It all started in October when I was in India for a three-week holiday. I arrived in Mumbai after a sixteen-hour overnight train. It was 6am, we couldn’t check into our hotel until 2pm and I was feral. I was sticky, I had barely slept, and I was furious that the one time we needed early check-in was the one time we didn’t get it on this tour. I was somewhere in South Mumbai at 7am, when I had a moment: “I’m going to live here one day”. It was my own voice in my own head, and I have no idea where it came from.
The thought stayed with me when I got home. The more I thought about it, the more it excited me. I am single, I have no responsibilities to anyone but myself, I am feeling unsatisfied with my life in Melbourne, I LOVE Bollywood films; why not do it? Why not move to Mumbai? Maybe my one true Bollywood love is there?
I lost my job in March. It shouldn’t have been a shock, there were so many clues! For months, I barely had enough work to fill two hours of my day. My bosses knew and didn’t care. Of the very little work I did have, it was all due to end in March. My colleagues and I were like “Ooh! Something big is going to happen in March!”. And yet, when I got that last minute meeting request from my big boss on the first working day of March, I was still shocked!
Luckily, I had already started making moves. I had been googling. I applied for jobs, creative grants and looked up rental prices. By the time I had lost my job I already had loose plans, a savings goal and contacts in Mumbai. The exact amount of money I had decided I need to save is the exact amount of money I received as my redundancy payout. A week later my ex-boss reached out, he needed someone to produce his podcast. It could be done remotely.
So here I am. In Mumbai and loving it.
There is something about the hustle and bustle here that calms me. I feel more at ease and at peace here than I do in Melbourne. Every day is different, but I still have a routine. I see something insane every single day. Everyone here is so kind. I have never made friends so easily in my life! Most of my friends are from here.
So now I have 90 days to figure out why I am here. I have three months to put myself out there, meet people, try new things. It is my job now to throw shit at the wall and see what sticks. I suspect I could be here for one of three reasons.
One: I am going to be a big Bollywood star. It is the least likely of the theories, but wouldn’t that be amazing? If I wasn’t a human, I would be a Bollywood film. Everything I am and that I love is in a Hindi movie: dance, music, colour, melodrama, love, earnestness, passion and crazy stories. This year so far has been crazy, so I live in hope that this type of crazy might happen.
Two: I am going to meet my one true love. A very likely and possible outcome. Given my dating track record, it is extremely likely that I will marry a man I meet in India.
Three: I am going to find a successful career and a happy life in India. All tension left my body when I landed in Mumbai. My Instagram is popping off and podcasting is growing rapidly here.
So, let’s see what happens. I am excited! I am terrified. I am grateful!
I will send you weekly updates to let you know how I go, and you can follow along on my Instagram. @breesteele.mp3