Hello Bombay.
I will be saying this once again in about 197 hours from now - just a little over 8 days.
Is it truly the land where my destiny lies? After 23 years in my city I ventured out to Ghaziabad, to IMT, for my MBA. I had made up my mind then - that this might be the last time I get to live in Mumbai. It could have been the last time Mumbai was my home. An MBA today from a good B-school can get you a job anywhere in India and then you have to adjust to a new city.
And yet, now it seems that my destiny lies in Mumbai, at least for the immediate future. Which is both awesome, and scary to an extent.
Mumbai, I am coming.
Mumbai doesn't care really. Mumbai doesn't care about who leaves her or who enters her shores to make a living. Most of the ballyhoo about Bombay being hostile to people especially from some parts of the country is utter nonsense, and having lived all my life except about 9 months, in Bombay, I can vouch for this.
So despite the communal politics by all parties (yes, all), Mumbai remains defiant. Mumbai remains multicultural and cosmopolitan.
What is so refreshing. I shall tell a half-secret here. Any social discourse dominated by Marathi is anathema to me, though Marathi is my mother tongue. In fact, any discourse dominated by strong regional flavour of any kind is anathema to me.
Mumbai is the only city yet which has saved me from experiencing this travesty. I have deliberately avoided Marathi events, Marathi groups, et all. I have consciously done it for a decade and more and will continue to do so. But the refreshing part is that I have been able to avoid them without ever being looked upon either as an outsider or as a traitor. Something I have never found anywhere except in Bombay.
In Bombay the milieu has little time for these trifles. It is indeed a blessing for Mumbai that it is such a fast city, and a blessing in several ways. One of the ways is that it helps the city ignore trifles, ignore incidents of little practical consequence, and also ignore propoganda to a large extent. No one really has time to wait and ponder over whether the pavement dweller really belongs here or what some right wing party is bleeting about.
If a stranger walks the streets of Mumbai, she will for sure discover this ignorance in many ways and sometimes be befuddled by it. "People always seem in a hurry", says a friend who is from another city, a metro yet much slower and more laid back. Everybody in Mumbai is in a hurry to reach somewhere - many times the railway station or the office, but also to the nearest restaurant, CCD, market, PVR, or even to a stationery store! Everyone is in a mighty hurry.
In Mumbai time is counted in minutes, even seconds. Catching the 8:52 fast to CST becomes a huge concern of everyday life. People get fidgety if the train is 3 minutes late. "We have spent 25 minutes in this hotel", is a commonly acceptable refrain and 25 minutes in a hotel is a long time here if it's not Sunday evening.
And yet people find time to smile at each other, on the streets, in hotels, in pubs, in cafes, and even if you step on their feet in the overcrowded local that can be more aptly described as a human demolition derby at peak hours.
Simply because everyone understands that everyone else is also in a hurry and facing the same hurdles that everyone faces in Mumbai.
The filth in Mumbai is nearing monstrous proportions. There are swathes of land breathing in garbage and dirt. There are areas you would never wish to see again in your lives. In the monsoon this gets worse.
The Bombay monsoons are sexy nevertheless - at least from the window of your home or office, or your car. A friend said to me a few days ago in Delhi - "Oh, it's raining heavily!". You wanna see what's heavy rain? Come to Bombay. When it rains so heavily that you can't see five feet in front, that is a heavy downpour. The thrill of that downpour is something no outsider will know unless he or she keeps all biases aside.
There is no real infrastructure except the swanky office buildings. Traveling from one side of Andheri to the other is a perfect nightmare, which can take hours. The metro is being built forever - the work looks like it will be completed by the time Delhi creates infrastructure for virtual transportation. The roads are "fixed" a few months before each monsoon but develop cracks soon after. There are hardly any checks at even major railway stations - this is actually humanly impossible due to the vastness of the crowds and their frequency. And there is more.
And of course who can forget the epic crowds? EPIC. A measure should be included in the census to determine the per square metre crowding of roads in Mumbai. We would beat almost any city in the world, hands down.
And yet - Bombay is gold.
Those who have lived in pleasant, slower cities will never realize what fun it is to be in a hurry all the time. Yes, it is fun to be in a hurry. It is fun to think that 8:52 is a very important time for us. It is FUN, to fight your way into a local. It is fun to grab a vada pao at the street corner because you didn't have time to have a proper lunch!
Why is it so much fun? Because the things we do in a hurry in Bombay forever define the things we do in our lives. The things we do daily are the things we find happiness in. Mumbai forever lives on hope. Mumbai lives in anticipation of a better future that can apparently be cultivated by doing all the things we are doing in a hurry. The feeling is this - I must do XYZ right now (or on time), it will help me gain PQR (something small yet cherished).
Mumbaikars live in the moment. Some people never understand what fun it is to live in the moment, what happiness it gives. Mumbai tries to gain happiness in small steps. And it strives hard to achieve this simple happiness. Happiness and comfort are always earned in Mumbai - the city throws out anyone who bakes their bread living off others' effort and wealth.
In Bombay it is a source of great satisfaction if you don't miss that particular train, or if after a hard day's work stretching into overtime you find that vada pao or pani puri vendor still working. These may be dismissed as very small things to be happy for, but this is what makes Bombay life so beautiful and many of its people so content.
