I'm here at R-City Mall, Ghatkopar. It's 10:48 AM. Here, it feels like 5 AM. Hardly any people apart from the staff.
Im the first customer in the food court. After being nayed at four or five kiosks, I finally get coffee at 'Malgudi - Simply South.' They have a decent menu - chettinad, neer dosa, parotta, appam, etc. (apart from the usual idli-dosha items); authentic south Indian breakfast and meal delicacies. I'm given my coffee in a green, banana leaf imprinted paper cup and two tissues (for Rs. 40 - ouch!). And I am sipping this coffee and writing this post.
It is 10:58 AM and 20 more have entered the food court. These are families and couples. I don't see any loners like me. The bustle has begun :)
What prompted me to write was the quietness of the place when I had entered it. The staff were busy in their chores readying the mall for its busy day (today is Sunday!) - cleaning, taking up their guard positions, readying counters for serving and some even sipping their first cuppa in plastic disposable cups (I would have preferred that!).
I like the morning bustle, when the day prepares itself for the day. It is interesting to watch the beginnings. People are fresh, bathed, groomed; their eyes are bright even if slightly betraying the fading touches of sleep. The rhythm has begun. Nothing has happened yet to mar it or alter it in any way. I am reminded of the morning shots in movies, the 80s Malayali movies. The first shot shows the rising sun or luxuriously spread, green rice fields or birds chirping in the trees or butterflies fidgeting around plants or gorgeous monochromatics at the sandy river bank. The second shot would pan from bottom to top and still at the house - a small, neat structure, a modern bungalow or a sprawling ancestral building (taravadu), depending on the social rank of the characters being portrayed. I loved these scenes. The drama would gradually unfold from these openings. Someone would be hurt, loved, nurtured, enamoured, disillusioned, birthed or even killed in the chain of events that followed. And then would come the night. The director would indicate this through the night jar and a zoom-out shot featuring the moon and wispy, inconsequential clouds. No matter what, the house would go to sleep.
Same happens with our days, isn't it? The cycle continues. And we roll along, don't we? I roll along too. The way I rolled in the rotating rings at Essel World - clasped safely, I did complete 360° circles as the ring rolled on the ground. Whoa that was one ride!
Yet, it is nice to step out of the ring sometimes and simply watch. Merge with surroundings, become a non-entity, a non-identity, where no one knows me and no one bothers about me.
It is 11:32 AM. I approximate 50 people in the food court. It has become noisier with talking and clanging of plates, spoons and ladels. Crossword must have opened. I have fulfilled my duty of handing over my chetan's BOSE earphones to his colleague. They will now safely reach London and my cousin will enjoy healthy-sounding music. I must complete my whim of the bookstore visit and return home soon. Amma and to-do tasks are waiting.
One small blip
