Bits & Bytes

Politeness. This is the first thing that struck me on arriving Mumbai. The politeness level of auto and taxi drivers here are several notches above that of Bangalore. The taxi drivers at Chennai / auto or cab drivers at Bangalore will beg for your luggage and wont go away till you catch their vehicle or another. Here in Mumbai one refusal and they went their own way. On seeing that I was waiting for my friend some of them even said "koi baat nahi... hum idhar hi hain.. jaane ka mann hua to bata dijiye". I am yet to try my luck in the local trains as they tend to be too crowdy and I haven't gathered enough courage to walk into that crowd. I have travelled in a local train few months ago but it was a holiday then and there were not much people as during a normal day. So, currently my means of transportation is the auto. Consider this, In Bangalore you will come across autos asking for 10 rs or 20 rs jaasti for the minimum distance on top of minimum rate of 14 rs. Most of the autos refuse to take you to your destination. Few will give you a mouthful if you refuse their "offer". Some will negotiate and give you a discount of 5 rs on their asking rate. You will have to wave to atleast 7 or 8 autos before one agrees to take you. Mumbai autos so far has been a bliss. Not only they have a minimum rate of 9 rs but also I have met with fewer refusals. No jaasti business. No bad road excuse. The maximum one auto has ever asked was 2 rs just because he didn't have any change.

Room for Rent. I have been hunting for a room to stay since the day I have landed and the rental rates are the ones which has given me the biggest jolt. Here its common to ask 5000 rs for a space of one cot! and its a Paying Guest accomodation. A Single room may cost anywhere from 10,000 rs to 16,000 rs. I am looking for a PG/Hostel now as I will be here for a maximum of 2 or 3 months. Trying my luck again today. Lets hope something works out.

Food. Maybe its the new taste and the new atmosphere but I like the food. Maybe this will wear off in few days but I have to admit that the local junk food is excellent. Try ragri ragra patties... yummy!