And then you have a Marine Drive, or a Bandstand, or even a Five Gardens, to spend a very measured time in the evening. The fact that you only have, say, 20 minutes which you can spend here, actually improves the experience. It's like when you have less time for recreation, you decide to enjoy every moment of it and subsequently enjoy it more. The stolen moments of recreation are moments of indescribable joy in a Mumbaikar's life. Those who put effort into their day, toil for a piece of bread, and thus experience these moments are the happiest of all. Perhaps that is why the younger people in Mumbai are so optimistic.
This daily hardship also brings about a down-to-earth and friendly attitude amongst the populace. Bombay is known for its warm people. How can people be warm and at the same time, in an amazing hurry and blind to the surrounding atmosphere? But that is how it is here. There are some rude, arrogant idiots too, but by and large the city shows great warmth to strangers.
Perhaps it is just the fact that everyone is just a dot in the many-hued yet united picture of destiny. Everyone is running a hard race and thus everyone empathizes with everyone else.
Then comes the fact that anonymity is never sought in Bombay, it is granted, even to women. "Live and let live" is practised daily here - it is not an ideal sought to be followed here - it is the way of life. Mumbai does not try its best to be liberal, to be non-interfering and tolerant - Mumbai is liberal, non-interfering and tolerant. It's not a belief - it is another taken-for-granted facet of life, almost completely ignored, thus restored to normalcy. Perhaps because we realized long ago that we could not exist and be successful without being liberal and accomodating.
Even safety is almost assured. It is very heartening to live in a city where even the womenfolk do not fear to step out alone even at midnight.
And we do not showcase any of this. The substance in every facet of life far, far exceeds the exhibition.
Bombay is a crazy success story of human will and effort. It is living proof of what can be achieved by a group of motivated human beings. It is also a place where capitalism in a raw form has succeeded beyond boundaries, albeit not universally.
And yet we hardly get the appreciation due. From the most important bank in the country, to the stock exchange, the mint, and several offices and institutions most vital to the very survival of the nation exist and thrive in Mumbai, in the crowded space, expensive space, in pollution, traffic, filth. Just consider BARC and the implications of one terror attack on BARC - a nuclear holocaust is not a far-fetched assertion! And all this is in addition to the money created every day in Mumbai - by various private and public entities - a mindboggling figure.
Bombay is a complete bhagwan-bharose city, ignored for long both by its own corrupt politicians and state goverment, as well as the Central goverment, so focused on North India and the Hindi states. It is almost entirely self-made, brought to glory by its masses, its people, who have toiled for decades, each contributing their bit to building the edifice of its glory.
India might be governed elsewhere, its English-speaking youth might be earning accolades elsewhere, its best educational institutions may lie elsewhere, but India breathes in Mumbai and due to Mumbai.
And this is why I love Mumbai so much. Mumbai, I am coming.
I will be saying this once again in about 197 hours from now - just a little over 8 days.
Is it truly the land where my destiny lies? After 23 years in my city I ventured out to Ghaziabad, to IMT, for my MBA. I had made up my mind then - that this might be the last time I get to live in Mumbai. It could have been the last time Mumbai was my home. An MBA today from a good B-school can get you a job anywhere in India and then you have to adjust to a new city.
And yet, now it seems that my destiny lies in Mumbai, at least for the immediate future. Which is both awesome, and scary to an extent.
Mumbai, I am coming.
Mumbai doesn't care really. Mumbai doesn't care about who leaves her or who enters her shores to make a living. Most of the ballyhoo about Bombay being hostile to people especially from some parts of the country is utter nonsense, and having lived all my life except about 9 months, in Bombay, I can vouch for this.
So despite the communal politics by all parties (yes, all), Mumbai remains defiant. Mumbai remains multicultural and cosmopolitan.
What is so refreshing. I shall tell a half-secret here. Any social discourse dominated by Marathi is anathema to me, though Marathi is my mother tongue. In fact, any discourse dominated by strong regional flavour of any kind is anathema to me.
Mumbai is the only city yet which has saved me from experiencing this travesty. I have deliberately avoided Marathi events, Marathi groups, et all. I have consciously done it for a decade and more and will continue to do so. But the refreshing part is that I have been able to avoid them without ever being looked upon either as an outsider or as a traitor. Something I have never found anywhere except in Bombay.
In Bombay the milieu has little time for these trifles. It is indeed a blessing for Mumbai that it is such a fast city, and a blessing in several ways. One of the ways is that it helps the city ignore trifles, ignore incidents of little practical consequence, and also ignore propoganda to a large extent. No one really has time to wait and ponder over whether the pavement dweller really belongs here or what some right wing party is bleeting about.
If a stranger walks the streets of Mumbai, she will for sure discover this ignorance in many ways and sometimes be befuddled by it. "People always seem in a hurry", says a friend who is from another city, a metro yet much slower and more laid back. Everybody in Mumbai is in a hurry to reach somewhere - many times the railway station or the office, but also to the nearest restaurant, CCD, market, PVR, or even to a stationery store! Everyone is in a mighty hurry.
