Mumbai Dreams

It’s not for the first time that I’m living in this busiest (?) city of India. In fact, I’m not sure if I can call any time that I was in Mumbai in the past as `living’.

First time I came here as member of a Thetare troupe to perform Karutha Deivathe Thedi, by late Prof. G. Shankarapillai, the great soul who selected me as a student at School Of Drama, Trichur. In the play I was part of the chorus, but I enjoyed the antics I had to do on my own, esp. at the Opening sequence.

While I was in Pune, studying at the Film Institute, I frequented Mumbai…and to the contrary of what most people would say, I enjoyed the Bombay crowd, I celebrated the local train trips that I took to different corners of the `Mahanagar’. I felt that I fit into the crowd perfectly, to its accelerated rhythm and pace. For the same reason I enjoy the crowd of Pooram, the great midsummer festival in Trichur, my home town.

After I left Pune, I came to Mumbai, mainly to attend different film festivals and floated in the crowd of familiar and not so familiar people. I enjoyed everything, the variety of films, the late night travels…but always avoided the ` film pundits’, who didn’t take their avtar just in Mumbai, but are found at any film festivals.

……22 years have passed since my first visit to Mumbai, the city of dreams for Indians.
Now I’m here again, to ‘live’, for months in a row. I have joined the Tata Institute of Social Sciences as a PhD student, at the age of 46.

I’m taking the same kind of train trips, on a different route though. I’m staying in New Mumbai. At times I take a bus-ride. Both don’t appear exciting as they used to be.

I noticed quickly that not any more do I feel as part of the crowd- a member of the chorus of a big ensemble. Though late, I have realized that I’m now playing my own tunes. One good thing that the specificity of the research work has dawned on me is this realization: `Benny, it’s your play and you’re the player’.

Rehearsals are over.
The PLAY is on!
(This realization also brought me back to blogging!)