Mumbai Matinee

By: Ajay Kaul

Narrated by: Ajay Kaul

Mumbai comes alive through its characters and incidents in this collection of interconnected short stories. Key scene sketches accompany the narrative to facilitate the listener's imagination.

Ajay doesn't know what to expect when he moves to the bustling city of Mumbai. He himself hails from North India, and the culture shock of the dynamic city takes a bit of getting used to. He's captivated though and falls in love with the colorful metropolis and its many inhabitants. In the city, he will find love, friendship, and community - but also danger and the threat of disaster. It all begins in 1993, when Ajay comes to Mumbai on a short internship assignment. He is caught in the shock wave of the 1993 serial bombings. Despite this brush with death, Ajay is determined to learn the secrets of the city.

After graduation, he comes back and finds new stories in the city's streets. Ajay meets an interfaith couple who teach him about the power of love, a local labor leader who is more than he seems, and a dynamic acting teacher who could become something more. He also suffers another close call more than a decade after the bombings. Still, for every troubling experience, there's one that pushes Ajay beyond his comfort zone and spurs him to embrace all his adopted city has to offer.

©2017 Ajay Kaul (P)2018 Ajay Kaul