Ain't No Shakespeare

When I first sat down to write an article titled this way, I had more than a week’s stay left in Indore. I had enjoyed my stay and work so far and never really felt upset or terribly homesick. But of course I missed Mumbai. Even before this second stint to Indore I remember being comfortable about coming to a familiar place, to familiar people again and yet feeling a tinge of sadness for leaving Mumbai, especially right before my birthday. That moment, at Indore I was missing Mumbai a lot for some reason. I am a true blue Mumbaikar – born and raised in Mumbai, lived there almost my entire life so far. So everything – right from the traffic, local trains, crowd, rush – everything feels mine. I may not have seen all the tourist sites that people come from far off for, but the everyday Mumbai sights that I have grown up watching are my solace. I may not have spotted a celebrity in some posh locality, but I have had the thrill of meeting a long lost friend unexpectedly. I may not hav...

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to travel the world. Born in a travel crazy family, I have been travelling in and out of the country almost each year. So it has always been a maniac travelling with parents, cousins, extended family – a getaway for a week or 2 every summer, or a road trip in Diwali or Christmas. If not that, it was a trip arranged by the college. No wonder then that my first experience of lone travelling came at the age of almost 23. It all began at an interview – my first job interview at My MBA College. I was placed as a summer intern at a very reputed FMCG company. When asked if I was OK with traveling, I enthusiastically nodded yes. Ever since then, till my internship began, I kept wondering where I would be sent. I hoped it was some big city like Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata or even better – some nice place in Himalayas, away from the sweltering Bombay heat. As the internship joining date approached closer, my hopes of the job location being tha...