They say "When you travel alone you become a storyteller" If I may add, You become a self satisfied human being capable of exploring anything coming your way. Here is the story of my solo trip for a day in a city completely new to me with an iota of knowledge of the local language. Of my 2 day trip to Mumbai, the Economic capital of the country, One day was to quench my thirst for a solo road trip.
My only companion was a Honda Activa rented from Wheelstreet. The Wheelstreet network works customer friendly right from sending the map link of the dealer to having dealers who could guide us in English without making us feel like being in a different city. My first place in the itinerary of the day was "Nehru Science Centre" located 23kms away from my place of stay. The intial journey through the buzzing roads of Mumbai was one heck of an experience to cherish forever. The roads were flooded with cars and the number of 2 wheelers were just countable. The Road trip kept reminding me the Marathis love for their heritage, The statue of Dabbawala in a busy road is one massive example. There were plenty of statues all the way and the Google navigation kept instructing me the roads which I need to take next which were mostly named after their prominent leaders.After more than an hour travel, my destination was finally there. More than the Google maps, the local people helped so much to spot the Science centre perfectly.
Named after India's late Prime Minister, the Science Centre stands testament to the vision Nehru had in mind while creating this Centre. The Science centre welcomes us with statues of eminent Scientists of the Century. It was good to know that Madras University was the Alma mater for some of the Scientists from South India.
The Science centre aims to teach everything it displays by interacting with us.Starting from simple logical scientific experiments all the models made the user interact with it easily and learn from it. There were puzzles to participate; simple experiments to experiment; super computers to use ourselves and enjoy learning; Audio Visuals constantly playing to engage with the audience and so on. There was a whole section allocated for Aerospace where people can learn the basics of flights, the evolution of Kites to flights and also we can model our own flight and fly it on the computers all by ourselves. A particular section was allocated to pay tribute to the first Indian born Woman Astronaut Kalpana Chawla, showcasing all her famous moments and awards in frames. It had an AV which played the other side of being an Astronaut. All her practice to become eligible to enter the space was captured in it. She was made to drop into the ocean from a parachute; sit on a highly pressurized seat which elevates all of a sudden and drops back; Two people dragged her all the way in a heavily muddied rough road and so on. I have never read all these things in her Biography. It was an eye opener to remind us the backstory we fail to notice of all the successful people out there.
Another section of the Science centre had artifacts proclaiming the rich cultural heritage of our country and how our Ancient India was scientifically modern. This place had a separate room where the television played a documentary on the Communal-ism in India. It looked like it was shot in 90's. It clearly mentioned how people work together without having a care in the world for the religion of the other person and how the same people can be turned communal by igniting subtle communal thoughts. Also it explained how remaining secular is not practically possible when your own house is burning. Despite the communal tensions, people live together and also help each other at times of need. The documentary even mentioned few political parties being behind such activities. I don't understand why it was played in a Science Centre but happy that they chose to play it to enlighten people on all aspects.
The Science Centre had other sections to teach Evolution of Solar system, Earth, Species, Mankind and also sections on the whole metabolism of our body. Apart from this the centre had Movies and Shows on science played at prescribed times. The whole experience was fresh and will require minimum 2-3 hours to enjoy thoroughly.
My second place on the list was "Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sanghralaya" located 7 kms away and I reached it in less than an hour with the help of Maps of course.
Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sanghralaya:
This was Gandhi's place of residence in Bombay.They have beautifully converted this place into an exclusive Museum to reminiscence Gandhi's un-matchable service to the nation and the Freedom Struggle of India. The Ground Floor had a vast library comprising of books read by Gandhi, Books on Gandhi, Indian Independence, Indian National Congress, Journals and References.
The First floor had portraits of Gandhi with world leaders and also the letters he had exchanged with them. There were 2 letters addressed to Hitler at the time of World War. Also there was an activity centre to conduct events in remembrance of Gandhi.
The Second Floor had a covered place where it was written "Bapu lived in this place" Apparently he lived in a hut in the terrace. Also there were things used by him.There was a damaged statue of him and an exclusive section where all the events of his life right from his birth at Porbander to falling flat holding hands at his shooter were made into miniature models. This place can teach us better than any history book. The measures taken to eradicate the evil un-touchability, Communal-ism and to drive away British from our soil were educated and also the legacy we need to carry forward.
It will take more than an hour to enjoy this place. They don't charge any entry ticket but people who are interested can make a donation directly or buy stamps and books on Gandhi being sold over there.
