Change overwhelms me. I thought I had outgrown my childhood inability of dealing with it and left far behind my tendency of moping around whenever I could foresee a possible change in the future. As a young girl I would sit on the sofa and sulk while my parents made plans for rearranging furniture. Now that I think of it, even my decision of continuing my high school education in the same school I had studied for the most part of my life, might also be majorly influenced by the simple comfort I enjoyed in wearing a plain white shirt-grey pleated skirt school uniform. But as years passed, I had not just begun accepting but also seeking change. I had made new friends in college, worked in a setup where I thought I would never last. I had become more worldly wise, accepting and leaving behind things and people.
Although this one change took me off guard. A possible reason could be that I had fallen in love. The only reason to be honest.
It was not love at first sight. It never is this way with Mumbai I guess. It is only when you walk with it among the giant swarm of people trying to match their pace on the busy streets of Dadar, or watch over it from your bedroom window on a Diwali night as the skies light up now and then, or listen to it on a monsoon evening , a cup of tea in hand, or feel it breathing in and out of you as you close your eyes and take a whiff of the Arabian sea at Marine drive, do you realize you have been swept off your feet.
Now that I am back to Nagpur, the place where I was born and grew up in, I strangely dont feel at home, not quite yet. Change is inevitable as they say and so was this one. In moments of utter chaos in my brain, when I grope around in darkness to get a hold of a slice of a delectable piece of memory, I savor it to my hearts content and smile. But then it was also a welcome change that had taken me to Mumbai. I had never before lived on my own, cooked thrice a day, selected curtains for a room, haggled with a vegetable vendor, made friends with people twice my age and so much more I have lost count of. It was a crash course in womanhood and I enjoyed it. This is also the place where I realized that if you work really hard, and give your heart and soul to what you love, noone and nothing can stop you.
My memories of Mumbai are devilishly bittersweet but so is dark chocolate which I have learnt to love and have begun to crave for. Through the ups and downs of my stay in Mumbai I have always had something to look forward to. A few but immensely fond memories of mine were now and then ‘instagrammed’ – if thats even a word. I am not sure my photography or timing of it does any justice to sum it all up, but its worth a try.
Diwali lanterns – Lokhandwala complex Andheri
An Umbrella rack- Starbucks 
Cupcakes – At home
Spot the bollywood star
More cupcakes- Le 15 patisserie
Cleanliness score by an artist- Carter Road
Trance – Bandra Worli sea link
Final touches 
A Cheesecake class- Le 15 patisserie central kitchen
Goodies from another awesome class
With Pooja Dhingra – Owner of Le 15 patisserie
More treats to be packed
Just another sweaty, crowded day- Crawford
An art installation – Phoenix mills, Lower parel
A room with a view
Peace
That was Lovely Amruta..the pics and the prose both! are u back in ngp for good or just a visit?
Thank you for the nice comments Rashpreet 🙂 Yes, I am back to Nagpur for good. Lets catch up if you are here 🙂
hey that was awesome, very well written 🙂
The Bhavan’s bit was classic…….I kinda stayed there past 10th Std. because I did not want to be anywhere else.
Having lived in Mumbai for sometime, I feel more or less the same way about the place……it is impossible for someone to not like the place if they’ve lived there for a while.
Thank you for stopping by Nachiket ! And thank you for the nice comment . What I was most surprised about living in Mumbai was how quickly you start liking the place and feeling at home there
I tried to click on the “like” button at the bottom of the post but nothing happened… *like* 🙂
Unrelated: are you using samsung galaxy s3?
Thank you for ‘liking’ the post 🙂 Yes I use a samsung galaxy s3. (enclosed in a hideous back cover)
you have left ur best friend behind in mumbai too… i too grew up in ngp.. but after living in mumbai for so long, although on n off… i still feel the city to be my home… strangely i too never felt at home nagpur after i started living in mumbai… trust me where ever i have stayed.. i knew one thing that i have to be bk to where my heart is,.. n that is mumbai… a city that gives me my space and freedom to live life the way i want.
Aww…i miss you Nikos. You are more of a Mumbaikar than I am, having lived there for almost a decade now. As you say, I miss the space and freedom I enjoyed there the most 😦