The Bombay Diaries - Set 1 Act 1

“And that, my friends… was Bombay Diaries.
A story not just about a city,
but about all of us.

Rajesh and Sunita were just characters—
but what happened between them
is something every one of us has lived at some point.

Two months earlier, I got a call from the manager at Edible Routes saying they wanted to host a meetup for their farmlet owners and wanted me to perform some retro songs. I visited the place, checked everything out, and confirmed. And then — I don’t know how or when — while noting down the songs, an idea just spilled out. A story.

I’ve never enjoyed the idea of just singing a few songs and leaving. I’ve always wanted to perform with a theme, a motive, something that ties everything together. And suddenly, this was the perfect moment. I’ve been writing little stories and poems for a while… so as I listed the songs, a narrative formed… then characters… then scenes… and the songs started connecting the entire arc. It felt too perfect to ignore.

I pitched the rough idea to my friends first, and then to the manager. Both loved it.

Initially, I was asked to do the show alone, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to do justice to the idea that way. And I was right. During my sound engineering course, I’d made a friend — Sahil. He’s younger than me, but far more skilled on the technical side and a solid keys player. We’d already worked together on that Oreo jingle. So I asked him to join me for this performance.

We practiced like crazy. The main thing in a show like this is connection — the pauses, the timing, the smooth transitions. I kept refining the story, polishing the dialogues, shaping the characters… and honestly, the whole process was so much fun. And performing it in the end felt even better.

We were expecting around 150 people at the fest, but as always, plans shift. The crowd was smaller — but the ones who were there listened with so much peace and attention. Their compliments afterward meant a lot. My closest friends and my siblings were there too. We ended the night with dinner and laughter… it honestly couldn’t have been better for a first show.

And now, with all that energy, I already have ideas for Act 1 Set 2: “Lucknow Chalo”… and many more acts after that.