My next place on the list was to visit Crawford Market, claimed as the popular market. With my navigation on, I started my journey towards my next destination. I drove past the majestic Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus formerly known as Queen Victoria. CST never fails to amaze anyone. It was the Elphinstone flyover where I had my bad luck waiting. Without having any idea that 2 wheelers are restricted in the flyover, I was caught red-handed by the Police man over there. The first thing he did was to take a snap of me with my vehicle and threaten me to handover my license and collect it in the police station after paying the fine. I pleaded with him that I was new to this place and didn't know the rules. Also I explained him that I don't understand both Hindi and Marathi. To my relief he conversed in English. I insisted that I pay the fine there itself. As expected he came down and I bribed him 200 Rs. The funniest part was he dint even care to see my license or Papers and also told me to get off the bridge in the Opposite direction.He also guided me the route for Crawford Market and I reached it only to find that the Market was not my cup of tea. I had no interest shopping over there and navigated for Fashion Street.
Fashion Street and Hanging Gardens:
This is an ultimate destination for anyone in search of any apparels at lowest price(after bargaining). After shopping there for some time had a quick look at the Hanging Gardens and decided to handover the vehicle and get back my deposit amount and ID Proof. The time was already 4.15 P.M and the Map suggested that it will take 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the destination. I thought it was a nice plan without knowing what was in store for me.
Way back to the Dealer & Airport:
Everything went perfectly fine till I reached Eastern Freeway. While the map guided me to take the route, there was a big hoarding carrying the words "2 Wheelers & 3 Wheelers not allowed in Eastern Freeway" I didn't want to repeat the same mistake twice and took the other road hoping that my Map will automatically redirect in other route. Though it redirected in other route I found myself coming back to the same place again and again. The traffic was growing steadily and I was sure the actual time will be more than the stipulated one.I was struggling in the same place and the time was already past 5 P.M then. After a great struggle I managed to navigate through Western Highway, stopping my app to automatically switch to the less congested route i.e Eastern Freeway. The gravity of the situation was too much to come in terms with. I've to reach the dealer who is more than 20 kms away from me and reach the airport before the boarding closes. I drove as fast as possible, the initial reservation about riding in a new city was already gone. By 6.30 P.M I handed over the vehicle and rushed to reach the Airport. To my agony, no Autowala was ready to take a ride to the Airport.I walked for nearly a km with my map still guiding me. I found an Auto stand and to my relief the driver was ready to take the ride. He asked me International or Domestic? Since I reached Mumbai through International, I thought it would be the same and told him International. He took me in and asked my flight. I said Indigo and he was like "NO NO Domestic Airport". He asked me for the ticket and when I showed he said its Terminal 1 Domestic Only.All the conversation happened in Broken English. The Domestic Airport was at least 5 kms away whereas the International was just a km away. Given the traffic of Mumbai at that time, I was sure it will take more than 45 mins to reach by when my boarding will be already closed. I know the distance already since I've drove past Domestic Airport en route to the Dealer. I wonder why they name all the Airports in same name and don't care to mention Domestic or International in the tickets. Only the terminal number was mentioned. However the driver promised me to take there in 20 minutes in the shortest route available which only the local people used to commute. As informed I was travelling in all the No Entry routes and jumped few signals. All the while we conversed with each other and I remember telling him "Mein Madrasi hein! Madarasi mein Hindi nahi malum. Tamil aur Engilsh only we speak" for which he replied something in Hindi that I don't understand. We reached the Airport at 7.20 P.M and I paid him a hefty price for saving me at the eleventh hour. I ran inside the Airport. The Indigo staff were courteous enough to help me get the boarding pass without much delay understanding my plight. After relaxing in the lounge for few minutes all the passengers were boarded. However there was an unannounced delay and the flight took off at 8.55 P.M only.
Most of the seats were unoccupied and I enjoyed a full row all by myself. I drifted off to sleep after a long day and woke up only to find everyone getting off the plane in Chennai. It was 11.10 P.M then and I rushed to the Railway station. The station was empty and only one police man was there in duty. After some time people started coming and by 11.45 P.M I got my train to Chennai Beach.
The journey was to cherish forever proving me the necessity of travelling alone and the options to explore. Also to understand the diverse nation it is and to enjoy the fact that the country is one for all and we all share a special bond of being Indian despite of all the artificial borders and limitations drawn around us.
