Visiting Mumbai during Diwali can be a boon and a bane at the same time. The land of dreams decks up in the festivities and proves its grandeur to the visitor during this time. It sure did make me fall in love with Mumbai.

Mumbai is home for my best friend and it is to meet her that I took my first maiden train journey ever, to Mumbai during Diwali last year. After checking and rechecking everything I tentatively made my way to my seat in the second class compartment of the train that was to take me to Mumbai. My co passengers kept to themselves in the four seater coup. What with my immediate co-passenger absconding I had the entire side berth to myself and I would not have it any other way. As the train pulled away from the platform I busied myself with a book and later with my laptop. The journey between Hyderabad to Mumbai lasted only twelve hours and before I knew it I was passing through several suburban stations until I came to Dadar where I was supposed to get off.

Getting off at Dadar and then locating my friend was such a hassle. We just couldn’t think of a landmark to meet at. After almost 15- 20 minutes we managed to meet and it turned out that she was on the other platform to pick me where the Mumbai express was leaving Mumbai for Hyderabad. After what was a comedy of errors we finally met and took another train to Borivali which took us another hour. By about 2pm we were at her place, I had already washed and cleaned up and I was merrily having a sumptuous meal of rice, sambhar and fryams. We both got to unwind and catch up only for a few hours until dusk came and Mumbai lit up. That was it. The end of any conversation we could have had till about midnight as we could hardly talk over the din as the firecrackers made it impossible to talk.

Perched on her 21^st floor apartment window, we both stared out to the city spread out in front of us. It felt like a sea of diamonds. Every apartment, every building was dressed in its finery. There was Mumbai looking rather regal. But what came as a curse was the extensive use of firecrackers which shot from here there everywhere. We had to close all the windows lest the rockets came through the window and harmed anyone. The noise was so loud that we literally had to scream to be heard. Even though the evening was rather painful, post eleven it all felt great as we spent the night chit chatting watching the Maximum City glow as the dark night faded away as sun came up. Even though the trip was a small one, it had a major impact on me. I was visiting my friend for the first time since we left college, it was festival time and instead of being alone in an unknown city I was with people who were like family. I think from the moment I stepped down from that train, Mumbai made me one of its own and I fell in love with it and the tryst continues as I keep going back, once every year. And truly after Kolkata, Mumbai seems like homecoming to me.