Setting up a house in Bombay

Having a house of one's own is a dream come true for most people. You have the freedom to set it up the way you want, to roam around in your torn pajamas, to sleep naked under those sheets, to have anyone over without having to answer for it, and to come home every day to something you built for yourself on your own. It is a priceless feeling I wish upon everyone, especially young professionals living away from home. It gives you a taste for independence with a touch of responsibility and discipline. And it teaches you a lot about life, yourself, and the world around you.

Living by yourself isn't all sugar, candies and sunshine though. Once the initial exhilaration of freedom wears off a little, you begin to realise living independently is much more work than you had ever imagined.

When I came to Bombay 5 months ago, I moved around a lot. For the first few days, I lived at the house of a friend, who shared it with his father, grandfather, and male help. They were very nice people: they taught me how to ride the local (that too, from the super-crazy Dadar station), gave me privacy whenever I needed it, fed me simple yet delicious home fare, and greatly eased my transition from a Delhi girl into a Bombay one.

Not wishing to impose on their hospitality for too long, I moved into a Colaba hotel after that with my mother, who was in Bombay for a week to help me find a house in the city (to no avail). By the time she left, I had decided to move in with a friend in Matunga whose roommate was looking for a better living situation. I slept on the sofa-cum-bed in their hall for several days, while the roommate searched for her ideal house in Bandra. It became a pipe-dream for her after some time, and as a result, for me too.

Around the time I was beginning to cry myself to sleep, wondering if I'll ever find a place to live in Bombay, my gabby young broker called one day and chimed, "Madam, I have found the perfect place for you. One look at it, and you'll never go looking for houses again. Trust me on this one!" And so I did. I set up a date with him, took the local to Elphinstone Road, and walked all the way to the busy intersection where he stood waiting for me. We walked to the building - a redevelopment project, no points for guessing - only to find out that the girl who had rented out the house and was looking for a flatmate wasn't home yet. The broker, with no other bright ideas, called her up and thrust the phone in my hands - and that night, I had my first chat with the person I was to share a life with in this city for who knows how many months to come.

Delhi Girl moves to Bombay

In the January of 2014, I first set foot in the city of Bombay. I was met by old rain-washed buildings, new buildings that forced you to squint at the sun, coconut palms lining the roads, and people who guided you with directions like 'woh baju mein jane ka, udhar se right maarne ka, udhari baju mein milega'. I cannot say I was delighted. I was with family, and fortunately, we were in town only for two nights before moving on to Goa. Taking up quarters at a guest house in Dadar East wasn't the best choice, I realise now. But none of us knew anything about Bombay back then, and we unanimously agreed that this city wasn't as good as everyone made it sound.

Fast forward a year: I'd just finished my civil services (main) exam in December and was looking for a break. I told my parents I wanted to take a solo trip to Bombay. Why Bombay? I don't know. I guess I wanted to give the city another chance. I had friends and relatives in the city whom I thought I'd also visit. But my parents would have none of it. They had recently heard some (dubious) stories of strangers breaking into women's hotel rooms in Bombay, and, coupled with their belief that I was still a child at 23, it made for a strict no. But before I could retreat into my corner and sulk, my mother came up with an idea she thought was brilliant - she would accompany me on my holiday to Bombay. (My mother loves to travel as much as I do) And so, we took the Rajdhani on 3rd January 2015 and landed in Bombay, two women a generation apart, each with her own expectations from this city.

During our time here, we took a bus tour of the city and saw the Prince of Wales Museum and the Science Centre. We tried restaurants and cafes around Colaba, relaxed at Girgaum Chowpatty and the Marine Drive, and shopped at the Causeway. We also took a ferry to the Elephanta Caves and spent the day walking in and out of 5th-century caves and watching monkeys and their antics.