Mumbai, me, myself and I

Twelve Million Mumbaikars,

And me, myself and I;

Left with my brothers DSLR,

For my first professional try.

Thousands of sightseers,

And me, myself and I;

Look this magnificent structure,

Look at the cars on it go by.

I look at it with wonder,

It was once just a dream of someone like me and you;

In Mumbai there is this magic

Mumbai makes dreams come true!

Hundreds of tourists,

And me, myself and I;

Flock around the Gateway,

With birds flying high.

They live in the heart of a busy street,

Upon an unknown hand they perch;

It’s because they feel safe;

It’s because in Mumbai, trust is something they don’t need to search.

Many unknown faces,

And me, myself and I;

Took off to an unknown place - the Dhobi Ghat,

Not knowing where, how or why.

I clicked away to my hearts glory,

Mumbai just showed me a brand new story.

This time it was about me, 

Something I otherwise would not have seen.

It gave me confidence, it gave me belief,

Thank you Mumbai, the inspiration will forever be with me.

Theme by - Alliance Française de Bombay for the #mumbaiphotohunt

Inspiration - French song ‘Et moi, Et moi, Et moi’ by Jacques Dutronc.

Brief -

Since the theme was Me, Myself and I; I decided to take my chance on getting to know the city with just myself, my thoughts and my brothers DSLR.

I got on a train to one of the most photographed structures of the city, the Bandra Worli Sea Link. When I looked at it from the Bandra Fort, I did not see just a bridge but how ones dream become a reality. No wonder so many people migrate to Mumbai to start their career. Hence I searched for an image, asked a friend from around to get me a print out from his home and got him to hold it for me.

The sketch represents the dream on paper while the physical structure represents it coming true.

( Sketch taken from http://www.stockpicturesforeveryone.com/2011/08/sea-link-mumbai-photos-sketch.html )

Along with a print out of the sea-Link I asked him to bring one of the Gateway of India, my next stop. Though we tried again and again, I just wasn’t satisfied. I knew there was more to the place than that. I did a little recce and saw a lot of pigeon’s right in the center of the busy street. They must have known they were safe. It was beautiful to see them come along and perch for a while, and I knew they definitely knew they could trust us.

As my friend took off to work, I decided to go out of my comfort zone to an unknown place in search of a different side of Mumbai. I looked up places in Mumbai and found Dhobi Ghaat, a place I have never seen before. It was intimidating at the time but I knew it would be a good adventure. I just began clicking around and saw a man washing clothes; thought I could click it. And I could not have been happier. The outcome made me extremely happy and I believe that I have found a new level of confidence in myself and my hobby.

Instead of me realizing a new side to the city, Mumbai helped me unravel a new side to me.