Let me explain.

Of all the places I have been to in the world (which are not many – US, UK, Malaysia, Singapore and of course, India) and of all the beautiful structures and beaches I have seen, none have given me as much satisfaction or calmness as Worli Sea Face in Mumbai. Sure, the different structures and beaches are intricate, beautiful, magical and all that. However, Mumbai is a gorgeous city and the Sea Face more so.

There is something about the Sea Face that I can’t explain. There have been innumerable occasions in the couple of years I was in Mumbai when I visited the Sea Face with palpably different moods – happy, cranky, sad, angry, joyous – but the outcome of walking away after spending some time at the Sea Face was always one – calm. Absolute calm. People tell me that water, rather, large bodies of water tend to have that effect on the mind. I disagree. Having been to multiple beaches, rocky or sand, US or Asia, I can safely claim that the assumption is not true. In fact, I have been to some beaches which have made me crankier or angrier than the opposite.

I was first introduced to the Sea Face the day I stepped in Mumbai in June 2005, the start of my corporate career. I had a MBA senior working in Mumbai who graciously invited me to put up at his place while I search for other accommodation. As fate would have it, he was put up at Worli, only a stone’s throw away from the Sea Face. When we trotted down to the Sea Face that evening, I was a bunchload of questions – Where do I stay? How will the job be? How will Mumbai treat me? etc. When we finally sat on the promenade of the Sea Face, a sense of calm swept over me after some time. The kind of calm where you just sit there and enjoy the view – no past, no future – just the present and present only. By the time we got back late night, I didn’t care for the answers to the questions I had. I was just happy being there.

Or probably, as the behavioral scientists would call, I have a bias. ‘I love Mumbai and hence love all the beaches in Mumbai’. Sure, I certainly like the Chowpaty beach or the Aksa beach for different reasons, but certainly don’t love them. Or, ‘being the first beach I visited in Mumbai, I have a bias and an attachment to it’. That being the case, I should love the first beach I visit in any city I live in. Not true. Whenever I want to think of a beach, I still imagine sitting on the parapet wall of the Sea Face, watching the sun set against the buzzing traffic in the background, waves crashing against the rocks in tune with with joggers clashing into each other. Technically, the sea face is not even a beach. I care less.

Why, I even had a dream of owning a house someday on the Sea Face.

That was 2006.

The dream still continues. I still am bloody sure that I will own a house on the Sea Face sometime in the future. The problem though is the calm might have disappeared. The much touted Bandra-Worli sea link has been opened and this link ends on the Sea Face on the Worli side. Last I heard, the Sea Face is crowded, with loads of pollution and a crap load of noise. I hope all those reports are not true. I still hope whenever I go to Mumbai, I will find the Sea Face as it was in 2006. Calm and serene. The only constant thing is change – yes I know. But there are certain things which are beyond reason and logic. This is one of them.

Here’s cheers to the Sea Face – the calmest of them all.

P.S - Totally unrelated to the blogpost, but…

Have you guys watched the rage of JK Wedding Entrance – a couple’s wedding in the US that currently has about 5 million views? If not, definitely definitely watch this. Strongly recommended. It is awesome. I just couldn’t stop smiling all the while watching the video (already married folks might feel a tad bit jealous, but thats ok!) The song in the background goes ‘It’s like I have waited my whole life for this one night’. Nothing is more apt for the song than this video.

And then, some folks come up with this. I thought I was a wee bit cynical but I am not even close. Watch this. Awesomely hilarious!