The BKC-Chunabhatti connector road was thrown open to the public a week ago. Like most Bombaywallahs starved of hassle-free, timely commutes to their workplaces, yours truly was also expecting the moon from this new succour of hope. And so, on the first day of last week, my dedicated kaali-peeli cabbie, as if he was headed down the US's Route 66, gleefully took me via the new road. There we were, on the other side of the river in less than three minutes. Wait a second; did I say 'river'? Well, yes, if you are willing to believe that the semi-stagnant water body that caught our eye for a few seconds was THE Mithi River. The zippy-trippy ride didn't feel so nice, after all. There were many reasons.

First up, a phantom sinus attack emerged out of nowhere. It was such a sudden, severe head spin that had it not been for a Monday morning where I was heading to work, I might have possibly taken a short detour to O Pedro for a round of their potent Portuguese wine to blank out the attack. Soon we realised that the sensation had to do with the stench that greeted us from our 'joyride' over the river moments before.