Living in Mumbai has never been easy. With prices of real estates skyrocketing it all boils down to making a choice between living in comfort,sometimes isolation in the suburbs or living in a cramped rathole , compromising on basic comforts which were once a birthright to me and stay in the city.
I chose to live in the city and this month I complete 1 year at my hostel . A year has passed by and in no other place do sleep peacefully than on my tiny single bed where me and my 2 pillows cannot coexist. I chose to be close to places a single woman in mumbai must have easy access to- safer means of commuting, a good movie hall, a good supermarket / mall , a place for long walks ( Marine Drive for me) , good eating joints where eating alone isnt looked at with amusment and sympathy ( trust the indian mentality to do so) also a good bookstore to while away my time and friends.
I make do with a tiny table and a plastic chair and though I would kill for a better bookshelf and cupboard space for my clothes and shoes and for the room currently occupied by another girl I think I have learnt to adjust really well here.
I can supress my earthshattering screams now when the big fat rat makes an appearance at night hunting for leftovers . I am also unmindful of the water seepage from the walls of the room and nudge my books away from the edges to avoid the dampness. I have also forgiven the person who broke the whistle of my then brand new pressure cooker and didnt go behind the the girl who stole my food with deadly laxatives and chemical dye to catch her redhanded.
I can listen to the maid’s paranoia about being followed and hunted down by men in black everyday and dial her son’s number on her cellphone number without looking at her soiled diary everytime. I know the old farties ( women included) across the road in the other building love to secretly check out us girls when we come out of the shower in towels but till date we are glad we havent given them any chances of getting a heart attack. The towels havent dropped, no Sir, not once.
I know the watchman will open the gate anytime of the night for you without a grudge if you smile at him whenever you make eye contact and also treat him like a human being. I never had to grease his palms unlike the other girls till today and he always carries my bags up till the 3rd floor and helps me close the gate. Being kind and considerate is always a #win over being bitchy and a snob.
The found out that the best food delivery hotel in the area is the one where the person picking up the phone is courteous to you even if all you are ordering is a plateful of rice and dal.
I know now that keeping the speaker volume down isnt always the best thing . You need to return the early morning noise pollution from the next door neighbours with some of your own late into the night.
I have learnt to keep the peanut butter, bottle of wine, beer, eggs in my room unless i wanted to see the empty bottles & shells at the sink in the morning. Infact I stopped buying peanut butter.
Making a call to the ISP once a month is mandatory else the 1MBPS internet connection will not work as smoothly. Just a casual hi to remind them to do their job.
The hostel guardian doesnt allow televisions inside the hostel but it is very imperative to ensure one stays entertained and well informed. High Speed Internet and access to free music/video sites helps. Also endless episodes of Sex and the City and Coupling. This also helps during hostel parties and hilarious dance sessions as youtube gives quick access to cheesy 80/90s hindi film videos (Sunny Deol ‘s ziddi being an all time favourite ).
Women bond of gossip and wine and keeping a ready stock of wine/rum in the room and wasabi peas ensures everyone converges in your room for the end of the day chit chat and male bashing/gossip sessions which will someday be the highlight of a long and tired day at work.
Cooking together makes you learn that dil, garlic, water and salt makes for very good clear soup and sometimes pureed brinjal and chicken does takes tasty. Of course it makes you feel like a queen when your lame excuse for cooking is appreciated by the PGmates as “wow” food not to forget the ocassional haldi, salt and oil that one needs to borrow once in a while.
Living alone for the past 1 year has been fun and had its moments when you find there was nobody in the hostel on a friday night when you are the only one who has to sleep on time to get to work on a saturday. However the girls around me today form my support system so much so that when I am down with fever I can tell one of them to check on me and keep the door open while I sleep.
I am not sure if I would continue in the same place for another year but even if I do, I know everytime I pass the place I would always look up fondly at another place I called home.
For the time being.
