The Bombay that I have never seen..

Flight schedules and planning errors left me with a day in Mumbai. I have had very mixed feelings for Mumbai, I feel the bias could be because of not having spent enough time there. Intrinsically I feel the place should be a natural fit but I never get that feeling when I visit. So I was looking to re-examining that impression when I go back this time. Things were slow but thats the India effect. The suburb, Versova, that I stayed (with Priya's Movie Director cousin) seemed quite pleasant. However the closer that I got into the city the more it seemed to get busier and the more my olfactory senses burst with sensation - they tell me it gets better with time. I went to the Jehangir Art Gallery to get my first initiation into art. The art gallery itself was quite depressing given that its said to be the best but it was quite heart warming to see the kind of people visiting it. Jatin Das (Nandita Das' father) had an exhibition. Very monochromatic but his large canvases were interesting however pricey.. Went to India gate, I am sure I have been there in the past but I had no recollection of the impressive  structure. Impressive but knowing that my fellow brethren genius' was little at work when it was built and comissioned (brute strength not counting). The Taj Mahal hotel seems to have lost some of its past glory and shine. Went to Leopold's, of the Shantaram fame, and guzzled a few cold ones and gorged on fish tikka masala. Trekked around the old fort area, though things seemed to shut early (7:30 ish in the evening), there seemed to vibrancy seeping through closed doors which I dared not go through. Priya's rants about B'bay are always seasoned with gastronomic tales about Trishna and Mahesh Lunch Home. Not to be outdone when it comes to food, I walked all over KalaGouda to find Trishna and I was not disappointed. The fish hyderabadi and tiger prawns in green chilli sauce were exquisite!! Burped my way back to Vinil's place.  So to sum it up, not my favourite indian city yet but I think I could move to Bombay...