The Smell of Rose and a dark room

It was my first trip to Mumbai,the financial capital of India.Me and my business partner were on a business trip.Having finished the proposed business deal with our host we were looking at a full day ahead of us in this great city.Being here for the first time here in Mumbai has its own charms.I had a flash of good and bad images from old and new Hindi movies running like an old movie in my mind.

Frankly , I did not know what to do.

My friend Insisted that we go out for a prowl,which i reluctantly agreed.Having heard the stories of how great Mumbai was, it is equally dangerous to venture into an unknown city with know one to guide us.Anyways I agreed.

We Informed the hotel help desk who advised us to be really careful and gave a bunch of numbers to call in case of any emergency and arranged a taxi for us.

After a good fifteen minutes the taxi reported to us.Our cab driver was a short and stout man who appeared to be in his late thirties who said his name was Sandeep and walked us to his black and yellow Hyundai Xing hatchback.

It was a brand new taxi,without wasting any time Sandeep offered us a deal to take us around the city for some amount which was not reasonable at all,but after some negotiations he finally gave in for Rs500 extra on the meter rate.

Thus we started our stroll in the Greatest city of India.The city of the rich,The city of the poor.the city of crime.the city of Dirt and filth.The city of you name it.Sandeep proving my friend wrong became a talker.He din't even gave a chance for us to talk.With a grin covering his whole face he jolted the car forward into the vastness and chaos of Mumbai city.

Those were the days when The MV Wisdom - a massive cargo ship - its way from Colombo to the Alang shipyard in Gujarat to be dismantled when its engine failed. Then, the cable to its tow-boat collapsed. It drifted dangerously close to the Bandra-Worli Sea link and then ran aground at Juhu Beach.All through the way Sandeep kept on talking about the 9000 ton ship with a sanctimonious tone in his voice.At last there it was lying aground on Juhu beach like a phantom moth.