Six Months? That's all?

Its always nice when you meet other Phoreign Returns, especially if they're offset from you by a year or so. I met SP at a nice restaurant's birthday celebration in south Mumbai (turned out to be a bit of a socialite page 3 bash). It turns out he was separated from me by just a couple of degrees, my aunt funnily enough. But there you had it, enough social maal with which to start a conversation. Then the familiarity of experience; he returned from the states a year ago, and is setting up as a freelancer here, generally went there for the education and a bit of work, bounced around educational institutions for a while. Sounded like I was talking to me.

Oh and best of all, he's a guy, a dude, a homie. Haven't really found any of those - whatsoever. (Always happens in a new place with me. First I go out and meet all the girls, get involved and spend all sorts of time hanging out with the girls - then of course, it gets complicated, and then whatever the relationship is beyond that, they're girls. Where do I meet the guys, I mean really, having dudes around, to watch the cricket, pizza, beer, generally hang out and be dumbasses together is an important part of any guys social life.

But in the conversation, going on about what was good and not good about being back, I realised something. He came from Bombay, original Mumbaikar, he comes back after four years, and all his friends old acquaintances have moved on, up, out, away and generally are gone. It takes him a year and a bit to make new friends settle back in, have a social network.

- How long have you been back?
- Six Months.
I said to him, realising that for myself for the first time.

- Ah, well it'll take you some time.
It'll take me some time.

That's when it hit me, I've ONLY been here for six months. It took me a year, two even, in London before things got going with my social life. Before I felt, embedded in there. Six months? That's nothing in a new city. Ah, new realization. NEW city. Mumbai, is a new city, so, I may have people I know, and things that are familiar, but its new. Its not the same place.

Its like a sugarcane plant coming back to the field he grew up in 4 years later and seeing it all turned over and ploughed and watching little stalks of rice push up through the soil. Sure, the big old tree is there in the corner of the field, he's seen crops come and go, but sugarcane relating to paddy? No old familiar roots?

Mumbai, is a new city - I'm finding out about it now. There's time. There's plenty of time.