The efficiency with which the women in Mumbai local trains cut vegetables and pack them is equally proportionate to the precision with which women in London tubes apply their morning make-up.
Don’t you just love it when you notice such cultural nuances that make experiences seem so different, yet to similar.
I really felt at home this morning.
Think about the two things that would unite Indians anywhere in the world – Bollywood & Cricket. Not kidding. Having seen a whole bunch of Indians, painted face et all, cheering during the World Cup finals in an Australian Pub in London, I realised that it doesn’t matter which corner of the world you are as long as you have cricket in your blood. Same goes for Bollywood. Sitting 3 seats away from any Indian in a Tube, you’ll still be able to hear the latest Bollywood number on their Ipod. Rather heavy on the volume. I tapped my foot all the way to Gatwick last week.
So, you can take an Indian away from Bollywood, but you can’t take the Bollywood away from an Indian. On that note, I’m throwing away a fabulous opportunity and giving my readers a chance to enter this contest on indiancompass.com - a cool website which gives ultimate Europe tips to Indian travelers.
What’s the contest?
Write a post about Bollywood & Europe and win a tour around Europe with Contiki Tours - one of Europe’s largest tour operators catering to 18 to 35-year-olds.
What is the prize?
The first prize is a 9-day tour to seven European cities, starting in London priced at about Rs 66,000. For more details, read here. The deadline for sending your entry for this prize is April 30. (You could choose a starting date for the tour anytime this summer.)
The second prize is a 12-day camping tour to six European cities, starting in Rome priced at about Rs 43,000. For more details, read here. The deadline for sending your entry for this prize is May 31. (Again, you could choose a tour in this category starting anytime this summer).
So what do you have to do?
Connect Bollywood & Europe and send in your story to prizes@indiancompass.com. If you get an automated receipt message, it means they have received your story and you are in the running.
For more details on this, check out the contest details here.
Why do I think YOU have a great chance to win this?
I am not entering this contest. Haha. Writing about Simran and Raj and their journey around Switzerland is not my cup of tea. Having said that, I think writing about Bollywood and Europe is a piece of cake for anyone in Mumbai, imprisoned in a cubicle and wanting to run away to Europe (that’s most of my blog readers). Go ahead and give it a shot!
Leaving you with a photo, that I think represents Bollywood today – Truly global. Shah Rukh Khan fan in a small town in Peru.
Good luck!
It has just been 3 weeks since I left Mumbai and technically moved to London, but actually spending more time in this little village called Fuschl outside Salzburg in Austria. No kidding. Feels like much longer, as I have spent most of my time in airports, woken up in strange rooms, eaten food I don’t recognise and more than anything, struglled to identify where home is. I tried to carry my sleeping bag everywhere, something familiar to cling on to.
So, I sat and made a list of things that have changed drastically in my life and have shaken me from my comfort zone.
Home. Familiarity of my apartment in Mumbai. The feeling of waking up with the sun on my face, having the coffee sitting on the window ledge, avoiding neighbours who I never bothered meeting. Everything was way too comfortable. New apartment in London – where everything is still too cold and strange. Where it took us ages to get nails up on walls to hang photos. Where the bar is a bookshelf converted into a bar. Where the TV is too far from the bed. Funnily, it is not London I’ve spent all that much time. The hotel room in Fuschl takes the cake. Set right next to the lake (everything in Fuschl is next to the lake), it is what one would imagine as the perfect little place for a holiday. Only difference, everything doesn’t look all that pretty when you keep checking your Blackberry and working every minute. Back to the hotel room, its basic. Pillows are soft, I love it. I don’t watch any TV, everything is in German. Hot shower. Great breakfast. What’s the dilemma. Last couple of days, I’ve been waking up wondering whether it is 6 30 am or 7 30 am, with the time difference between UK and Austria, snoozing till the time the location hits me. All in all, whether it is Caledonian Road or Downtown Fuschl as they call it, its all still alien. The only thing familiar about it is I dont know my neighbours in any city.
