MUMBAI STAR

This weekend was most fruitful.
Saturday went to SIS, got Elvin to send SIS Progress Report to Nilesh . A tinge of strangeness crept up when we got to school. No one was around short of the cleaners and security guards and Dr Vanitha. So only the 3 of us Singaporeans were in the office. Not a single office staff was around…a strange phenomenon? Back home in Singapore, even though we also operate on a 5-day week, inevitably, there will be teachers and office staff around tending to school work! So in SIS, 5-day work week is strictly working Monday to Friday only with one catch though...Parents' Teachers' Meetings are on Sundays (as on the past 3 Sundays!)

We waited in school till a car was arranged for us to fetch us to Malad. It was a fruitful wait as I managed to clear not only my edumail but also my hotmail backlog !
The car came only at about 12pm and the 3 of us planned to have lunch at the food court at Inorbit and then to HyperCity to top up our groceries. Lunch was a superb stir-fried chicken noodles from…where else but China Pot again. Yes it was delicious…tasted like our hor-fun without the gravy… hahaha.

At lunch we decided to watch a movie. So we ended up with The Bourne Ultimatum, a Bond-type of movie..very fast moving and action-packed. Storyline was unusual. We got to know the plot somewhere in the middle of the film……Just before the start of the show, I was taken by surprise when we were asked to stand for their national Anthem and the past greats were seen singing phrases of the anthem on the screen. This reminded me of the time - as a teenager my kampong buddies and I went to the British Army barracks to watch movies and were made to stand and sing 'God Save The Queen' before the movie is shown. But this time in Mumbai there are no military police personnel to see that you are up on your feet. Yet the whole Hall stood up in respect of the national anthem. I would have expected the audience, mostly Indian nationals, to have sung along with the stars but none did. So Singaporeans, we are no different when it come to singing the national anthem in public…..stand still and keep the mouth shut! ..so much for nationalism.. hahaha.

At the supermarket, we picked our week’s supply of foodstuffs. Got my usual - fruits, bread and eggs. This time around got some tomatoes too and a packet of marinated chicken…hope to simply cook this in the oven back in the apt - quite tired of the veg meals already….Frankly I miss all the meat, fish and salad, not forgetting the family’s western which I usually prepare for my family over the weekends.
Again we treated ourselves to a sumptous dinner again at the foodcourt. This time around I had the Tandorri chicken and rice Combo…delicious spread of authentic chicken curry and a huge piece of tandorri chicken breast all for Rs155 (S$6)…great meal indeed!
Today was our group outing to Lonavala at Khandala, about 2hours by car from Mumbai. Again, I must thank our great Chairman and CEO of SIS, Mumbai, Mr Nilesh, for his kind and wonderful hospitality which words cannot describe. On Friday while waiting for the car to go home, I met Nilesh and asked him if we could visit Lonavala the next day as the resort was highly recommended by our teacher friends here. Not only did Nilesh suggested that we go on Sunday but he also got Sukrithi, our HR Manager, to make the necessary arrangements for us. If this is not kindest to the hilt, I really don’t know what is when not only a beautiful 7-seater MPV came to pick us up, we even had 2 escorts (Siddarth was one of them) as well !! Wait, there is more! At the toll booths and service posts for refreshments, our escorts refused to allow us to pay for the charges, saying that all have been taken care of and just to enjoy ourselves. This must be Nilesh’s magnanimous spirit again. I salute you, Nilesh, sir. We, Singaporeans can never thank you enough for this wonderful hospitality and generousity. Although we were supposed to start at 6am to beat morning traffic the 7am arrival was instantly forgiven.
The drive north-westwards of Mumbai was an eye-opener. There are clean and wide highways here lined with greenery in Mumbai! Also there are beautiful apartment buildings and condos set in clusters, similar to our HDB estates. Had thought the whole of Mumbai was like what I have seen so far…unfinished highways strewn with gravel, pot-holes everywhere and slums lining the streets. So SIS is situated in the poor part of Mumbai! No wonder the students commute to and from school specially arranged MPVs each school day. They are from these rich areas I suppose.
The drive up to the hill resort seems like a drive up Genting Highlands in KL. The air is cool and fresh and you can see clear skies with clouds rolling by. However, the place is poorly maintainedwith rubbish strewn indiscriminately by the mainly local population, whom I heard throng the resort during weekends. Lots of photos were taken. Lunch was at a typical Indian restaurant. We had the usual chinese noodles, fried rice which tasted similar to the ones we had at the Inorbit food court and chicken tikka….simply delicious curry stuff downed with naan! On the way down, we stopped at Tiger Hill, a huge open look-out area where families, friends and loving couples gather for a picnic. There were camel rides for kiddies and adults alike. Yes, Elvin took the ride !
The ride back to Mumbai was quiet for obvious reasons. All of us were flat tired and were to be in dreamland while our great driver, Tiwari, negotiated the roads with aplomb and speed.. It was indeed a most relaxing and stress-free day for 3 Singaporean teachers accompanied by 2 SIS ancillary boarding staff and one driver, whose driving skill is simply just out of this world!