Reading my last post makes me realise how much my perceptions have changed since then. I haven't blogged for 5 months now, so it's pretty damn obvious that they would. Life in a new country meant my senses were more awake especially at the beginning and the learnings immense, as I grappled with understanding EVERYTHING which was so new and alien, instead of going about with blinkers on, doing the same familiar things in the same ol' place.
Now I go into automation mode and zone out a lot more, especially during the innumerable 9-hour meetings I am called to often....At times I look around and feel I am just so different to the people I see on the streets of Mumbai! I guess this is quite a widespread feeling however. The great thing about living in a place with so many people is that there will be many people like you, even if its 0.5% of the population that'll still be a cool 5m people...
But now I feel pretty much at home in this crazy city, which I keep describing as 'totally nuts but weirdly addictive'. I love Bombay mostly, though I also hate some aspects of life here (like anywhere). I love my apartment, which I am working on to make it more homely. I love my maid Chandbi who, though illiterate, is one of the most intelligent people I've met and weirdly reminds me of my ex-flatmate in London, Marta, in some of the ways she advises me about life. I love my little band of friends, Mukul, Farhad, Neha and Sita...and the Brit crew. I love my job- it is so exciting what we are doing, so creative and so risky too. We launch in a few weeks time, and so are deep in TV promotion,on-ground and online. I think back to my MIT Brand Strategy classes of last year. Never did I know then that I would be so deep into brand revitalisation as I am now....
I guess that's the thing with life, you really never know what will come next, all you can do is trust your instincts and all will be well (to misquote Amir Khan). There's another thing I would never have foretold in a million years: that I got to like Bollywood! Though it's probably as Mukul says, i see them as foreign films which I don't critique strongly.. strangely more lenient than I would be on a Polish film (why?)
The last few weeks we've been frequenting a great series of sundowner parties on Juhu Beach at a venue called Aurus. Every Sunday from 5pm you'll see a fun chilled crowd, including many models, sipping Sula Brut with cranberry juice and boogying away to equally beautiful techno beats.
A trip to Rishikesh and the Kumbh Mela was had last week. I'd never been to the Himalayas before. It is truly divinely beautiful- the River Ganga is emerald green and ice-cold, it rejuvenates you and keeps calling you back once, twice and once again. Her banks are white pristine sand. It was my first glimpse of Indian spiritual tourism, of the type transcribed in Holy Cow and Are You Experienced Yet. I loved being at the home of yoga.
What I hate about Bombay: is the traffic, the noise, the dirt and the way you sometimes have to treat people. Because there are so many I guess ;-)
To my friends: ignore the previous line, Bombay is a very special place. Please come visit me.
Now I go into automation mode and zone out a lot more, especially during the innumerable 9-hour meetings I am called to often....At times I look around and feel I am just so different to the people I see on the streets of Mumbai! I guess this is quite a widespread feeling however. The great thing about living in a place with so many people is that there will be many people like you, even if its 0.5% of the population that'll still be a cool 5m people...
But now I feel pretty much at home in this crazy city, which I keep describing as 'totally nuts but weirdly addictive'. I love Bombay mostly, though I also hate some aspects of life here (like anywhere). I love my apartment, which I am working on to make it more homely. I love my maid Chandbi who, though illiterate, is one of the most intelligent people I've met and weirdly reminds me of my ex-flatmate in London, Marta, in some of the ways she advises me about life. I love my little band of friends, Mukul, Farhad, Neha and Sita...and the Brit crew. I love my job- it is so exciting what we are doing, so creative and so risky too. We launch in a few weeks time, and so are deep in TV promotion,on-ground and online. I think back to my MIT Brand Strategy classes of last year. Never did I know then that I would be so deep into brand revitalisation as I am now....
I guess that's the thing with life, you really never know what will come next, all you can do is trust your instincts and all will be well (to misquote Amir Khan). There's another thing I would never have foretold in a million years: that I got to like Bollywood! Though it's probably as Mukul says, i see them as foreign films which I don't critique strongly.. strangely more lenient than I would be on a Polish film (why?)
The last few weeks we've been frequenting a great series of sundowner parties on Juhu Beach at a venue called Aurus. Every Sunday from 5pm you'll see a fun chilled crowd, including many models, sipping Sula Brut with cranberry juice and boogying away to equally beautiful techno beats.
A trip to Rishikesh and the Kumbh Mela was had last week. I'd never been to the Himalayas before. It is truly divinely beautiful- the River Ganga is emerald green and ice-cold, it rejuvenates you and keeps calling you back once, twice and once again. Her banks are white pristine sand. It was my first glimpse of Indian spiritual tourism, of the type transcribed in Holy Cow and Are You Experienced Yet. I loved being at the home of yoga.
What I hate about Bombay: is the traffic, the noise, the dirt and the way you sometimes have to treat people. Because there are so many I guess ;-)
To my friends: ignore the previous line, Bombay is a very special place. Please come visit me.
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