Mumbai......meri jaan!

I came back from my fluids lecture at 3pm. Switched on my computer. I signed in to Gmail, Amruta was online we had a casual talk. I asked her whether she saw my Diwali pics and then she says “Arrey there were a couple of blasts & firing incidents near CST,Gateway of India, Colaba, Taj, Sahara Star, BMC office. “OMG, are you guys alright, baba aley na ghari?” She tried to soothe me “Sagley barey ahet!” I opened a new window, Times of India, just a sliding BREAKING NEWS bar which had very minimal info. I went back to Gmail, there Sneha had a ibn live NEWS link on her status message. It showed me what I wanted. A live account of what was happening in my city. 

Scared people, confused people, a lot of police. Out of the blues comes a Police Toyota Qualis and starts firing at the people on a junction. What the hell was that. People ducked down, some got injured while others helped them. I was glued to the laptop for 2hrs now, and all I could see was helpless people outside & I could'nt think of the people inside the hotels. I felt helpless, helpless because I was here, when my city needed me the most. 

What could I have done you ask me? Yes surely I couldn’t have had a chance at those chickens hiding in the hotels, but I could at least help my people, donate blood, help the injured…..there were more than 100 casualties. Who do you look up to when god says it’s my time out. Help each other not the terrorists to terrorize you! But no, I was just sitting here in my cozy chair, 10k Kms away……I cried…yes I did, just could'nt control it, it’s my city, streets I used to roam around without any fear & now I watch all those roads turn from black to red, red blood of my people…MY BLOOD! Yes, my family was fine but the city is also my family. I love my city as I love my family & I want to make sure no one plays around with someone I love. 

In doubt!

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God does show you the way when you really need him to doesn’t he! I had applied for this job here at the Graduate Student Association for an Events Coordinator, the pay a whopping $16 as compared to $10 at my swim job. This was one of the reasons that I had applied there. I was also done with getting in the water to teach, surprised? I am not bored of teaching, no way, but each time I have to go to a swim lesson I am a bit reluctant because I am not swimming, I just have to float at one point, not to mention the fact that the swim lessons tire me a lot. That’s why while the other instructors do their paper work in the 15min break, I swim as much as I can.

But then after I applied for the GSA job I thought I have made such good friends at the pool. They have so much confidence in me, when it comes to taking swim lessons others are not able to, or helping out in general. How could I just leave them in the middle of the semester. What will tell them! Believe me I was in doubt, is it money I should go for or friends? And what do you know, I didn’t get the GSA job. Yeah, many people may probably say that I am saying all this right now because I didn’t get the job, believe me its not the case, I have experienced a lot of relational emotions in the last few months!

Today whatever happened made me feel even better that I did not get the GSA job. In this marathon 6hrs Sunday swim session, my second to last class is a Pre-school lesson, in which I have 3 really beautiful & cute girls, Aishwarya, Ambreen & Agnika. Ambreen was with me for 2 earlier sessions and wanted to be with me for this one too. 5mins before the swim lesson was about to start I ran into Ambreen’s father. We had a casual ‘Hi how are you’ and then he says “You better not fall sick, because I asked Ambreen what if Mr. Jay falls sick, then you’ll have to go with some other instructor. And she said I don’t want Mr. Jay to fall sick! Else I won’t go.” Being loved by small kids is the best thing that can happen to you.

Now I feel, although I am away from home and missing my Aai, baba & amruta’s love, I am being loved by so many people here & we cherish each and every moment of it, be it with my roomies, with all the Cedar Lane friends, you who’s reading this right now, the swim instructor friends at work or the kids I teach in the class. Could I ask for more! Now, I am not in doubt. :)

Falling Colors

Its fall now & nature has started changing colors. Pink, red, Maroon, yellow, green as if the trees are showing off their mood. I look out of the window and I see trees in red, trees in yellow & yes trees in green too! The sky isn’t dark today its bright & blue, making sure the trees can flaunt their colors easily. They look like a bouquet made of Red lilacs reaching for the sky & Yellow roses gazing at them. The greener trees as if helping the red & yellow look even more distinct. I am on the highest floor of the stone ‘CoRE’d tower & all this seems so small from up here that I feel like taking out the whole bunch of 'flowers' with my hand and giving it to you....if only you were here! ;)