There is a higher probability of me finding that lucky Gold coin in a bar of Lux soap than waking up to an alarm clock to catch the morning train. I had to board the Chennai Mumbai Express at 0650hrs and staying up all of Thursday night listening to sound rock music seemed like the perfect way to do so. It was.

Slept throughout the journey and somehow made it to Dadar station at 0630hrs on a pouring Friday morning. My last visit to Mumbai was to IITB, Powai, and I don't recall such a mad downpour then. This time I was being hosted by my sibling at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar !

In that incessant rainfall, and nestled in some sort of a lovely forest, TISS appeared to be the ideal place for a lovely vacation. The crowd on campus seemed to be a happy lot. I enjoyed my breakfast at TISS - moong, omelette, banana, coffee, bread, butter and generous dollops of mixed fruit jam. It was fun to laze around and watch the rain soak the young men and women as they headed for the morning lecture. Its been bliss not having to run for class anymore.

All that rainfall had me yearning for some dryland, and Centre One, the shopping mall at Vashi, was just the place to munch and of course, talk. By late evening, I think I had downed everything from a Subway sandwich to falooda icecream.

Blogworld caught up with us and as if all that food wasn't enough, we headed to 'Papa Pancho'. It was a nice feeling to be sitting on hard wooden dhaba-style benches with pedestal fans keeping us cool and lanterns for the lighting - all that on a busy street in Bandra.

Back at the base at midnight. And TISS was as lively as it can get. It was raining. And I liked the fact that everybody I'd been introduced to just seemed to be so happy lazing it out on the wood 'n' cane furniture outside the hostel. These Tissians see a different world studying people. Was chatting till 2AM. Talked a lot about the misery of people. And can't put any of it into print. But I now feel that doing anything out of pity is probably the worst way to serve humankind.