we’re together. Come on, let me give you some daal and roti, you must be hungry by now”. For some reason, it doesn’t sound as spectacular in English as it did in Hindi. But trust me, when he said it, he said it in a way that would have opened anyones eyes to true friendship. To him, it wasn’t about what my dad could offer him, but what he could offer my dad.

Anyways, other than that sort of stuff, I spent the two weeks mostly exploring Mumbai, and visiting family. I got to see the Gateway of India, Lions Gate (where my Grandfather used to work), Victoria Terminus, the naval dockyard colony (where my dad was brought up), and a whole bunch of other places that I’m too lazy to list right now…

In any case, the trip was awesome, I had a lot of fun, and I got to see a lot of things that I haven’t seen before in Mumbai. My only regret is having stayed only two weeks. I wish I could have stayed longer, to see more, and to enjoy the life there. Mumbai has changed drastically from when I was a kid, and I can’t wait for the next time I go there to see what else has improved.

I just uploaded some pictures to my flickr (they’re really bad quality…most were taken from a moving car..), have a look. I’m not done uploading all the pictures yet.

P.S. I just want to say thanks to my family who put up with us for two weeks. And a special thanks to my cousin Laxmi’s husband Hari and their son, Varun for driving us around Mumbai, and spending a lot of their time showing me around.