Chronicles of a Curious Traveler Enjoy every moment, before ambition changes priorities!

"Dada, kitna time Lagega?" (Brother, how long will it take?) Gopal asked the taxi driver, after my unrelenting inquisition about our destination. Only 5 minutes back, amid wild exuberance and much excitement Kavya, Saumya, Gopal and me had rushed out of the campus with our luggage, brushing against zillions of other jubilant college students to reach for the taxi we were now sitting in.
"Kam se kam dedh ghanta lagega!" (Minimum 1 hour 30 minutes will be required!) Smiling gleefully, I looked outside the window, happy to finally get the opportunity to see this so called 'maximum city,' where dreams and demons walked hand in hand. We passed by hoards of hawkers, clusters of shops, cafe houses, bars and restaurants aligned on either side of the unending road. Gopal was busy smoking, Kavya was fast asleep and Saumya was listening to the radio. The commotion outside the taxi more than made up for the noiselessness inside it. It was 10 at night and yet nobody seemed to be asleep. Alive and bustling with people, the city din't cease to amaze me. The commotion was contagious, I was simply mesmerized by the sheer contrasting establishments from Powai to Churchgate, as we headed for our destination in the deafening silence of the night.The wonderful panorama of the Marine Drive or the 'Queen's necklace' as it was called was a prepossessing sight. With kids playing on the pavement and couples walking hand in hand unabashed by the brouhaha of the gawking eyes, made it look like a quintessential lovers paradise! The taxi driver hastily took a U-Turn and whizzed past the people sleeping on the pavements right to where we were headed. Fingers crossed, I was secretly hoping that we never reach our destination. Gopal, realizing my fervor, passed a sly smile and told me to give up. Now, Gopal and me have this thing in common, we're both ambitious.The only difference being that I'm not yet aware of the object of my passion. He is. "Dada, humari train hai!" (Brother, we have a train to catch!) Without another word, the driver accelerated as a response to that remark. I scorned at Gopal. Who by then was guffawing. I couldn't help and laughed too at the sheer incongruity of our situation. We had to catch the rest of our team members who were waiting for us at the railway station. All four of us had sneaked out to get a glimpse of this megalopolis and had purposely taken the longest possible route to the railway station.
"Pahuch gaye!" (We've reached!) said the taxi driver.