Habit!

hab·it
n.
1. a. A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.
b. An established disposition of the mind or character.
2. Customary manner or practice: a person of ascetic habits.
3. An addiction, especially to a narcotic drug.
4. Physical constitution.
5. Characteristic appearance, form, or manner of growth, especially of a plant or crystal.

As the definition goes habit is something you acquire over a long period of time....by possibly doing the same thing again and again. And everybody have their own habits...some good and some bad. I too developed my habits while growing up...some good and some bad. Slowly I realised that given we were shifting places with dad getting transferred and later me shifting places at work etc etc some habits get dropped off. And you acquire some new habits. Even I did.... And its very interesting to note when this happens!!!

About three months back we moved to Mumbai and later to Thane as a part of our job. During the period when we were in the process of figuring out where to stay, how we will travel etc. Convinced that this was the best bet we signed the papers and moved in. With every passing day our travel routine evolved....what time to leave the house, which bus to board, which train to catch, where to stand etc.

And the whole sequence has become a habit now...in not even 45 days....I'm amazed..... So much so that even if one part of the sequence doesn't go according to plan I get frustrated...

Habit...

My (rather our) days at Sea Palace!

For the uninitiated Sea Palace is a quaint little hotel with some famous landmarks around it...both historical and comparatively modern ones...situated about 4-5 buildings away from the Taj Mahal Hotel & the Gateway of India and the not so ancient Radio Club... Other famous places nearby are the Regal theatre and couple of famous pubs namely Cafe Mondegar & Leopold!

Thanks to the turn of events Sea Palace became our home (3 of my friends and myself) for a period of a month. We were all happy to have a rosy start to our stint in Mumbai...sea facing rooms (look out of the window and it looked like a mini Monaco, what with all the boats & the yachts) good service and to top it all just 15 mins away from work. And with IPL at its peak, we couldnt have asked for more.

Typical Day (@ Sea Palace)
A enthusiastic friend of mine went jogging in the early hours around the Colaba area...wondering whether we would be able to experience it again...We would get ready by 8.30am and meet at the breakfast table. Have the breakfast coupled with some news in the papers and some gossip and set out to catch a cab. And within 15 mins we would be in office. While we were going through the day's work, based on what the IPL itinerary we would plan the evening. The setting was fairly simple...all of us would congregate in my room to watch the match. Over the next two hours over some snacks & yummy food and interesting conversations we would watch the match. Hoping for an exciting finish some days we would split early thanks to the rather one sided sloppy affairs.

Every evening was planned to venture and experience the high life given we would have had to move out shortly... Bade Miyan, Cafe Mondegar's, Leopold, Sports Bar, Regal, Bombay Gymkhana, Not Just Jazz by the Bay!!!! In a short span we had together or alone visited all these places.

Weekends were as usual a bit slow and lazy...Spent almost the entire 2 days in my room...Having food...wathcing TV and napping...

All in all life was great...no qualms...no complaints...
Wish life could always be like that!!!

My Limousines in Mumbai

Have 72 - 96 alloy wheels...9 -12 different compartments and sections. Travel at 60 - 80 kmph. Wondering what they are? The great Mumbai local trains...

For the record, the system carries more than 6.1 million commuters on a daily basis and constitutes more than half of the total daily passenger capacity of the Indian Railways itself. It has the highest passenger density of any urban railway system in the world. And the entire economy seems to move around them!!!!

In December 2005 when I first ventured into Mumbai to work with JWT, I had dared to take on the might of the Mumbai workforce traveling by these trains, by taking a few trips from Kanjur Marg (the station closest to Powai on the central line) to Currey Road (where I need to alight for JWT). Did learn a few ropes, but by the time I could master them I moved back to Bangalore on personal reasons. Just when I was forgetting my experiences of that stint, here I was back in the city of dreams as some call it.

After much of huffing & puffing I have moved into Hiranandani Estate, Thane. Its hardly a month and am already getting tuned to having my life revolve around the local trains. Every day there is something to think about, what time to leave, which train to take, which one to board, where to stand to get in etc. A few trips and a friend of mine dubs it the best natural way to keep fit!!!! And everyday the challenge is will I get a place to sit and how early will that be.....

Today after a break the skies opened up and the great Mumbai Monsoon is on!!! Lets see what the monsoon train journeys have in store for us.....