Commuting. I never thought I would say this. But, I miss the autos in Mumbai. No, I do not miss the honking. No, I do not miss the insane Andheri East traffic jams. Yes, I miss the 24 / 7 convenience of finding these little autos everywhere. In London, I’m married to the Tube and before I know it, I would be saying ‘Mind the Gap’ as a part of my regular vocabulary. In Fuschl, where it would take anyone not more than 10 minutes to explore the entire village walking, I have no option. Well, I can’t drive in Europe. Yet. So, I walk, everywhere. And, the rain Gods have this uncanny way of sending their blessings my way the minute I step out. So, do I miss the autos. Hell yeah!
Supermarkets. As ridiculous as it may sound, I love simplicity. I hate choice. I would be the one who would always ask for coffee, when I am thrown coffee jargons like decaf, skim milk, brown sugar, blah blah. Same with grocery stores or supermarkets. Between the unbelievable choice in the Tescos and Sainsbury’s of London (a 100 different types of cheese, cereal, yoghurt, sauces and so on) to the unfamiliarty of German packaging, if I manage to find a supermarket open after 6 pm in Austria, I know one thing. I miss Prabhat Provision Stores and the free home delivery of anything under the sun. I miss the lady in Pali vegetable market who would happily discuss her life over 200 gms of Paneer.
Language. You would be surprised. In London, they speak English right. You bet they do. How come I still don’t get it when they say it the first time? Indian accent. British accent. Howjsay it? Whatchamacallit? And, as for Austria, forget it. I can say Servus, which means Hello and Byebye. I can say Malzeit. That’s what you say before you eat. Kind of like Bon Appetit. I can say Bitte, which means please. That’s my language status. Pathetic. Between trying to understand the British and learning beginner’s German, I honestly feel like swearing in Hindi. And, thats what I really miss.
Timepass. As it is such a common word back home, I felt that this would be the best way to describe it. The one thing about Mumbai was knowing exactly what was going on everywhere, what are the places to hang out, eat, drink and so on. It had taken me almost 8 years to feel like a local. Then, we get to the topic of London. Just the sheer magnitude of things to do and places to go to is mindboggling. I don’t even know where to begin. Someone told me, check out Beer in the evening for pubs, Last Minute Theatre Tickets for Broadway… then, I started looking up stuff on the internet and found the Timeout Top 50 sites in London. Its a maze. Then, there is Austria, to be specific Fuschl. One lake. Few hotels. Very few restaurants. Hardly any markets. One gym. Lot of paths to walk around. Yes, that’s all I can do. Walk. Walk. Walk. If the weather favours me that is. Right now, I am an armchair traveler, virtually getting to know my cities even before I get the courage to step out. Baaaaaah! What I would do for one beer at Totos.
Food. Where do I even begin? From the comfort kitchen of Ashaji where the rotis and sabji was warm and ready to the 101 restaurants that were always open, I’m eating Snickers bars from vending machines in Fuschl. Life ends here when it gets dark. If I actually get out of office in time to head to the restaurant, I need to think of all the German menus and order what sounds easy to pronounce. London is not such a problem. Tesco Ready to eat has become Roys best friend. I make omlette and stir fry vegetables in less than 10 minutes. We have discovered the best cheap wines, not that we know good wine from bad wine. Either way, till I find some stability in my eating pattern, it just feels like I’m one one long gastronomical adventure not doing any justice to my waistsize.
Capoeira. The less said, the better. Capoeira in India was life. Between the hundreds of schools in London and the only gym in Fuschl which offers Yoga and Pilates, Ive become bloody lazy. I need Baba (my capoeira teacher in India) to kick my butt once and get me started here.
People. And, finally, it just boils down to one thing. Friends. Family. There isn’t even a comparison point with London and Austria. Mumbai is Mumbai. And, I miss all the blokes who made life so much fun.
Having said that, I’m leaving you with a snapshot of life in Austria so far. A random collection of photos to show you what my life looks like now. I have to say I love it.
