Mumbai Memories

Fate gives all of us three teachers, 

Three friends, three enemies, and three great loves in our lives,

But these twelve are always disguised, and we can never know which one is which until we've loved them, 

Left them, or fought them. 

I know now that it's the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed, which is the opposite of love; 

This city was our common ground, I want to tell Kaiz;

Not simply its soil, nor it's salt or tides, not lines on any map, nor buildings and streets;

Something else entirely, 

An image, a dream, an idea that beguiled both of us: a magical place with chaos in its code, where our stories collided briefly,

That romance with the city he carries with him wherever he goes,

What it means to me, though, goes beyond what we had in common, it can't be packed up and transported tidily, 

Mumbai for me is two people who moved from small coastal towns to this metropolis by the sea and made it their home, 

My home. And that is how the city is different for the two of us: for him both Mumbai and home were abstractions,

Abstractions are at once more fragile and hardier than reality. 

.....a human mind always finds many reasons to justify any action;

The city continued on its way;

Boys tried to sell me drumsticks, girls played hopscotch, the Bihari badly worker carried his gathri of ironed clothes to the homes from which they had come, and the buses honked at suicidal cyclists,

At one level this was vaguely confusing, 

Surely, something should acknowledge how much things had changed? At another level, it was oddly comforting; 

....Even a murderer will be able to provide a justification for his actions,

If you've stayed here then Mumbai is like that first love of your life you can never get over;

You will be with many after her but that first one is simply unforgettable! 

People say, 'more dreams are realized in Mumbai than in any other city in India;

There was plenty of anger on offer in Mumbai and it was easy to look away, But every once in a while, 

Someone with imagination crafted their fury like origami into something delightful. 

....But I have learned that bad things happen to you in an instant;

For anything good to happen it takes a lot of time,

The flames are silent,

Peace is violent,

Tears are frozen

'cause massacre was chosen,

~26/11– Mumbai terror attack memories;