New to Mumbai: The city is all about mixture, says Varun Kommalapati

On the recommendation of people around him, Varun tried out the street food which he now loves with his favorites being paani puri and chaats. Walking along the Marine Drive particularly appeals to him and he enjoys the monsoon.

“The first time I’ve lived anywhere along the west coast of India. I’ve realised it rains a lot which I really like,” he says.

Kommalapati finds the people of the city very welcoming. “The people here are friendlier than those in most cities that I’ve visited,” he says. Before coming here, he had qualms about the place which have now been put to rest. “First, I had a negative feeling but later, I realised that the city is about mixture. Here people do not forget their culture and still head out for the latest things around the world. I find that beautiful instead of a superficial take on things,” he adds.

Not one to sit back and wait for things, Varun has created his own community on Facebook, ‘New to Mumbai’. According to him, “There aren’t a lot of socialising activities. The people who are new to the place, don’t have a proper platform to connect with each other. It’s harder to make connections with the local people due to cultural differences and to find people with the same mentality. The community would help with this.”

With the help of his friends here and some Mumbaikars, he has been able to come up with an innovative idea to get people together. “I spoke to a few people here, they gave me these routines that they follow with their friends. Now, I’m planning to create some events with limited groups or smaller communities so that people can get together and their friendships last longer.”

What he doesn’t like:

Having fallen in love with the city, the state of cleanliness and the hot and humid weather of Mumbai have been Varun’s greatest hurdles. “It takes a little getting used to. It was very hot in the beginning but now that the monsoons are here, I feel better,” he said.