My temporary home in Austria – Hotel Mohrenwirt
Apfelstrudel – the only thing I’ve learnt how to pronounce with no issue.
The walk to office … the beautiful lake….
The office…. I am not kidding. It is not a resort.
Signing off in Austrian style – Servus !
My recent trip to London helped me complete the full circle in terms of cabs. If you manage to take the cab in the three most craziest cities of the world – Mumbai, New York and London, you have as good as seen the eigth wonder of the world.
Whether it is the yellow cabs of New York or the black cabs of London or the black & yellow taxis of Mumbai, they all have one thing in common. Have you heard of the third cousin in the family who always demands meals at expensive restaurants and never knows where those restaurants are how to get there. Well, these cabs are somewhat close to them. If the last person you want to meet is that particular third cousin, the last thing you want to take is the taxi. Why? I have a different reason for each city and here they are.
Whizzing yellow cabs of New York and 2 top reasons why I don’t like taking them -
1. New York’s Yellow Cabs are yellow because John Hertz, the company’s founder, learned from a study that yellow was the easiest color for the eye to spot. He was right. Of course, they are easy to spot. But, try spotting a yellow taxi that is empty. That is the key. The taxi has to be empty.
2. New York city subway is a little more 100 years old and I love all things ancient and efficient.
Kaali – Peeli of Mumbai & Top 2 reasons why I don’t like taking them –
1. Bustling morning and you will find an entire queue of taxis on your street corner. Guess what, there won’t be a single guy in the taxi though. All of them would be standing next to the nearest panwallah or sitting around playing cards. Without the slightest hesitation, they would ask you where you want to go. However, if you give them any destination short of 1.5 hours, they would turn a blind eye to you and continue indulging in their lazy lifestyles. I wonder how they even make money to sponsor all the Gutka.
2. If the guy finally decides to move his butt and drive you anywhere, he will honk and honk and honk and give you a migraine early in the morning.
Finally, the deadly Black cabs of London and why I don’t like taking them –
1. Have you heard of ‘The Knowledge’. It is the in-depth study of a number of pre-set London street routes and places of interest that cab drivers in that city must complete to obtain a license to operate a black cab. It is the world’s most demanding training course for taxicab-drivers, and applicants will usually need at least twelve ‘appearances’ (attempts at the final test), after preparation averaging 34 months, to pass the examination. Jesus – It is more difficult that taking the IIT and IIM examination back to back. So, coming to the reason why I don’t want to take a London cab, it is primarily because I know that the guy driving me around probably has an IQ of a genius. The sooner he goes out of business, the sooner he would find his calling.
2. Prince Philip (husband of Queen Elizabeth II) drives a London cab, when he can afford just about any other car in the world. Other celebrities are known to use London cabs too for their anonymity and their ruggedness/manoeuvrability in London traffic. That worries me. There would be one more cab in London that would be occupied and not ready to ply passengers. And just in case he does decide to pick up passengers, I worry about being driven around by a 90 year old man.
If all the reasons above have taught you social lessons about not honking, not chewing gutka, not adding to the traffic volume of the city and more than anything, not taking a freaking cab when there are cheaper and quicker options like the trains, subways, tubes, metros or whatever you want to call, I have succeeded in my mission.
For the best public transport, look up the following sites -
2. Metropolitan Transport Authority – New York
3. Mumbai – Contact the Ninja!
I counted more than 40 manholes between the Andheri signal and my office. It did not suprise me one bit that they were all uneven and not at the same level as the already messed up concrete tar patches, an excuse for a road.
Peering into the passing taxi, I noticed a woman holding one of those lace fans, realised its summer.
And then…. thud… bump… screech…. the auto went into one of those giant pot holes and went up one of those rather high man hole lids, almost bumping into the taxi.
Sweating (thanks to the heat and the accident that almost happened), I do not know what to crib about – the unbearable summer or the horrible roads or the new location my office has shifted to.
Instead, I just fear the rainy June months. More than 40 manholes. This should be fun.
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