The theatre of life on Marine Drive

…And so, the waves rolled on; undulating and incessant, just like the city itself. Glitzy buildings, crowding vehicles and rows of palm trees behind me, I looked on ahead, at the horizon -- the sparkling necklace of street lights however, commanding my attention every now and then. The sky-high buildings, now lit up in their evening finery as it were, looked resplendent. The glamour and sheen, part of the city’s DNA, was unmistakable…for even a ‘chanawallah’ looked so presentable in his crisp-white pyjama and shirt, selling his wares on one of Mumbai’s most glamorous spots. Yet the promenade sees a convergence of people from all walks of life. A humble family of four, excited to see the smart residences and hotels; a tired taxi-driver taking a breather from his gruelling hours or a modish young woman briskly walking the path, wearing a fine pair of Adidas. It’s a mishmash of colour and contrasts on this breezy stretch -- somewhere a sexagenarian, dressed in an earthly silk sari, sat unperturbed by all the hullaballoo around, taking in everything with the quiet demeanour of one who has seen life in all its colours; while elsewhere sat a youngish couple, cheek-to-cheek basking in the aura of new love, sharing sweet nothings, and laughing heartily! Nearby, a middle-aged man, looked forlornly at the horizon, probably lost in the nothingness; ironical in the ‘city of dreams’ which envelops one and all, in its everyday grind…’Keep Walking’, I’m poignantly reminded by a very recognisable Johnnie Walker sticker on a car – I do just that, and find my own place of quiet, soaking in the theatre of life as it unfolded on the very busy Marine Drive!