Every summer, when Mumbai empties its well-heeled contents onto airport tarmacs as veteran vacationers make a beeline for preordained holiday destinations, Arati Menon-Carroll heaves a sigh of relief, savouring each moment of being left behind

Come summer and we’re all dreaming of a saner Mumbai, thanks to the mass departure of Mumbaiites on their luxe annual escapes. It is only March and already everybody wants to know where everybody else is making a beeline to this summer. Will it be Hong Kong (popular with the nouveau riche bourgeoisie), Paris (where the loyalties of the ubiquitous Louis Vuittoned South Mumbaiites lie) or will it wind up being monotonous London (whose delights nobody seems to tire of)? Have you noticed how your holiday’s hip quotient is only enhanced by preordained destinations? If you’re headed for Namibia, Dhaka or Turkmenistan, take my word and lie. Announce that you’re headed for Milan instead. That’ll fetch you approval aplenty.

No sooner have our NRI brethren invaded, swamped, conquered and departed, then we get ready to pay them a visit. But the international airport in summer is most certainly not my cup of tea. Mothers-in-law, ayahs, 30 plus ‘young’ women, brand-new blonde highlights and monogrammed Fendis in tow; airports have never looked so frou-frou…and so completely full.

The mass exodus brightens up the cityscape instantly, and the city, that’s heaving at its seams, is finally able to take a breather and regain its sanity, albeit temporarily. Out of the blue, in the absence of the big spenders, you’re a much-wanted consumer everywhere you go. Am I the only one who’s noticed how quickly the service at restaurants, perks up over the summer? They’re all making a quick shift from wooing the omnipotent NRI to wooing little inconsequential you. The tiny weekend resorts dotting the hills beyond city limits are now available at short notice and the drive to get you there takes no time at all. The till then full to bursting nightlife is thrown off kilter and nightclubs actually look like they have breathing room and are not fire hazards waiting to explode.

Arati Menon-Carroll is almost always an enthusiastic vacationer. This summer, however, will find her firmly entrenched in Mumbai following the mass exit of manic holidaymakers. She hereby vows to undertake all annual holidays in the month of December…when the NRIs visit the city.