This City by the Arabian Sea

I'm starting to fall in love with Bombay all over again. Damn, it's such a crazy city in the most fantastic sort of way. There's a perpetual racket regardless of where you go, and nobody seems to care. Rather they thrive in this noise and chaos, and helpfully advise you to follow their lead. And so I have. Over the last few days I've literally gone with the flow of 13 million people, tapping into the old, forgotten Bombayite (still not a Mumbaikar) in me. I've assertively stuck my hand out and crossed a bustling road as 10 cars and autos race towards me, I've haggled till I'm blue in the face, and I've chit-chatted in Bombay Hindi with all and sundry (trusting no one, still). Today, I spent a long evening with childhood friends, and had the time of my life. Now I've come home to loud music being played at some neighborhood party that's broken through the routine of a somewhat quiet evening, and quickly destroyed all plans of sleeping early. But that's OK. 'Coz, damn, that's just Bombay. Everything is out of the ordinary, things rarely go according to plan, and, as long as you don't fight it, life in this mad, mad city has a way of working out rather perfectly.