Mumbai has taken a strangle hold on me now, I have been here over a month and decided to splurge, I am staying at the Sea Princess Hotel in Juhu all for Rs 5800/night. I got a call from my friend Mayank and he said,” The rates used to be Rs 8000 to Rs 9000 at one time decades back, I use to get my Russian Clients here, you are getting a good bargain, live it up, man !” I sure am living it up, in a luxury hotel, eating the best meals tomorrow I intend to go for a swim to that would be refreshing. I feel lucky and alive again, it is the city and I have something to do finally, we are doing a skit directed by my mate Manish. He has enough equipment to create a nice skit and shoot on Croma. We are doing something called Lift Kara De, its. A scene inside a lift looked funny but one never knows its the scene we created or the dope. Nice to be with people though, you need people. Delhi I feel very lonely at times, in Mumbai I felt alive. Emails putting my posters and doing book marketing with restaurants, sending my portfolio or just getting by e-books and other reviews out, I feel occupied the entire day, my writing is very therapeutic and I enjoy it immensely. I get castigated by my fellow actors for the infuriating habit I have developed of chewing Paan Parag, most of my crew hates it and I am trying to cut it out altogether since I am getting blisters and rashes on my lips.”

The web series second song is getting to be recorded but we have a base sound bed ready, god knows when I will feel fit to record, many have complained about my slurring and a little slip I have developed in my voice. My friend Tiwari has fucked off to Benares ,” The Diwali  period no work Rajan .” It seems Mumbai will slow down the end of October till the first week of November all due to the festival season. When I was in my dark hole in Delhi, I had no clue of these things now I thankfully do. I am trying to make new friends in an old city, which still remembers me all I need now is some good work, someone to bite the bullet maybe even buys my stories from me.

It does get hot in the afternoon and Sujata and Manish are my constant companions in the city, I have also gotten used to doing my daily Riyaz with them, we make loud noises from our throats and practice re-energizing our vocal cords and the ability to throw sound. Sometimes my friend plays the sitar, on other days the guitar and at times even the trumpet, a mad man more like.

I ambush writing and rehearsing skits with Manish and also working on my second song as of now everything seems at ease. The food at the sea princess is A-plus, from Nihari Boti to tangi kabab’s and rumble roti, desserts are cakes, ras malai, Gulab Jamun and what not. I am enjoying webbing my web series web ……