URGENT HELP

Please someone post the article that Saumya has herself written in one of the Times of India supplements on the 15th of December.

She has written an article about Mumbai and Me.

Please please please moderators source it from somewhere and post it.

I want to see how she writes.

Is this the article you are looking for?

MUMBAI AND ME...

A year in the city, and an actress writes that she's home already in the city of contrasts

Saumya Tandon, S V Road

Sound, camera, action to crash-boom and Sensex , Mumbai has it all. Money, glamour and razzmatazz to sweat, blood and tears.

The landscape of contrasts screams for attention from all sides. A walk on the terrace gardens of a 16th floor penthouse with a cuppa is an overwhelming sight. The vastness of the never-ending sea cutting off, where the sea of people and slums begins. Caught in the limbo of glory and grovel are the middle class trying to balance out the insanity.

Every day is a struggle. A struggle, to snuggle in a few hours with the family, in a day full of travel and long hours at work. Can anyone run away from this reality in Mumbai? No. So how can I dare attempt to be any better or worse?

Work got me to Mumbai. And work dominates my relationship with Mumbai. I love my work and so I love Mumbai. I work hard everyday but I am seldom left with the energy to party hard after that. Sometimes when I look at the native Mumbaiites, I envy 'their unending appetite to party'. Not that I do not love to 'hang out', but somehow I haven't made lots of friends with whom I can do so in Mumbai.

Life in Mumbai has pretty much been home, shooting and home. But when I do go to an occasional party or nightclub, and if I get a good partner, then God help the floor. Dancing is my passion, my instant 'stress buster' and 'mood lifter'. And I wish I could do that, forever.

The other thing that I enjoy doing is window-shopping. Mumbai is a shopper's paradise if you know the right places. Like Bandra, Juhu Tara, and the streets of Colaba. I wish I had the time to wander around like a vagabond. I can shop, shop and shop all by myself. In fact, I think I buy the best things when I am alone.

I live with my Ma in Mumbai. She's a painter. Most of the time when I am shooting, she pretty much paints and cooks the best meals for me (my home food is quite popular on the sets). Whenever I get an off both, Ma and me, go for movies, dinners, exhibitions, some theatre or you'll find us just sitting by the sea. Bandstand and Worli Seaface are two of my favourite 'chilling out zones'.

Traffic is a killer in Mumbai, and one reason why most people censor their trips. And though I'm not able to go to the places I would like to, being on the set, shooting makes up for it. It is hard work, but with the smiles, jokes and masti thrown in, I just cannot enjoy a day without work, shooting or the crew.

I may not have been staying in Mumbai for long, but a year here feels like it's been forever. This goes on to say a lot for Mumbai. I feel I am in a relationship with the city. It talks to me, loves me, hates me, pats me, scolds me, makes me work, gives me money, makes me smile and cry at the same time. In return I have given it 100 percent love, energy and time. I only hope Mumbai will continue to reciprocate this bonding forever.

(The writer is the lead actress of tele-series, Aisa Des Hai Mera)

Hey Maha you're the most dependable moderator ever.
And Tara must admit that Saumya looks great in the snap and has written a pretty good article.