The sunset

The sun was setting over the city of Mumbai. Maan sat on the embankment and dangled his legs over the sea. He watched how the waves reflected the red sunset and splashed against the embankment. The street lights popped on one after another in a sequence that stretched all the way from Nariman Point to Chowpatty. The night was officially announced.

It was the end of a long working day for some. It was the time for school kids to head back home with their heavy school bags full of homework. It was the time for thousands of people to board the local train at Churchgate station, squeeze their bodies into any available space and start their journey back home. The people on the train were brokers from Dalal Street, government employees, self employed businessmen, aspiring journalists, financial analysts, university students, people of every kind. Perhaps Meenakshi was on that train too. Maan bit his tongue when he realized he was thinking of her again. It was the end, wasn’t it? It was the end all right.

The sea breeze brushed against Maan’s face and rustled his hair. Carelessly, Maan ran his fingers through his hair and turned his face around to notice that Marine Drive was brimming with people. There were middle aged women pretending to do their evening walks, lovers holding hands, people walking their dogs, young joggers clad in shorts and sweaty T shirts, little kids running about. The night was never an 'end' in Mumbai. It was more like a beginning of something else. Maan smiled and took out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket. It was worn from a lot of rereading. He crumpled it into a ball and flung it into the sea. The waves leapt up and grabbed it. Maan turned around and stood on the pavement. He felt an indescribable love for the people around him, for the city of Mumbai. He began to look up to life again.