Bombay...

The early days (16th-20th April, 2005) were quite uncertain as I spent the mornings going through the local dailies in hope of finding a paying guest accomodation not far from my boss's office at Worli.The afternoons were spent in calling up the estate agents who would then fix up an appointment with the prospective landlord...A Christian family at Mahim, a Maharashtrian home in Mahim, and few hostels in and around Dadar after, I finally got in touch with one Mr.Patel through the Mid-Day(A local daily)...He showed me a place at Shivaji Park, very close to the Western Highway and I had shifted my luggage at this Maharashtrian family's house by 9:00 AM on 20th morning.

Geoff Grimes, aPhD student at the University of Texas at Austin is my roommate...he is an ethnomusicologist (have never heard of it before)...he is here for his field work associated with his dissertation on "Regional influences on Hindustani Classical Music"...if only our Universities had the kind of money US Universities have....Hats off to this man's dedication...goes through Hindi, Marathi (yes, u read me right!) and English dailies for any information regarding any happening concerning Hindustani Classical Music and visits the places,calls up and sets up interviews with the legion of Classical Musicians in Bombay, etc....is here till August...has spent some time in Varanasi already and would be heading for Calcutta from here...will start writing only after going back.

He is a true scholar in no uncertain terms...its been a pleasure discussing subjects ranging from American History, Music, Politics, Cricket, Soccer and almost everything under the sun...on many ocassions these discussions have continued till late...

I have already completed 3 weeks under my boss who practices at the Bombay High Court, the Greater Mumbai City Civil & Sessions Court, and the various metropolitan courts spread all over Bombay...I'll write about the work culture after resuming the internship on Monday...am here for another 3 weeks.Criminal Law Practice in Bombay is much different from any other place...what fancies me the most is the variety...one case for example involves a gentleman who was an officer on a merchant ship which capsized off the Bombay coast on a stormy morning...all (but 3 people on board went down with the ship including the officer's wife...now the officer who is alive only because a strong wave had swept him off the deck just before the ship sank, has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder because he was was allegedly responsible for overloading the ship before it went to sea at a Middle Eastern Port...now my boss is defending him...as a lawyer, he must now know everything about the ship (from engineering intricacies to affect of weather on sinking)...it's cases like this which enthrall and motivate...most of the cases he handles involve white collar crimes...this is the commercial capital of the country after all (unlike my last internship at Chandigarh, I am yet to come across a murder case...and forget about any rape case...however, my boss has handeled some high profile murder cases in the past)...

all in all, have been very lucky to have been learning the nuances under him...practice/litigation is not hunky dory through out...the initial years can be a real struggle...but, once you r known here (of course depends on the work you do and the contacts you build), u can really mint money....

this is without doubt the city of dreams...it gives everybody the opportunity to either realize them or see them being shattered ...yes, there is no middle ground here..jara hat ke, jara bach ke yeh hai bambai meri jaan!!!.

Commuting in Bombay is another art one learns over the time he or she spends here...keep track of the bus numbers one needs to catch, make sure that he wants to travel on the harbour line or central line before boarding a train, know about ways of maneuvering his way to a seat while making sure he does not end up at window seat with the scorching sun on its side...daily commuters have got it all programmed...

try boarding a train at office going time...just stand at the platform near the edge once u have decided to catch the next train...relax just as the train arrives...fellow commuters will force/power/take/pick you along if you happened to be in front of the gate...do the same when it comes to getting off...don't worry, they do it every day...you will LAND safely...all this only if you are not claustrophobic otherwise you might require hospitalisation and somebody might get late for office only beacuse of you!!!So be a bit considerate and stay away during office rush.

You will become a true bombayite the day your claustrophobia ceases to bother you anymore and the day you stop covering your nose while going past the monsterous drains carrying all the city's muck into the Arabian Sea...

More to come...