Mumbai nights

Wednesday 24 March 24, 2011, 12-23am

Stepped out into the night its cool, pleasantly cool out under the scanty stars, so I began this pilgrimage into the night looking for a change in scenery, walking without a reason with no fixed destination in mind. I walked over the bridge, in the shadows of the school buses I spied a group of what seemed like girls but I knew better, I walked pass studying the

growth and fall of my shadow under the halogen lamps.

At this hour for some reason time slowed down, for some unconscious reason I find myself outside McDonalds, I walked inside got a cappuccino asked for the extra sugar and stepped out, a buss roared by a blur of red in the darkness. At the corner I spotted the cigarette vendor rummaged thru my change and fished out a shimmering gold 5 rupee, so in my own solitude , my own piece of mind coffee in hand and glowing cigarette I walk, a distinct footstep alerts my ear, cheap leather shoes and hard wooden baton clap against the asphalt, quite suddenly a vernacular voice commands me to stop, so I do, turn around and face this disturber of the peace armed with my coffee and cigarette, I try to look into his eyes, he demands to know what dealing I had walking down the street, in a dry voice I answered in the best vernacular I could manage that I was just out for a walk, Mumbai’s finest clad in faded khaki thick brown leather belt adorned by the square brass buckle, did not believe me, asked me for id, I replied I didn’t have any, he asked me to turn out my pockets so I did, a key chain, mobile, and wallet I held out to him he took the wallet, browsed thru it, I smiled, he handed it back , and turned to walk away, I asked him why his reply was simple it was his duty, I asked him about the transvestites on the bridge and the two other men drinking on the street, in the best English he could muster he replied not my ” jewrestdicktion”, obviously he had learnt well from his superiors.

As I walked back over the bridge a car came to a halt near what appeared to be girls, two of them stepped in, at about the same time a police car passed me by, I thought to myself not their jewrestdicktion either. Out of the shadows of a bus a boy not above the age of 14 called out to me if I wanted any “maal” he boasted he had the best quality and best price. I just walked by thinking not my jewrestdicktion. He followed me for a while badgering me but finally gave up. My coffee got over and cigarette burnt out. I walked into the entrance of my lane a cat darted passed me, not one of mine. Like a shadow I crept into my house as nothing ever happened.

It’s a beautiful world we live in really, we just fail to see the beauty of it.