Internal Collaborations- Make the most of you

“Great cities attract ambitious people. You can sense it when you walk around one. In a hundred subtle ways, the city sends you a message: you could do more; you should try harder. The surprising thing is how different these messages can be. New York tells you, above all: you should make more money. There are other messages too, of course. You should be hipper. You should be better looking. But the clearest message is that you should be richer. ... When you ask what message a city sends, you sometimes get surprising answers" – Paul Graham

If Mumbai was just about traffic, I would have left it a long time ago. If was it was just about sky-rises and high rents, I would have simply passed it by. But it isn’t. It’s a one-way pass to getting exactly where you want to be. If you’re a struggling writer, a failed screenplay, a money laundering real estate agent or even an geeky MBA graduate, Mumbai gives you just that much leeway for you to grow and maybe leave a trail of success.

One in two people are successful in Mumbai depending on what success means to each one of you. And maybe that’s its credo. Getting you where you want to eventually be, giving you endless perks and amazing futures, and making you more than just a passing 15 minutes of fame. A good friend once told me that Mumbai is one city where you get what you deserve, when you work hard. And when it comes to money, the kind of jumps it gives you is immeasurable with any other city. Though I cannot really vouch for the money bit as I have not gotten there yet. But yes, opportunities are many. And so is the famous feeling , “Impossible is Nothing”. You can be anything you want to be in this city. The power that comes from that feeling is just too super human to be ignored. And the fact that you can be anything you choose to be. A sportsperson with the garb of an actress or an MBA graduate with a degree in bartending. Just like a sports shoe with a purple shiny exterior and a heel to kick it off. Oh, the glories of unlimited potential.

My very first encounter with the city happened in 2004. Till now that was the boldest step I took. My friend, Shreya and me thought Mumbai is a big place and on a whim, came here. Our folks were flabbergasted, and warned us about the big bad dirty world out there waiting to grab us and punch us in the gut if ever make it there. But providence played it into our hands, and we started out as interns in prestigious organizations, only to realize that every working environment is not complete without the usual assholes. That aside, we ate pani puri on the roads, stayed in a strict catholic hostel in bandra and made friends with really cool people. But then while my peasent genes begged me to return to south india and not live in queues my entire life, Shreya made it really big there. She was a hot shot producer of a television channel and she ruled the roost for a while.

Circa 2008 I’m here with a husband and a kickass job in tow. And the only thing that keeps me going is the feeling that one day, I’ll be successful. My definition of successful is to gather as much work experience with my magazine and set sail to live in a hill station with two dogs for company and a husband to warm up to in the wee hours of the night and just write. Keep writing. So for me, Mumbai is an aside, a path to my true success and a middleman who can bring my potential to the very best. Amen.

Today’s fare: Sergio Rossi teams up with Puma on a capsule footwear collection.Puma's legendary 'Clyde' sneaker has a modern twist. Who would have thought sneaker-heels are the big thing now.

Maya from the movie Sideways: You know, the day you open a '61 Cheval Blanc... that's the special occasion.

It's new, shiny and diva-like. That's what makes me want it with all the heart and soul a 26-year old fashion-obsessed girl could muster. But once I get it, I know that I will hide under piles and piles of cardboard boxes, newspapers and the exhaustive corners in the house. Only to be forgotten, to be ignored until a day dawns when I scrupulously start rummaging the entire house for a safety pin and amidst all the old notebooks and Christmas streamers, I'll find it. Snuggled under unnecessary things only to be recaptured and displayed in the living room for voyeurs and fashionistas alike.

Life's a lot like that in Mumbai. There are beautiful things, beautiful people and numerous ways to spend 10 minutes, and there we are snowed under forgotten promises, invented excuses and exhausted lives. There are moments of madness, sheer red-carpet-ness and then, poof it’s all gone. And in its place is murky darkness, an aftermath of a train journey, a simple gesture of always looking over your shoulder, and passing by life without an inkling of what you might be missing out on.

The essentials are definitely in place though. The heady feeling a morning kiss gives, a walk in the park at 6:30 a.m, bathroom jokes while my husband’s on his daily shaving ritual, drinking green tea while listening to a new rock band my taller half has discovered, walking out of the lift dressed in patent leather pumps and a wicked smile that can only spell – n-e-w-p-o-l-k-a-d-o-t-t-e-d-b-r-a, an intimate brush of hand in the sunlight while saying goodbye at the station, the huge-ness of my smile when I get a new beauty product to review and the warm hand placing my palms on his chest and snuggling into me at 2. a.m on most days.

But the human-ness in me is still clichéd. I still ponder about how the train was jam-packed at 3 in the evening, how late the bus took to get me home, the continuous sneezing of a co-passenger, the endless PR calls telling me to cover water pumps and review bisleri bottles. And to top it all off, I run to work in designer pants only to come back greased in sweat with a terrible knot in my hair that can get the best-task tag in Roadies 5. And I wail, I swear, I warn my husband am out of here and simply scream my lungs out at the nearest auto-wallah.

And today, when the bell rang at 9 in the night, I got up from my usual TV Marathon, opened the door, lifting my legs up as much as I can just to involuntarily kiss and march off to the kitchen to update him on my usual antics and to complain about the electricity, plumber and the insensitive aunty on Borivali Fast, and my eyes wander to an outstretched arm filled with a bunch of roses. And I smile and so does he. I say wow and start the ranting again. The expression he had brings me back to reality, a dreamy one to be precise. Since when did I start ignoring nice gestures that give out lovely messages? Since when did the daily grind overtake pure moments of admiration and love? When this is all you waited for, all your life, why does it become an aside when you really get it? It’s the dainty new shoe again. The diamante firmly in place, waiting to be worn everyday, waiting to be worn on dancing feet – and here I am packing it up in as sublime a manner and putting it right back on the shelf with an involuntary smile. And as I make my own rules about how I want a regular day and a special day to be, I wonder when I have become so regulation-oriented? Why do I miss out on the beauty of a regular day just because it’s not a Sunday?

It is then that I remind myself that it’s the small and thoughtful things that make music on any day. In the hectic life that is Mumbai, thank god I haven’t missed out on good intentions packed in deeply with flowers on a tiring Thursday. And as I ruffle his hair and laugh hysterically, I realize I ought to be less negative about things around me. I mistook idealism. It’s not smooth running of trains, non-crowded bus stops and PR girls who don’t nag you till you put the new pill from Ranbaxy in the next issue of Fashion Mag, it’s you being happy with the beautiful things around you. And in the busy schedules packed with many a punch, I see that we’re still celebrating a random day in Mumbai.

Today’s shoe: Manolo Blahnik Something Blue Satin Pumps with diamante detail from the movie Sex and the City.