Not all those who wander are lost

Nariyal Paani Kahan Hai?

I’m in a yellow and black taxi just outside Mumbai airport, on my way to a hotel in the Fort Area. The full moon is shining between rooftops, appearing between hoardings boasting Hrithik Roshan’s gorgeous Provogue ads and curious pictures of 67 year old Amitabh Bachchan in his role as Auro, a 12 year old child suffering from progeria in the upcoming Hindi film Paa.

There’s a traffic jam and as we are waiting for things to start moving again, we are overtaken by a buffalo pulling a wooden cart filled with bamboo. In the next moment a blood red sun rises over the horizon, and I notice a thousand new smells… the flowery and comforting scent of agarbatthi/incense from a nearby temple is mixed with the choking stench from rubbish, urine and smoke coming from the street-dwellers’ open fires.

After a few hours’ rest and a quick shower, I’m off to find a theatre where I can watch Kurbaan. It takes me at least an extra half hour before I even manage to get out of my room, as Channel V on the telly is doing a very good job tempting and distracting me with non-stop music videos from films like Love Aaj Kal, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, Delhi-6, Kaminey etc… Anyways, I’m very excited about watching a Saif Ali Khan film on the big screen for the very first time, so I finally switch the telly off and go downstairs. Hmmm… I wonder where the nariyaal paani wallah could be… there’s no better way to start the day than with drinking fresh coconut water!