In Mumbai time is counted in minutes, even seconds. Catching the 8:52 fast to CST becomes a huge concern of everyday life. People get fidgety if the train is 3 minutes late. "We have spent 25 minutes in this hotel", is a commonly acceptable refrain and 25 minutes in a hotel is a long time here if it's not Sunday evening.
And yet people find time to smile at each other, on the streets, in hotels, in pubs, in cafes, and even if you step on their feet in the overcrowded local that can be more aptly described as a human demolition derby at peak hours.
Simply because everyone understands that everyone else is also in a hurry and facing the same hurdles that everyone faces in Mumbai.
The filth in Mumbai is nearing monstrous proportions. There are swathes of land breathing in garbage and dirt. There are areas you would never wish to see again in your lives. In the monsoon this gets worse.
The Bombay monsoons are sexy nevertheless - at least from the window of your home or office, or your car. A friend said to me a few days ago in Delhi - "Oh, it's raining heavily!". You wanna see what's heavy rain? Come to Bombay. When it rains so heavily that you can't see five feet in front, that is a heavy downpour. The thrill of that downpour is something no outsider will know unless he or she keeps all biases aside.
There is no real infrastructure except the swanky office buildings. Traveling from one side of Andheri to the other is a perfect nightmare, which can take hours. The metro is being built forever - the work looks like it will be completed by the time Delhi creates infrastructure for virtual transportation. The roads are "fixed" a few months before each monsoon but develop cracks soon after. There are hardly any checks at even major railway stations - this is actually humanly impossible due to the vastness of the crowds and their frequency. And there is more.
And of course who can forget the epic crowds? EPIC. A measure should be included in the census to determine the per square metre crowding of roads in Mumbai. We would beat almost any city in the world, hands down.
And yet - Bombay is gold.
Those who have lived in pleasant, slower cities will never realize what fun it is to be in a hurry all the time. Yes, it is fun to be in a hurry. It is fun to think that 8:52 is a very important time for us. It is FUN, to fight your way into a local. It is fun to grab a vada pao at the street corner because you didn't have time to have a proper lunch!
Why is it so much fun? Because the things we do in a hurry in Bombay forever define the things we do in our lives. The things we do daily are the things we find happiness in. Mumbai forever lives on hope. Mumbai lives in anticipation of a better future that can apparently be cultivated by doing all the things we are doing in a hurry. The feeling is this - I must do XYZ right now (or on time), it will help me gain PQR (something small yet cherished).
Mumbaikars live in the moment. Some people never understand what fun it is to live in the moment, what happiness it gives. Mumbai tries to gain happiness in small steps. And it strives hard to achieve this simple happiness. Happiness and comfort are always earned in Mumbai - the city throws out anyone who bakes their bread living off others' effort and wealth.
In Bombay it is a source of great satisfaction if you don't miss that particular train, or if after a hard day's work stretching into overtime you find that vada pao or pani puri vendor still working. These may be dismissed as very small things to be happy for, but this is what makes Bombay life so beautiful and many of its people so content.
And then you have a Marine Drive, or a Bandstand, or even a Five Gardens, to spend a very measured time in the evening. The fact that you only have, say, 20 minutes which you can spend here, actually improves the experience. It's like when you have less time for recreation, you decide to enjoy every moment of it and subsequently enjoy it more. The stolen moments of recreation are moments of indescribable joy in a Mumbaikar's life. Those who put effort into their day, toil for a piece of bread, and thus experience these moments are the happiest of all. Perhaps that is why the younger people in Mumbai are so optimistic.
This daily hardship also brings about a down-to-earth and friendly attitude amongst the populace. Bombay is known for its warm people. How can people be warm and at the same time, in an amazing hurry and blind to the surrounding atmosphere? But that is how it is here. There are some rude, arrogant idiots too, but by and large the city shows great warmth to strangers.
Perhaps it is just the fact that everyone is just a dot in the many-hued yet united picture of destiny. Everyone is running a hard race and thus everyone empathizes with everyone else.
Then comes the fact that anonymity is never sought in Bombay, it is granted, even to women. "Live and let live" is practised daily here - it is not an ideal sought to be followed here - it is the way of life. Mumbai does not try its best to be liberal, to be non-interfering and tolerant - Mumbai is liberal, non-interfering and tolerant. It's not a belief - it is another taken-for-granted facet of life, almost completely ignored, thus restored to normalcy. Perhaps because we realized long ago that we could not exist and be successful without being liberal and accomodating.
Even safety is almost assured. It is very heartening to live in a city where even the womenfolk do not fear to step out alone even at midnight.
And we do not showcase any of this. The substance in every facet of life far, far exceeds the exhibition.
Bombay is a crazy success story of human will and effort. It is living proof of what can be achieved by a group of motivated human beings. It is also a place where capitalism in a raw form has succeeded beyond boundaries, albeit not universally.
And yet we hardly get the appreciation due. From the most important bank in the country, to the stock exchange, the mint, and several offices and institutions most vital to the very survival of the nation exist and thrive in Mumbai, in the crowded space, expensive space, in pollution, traffic, filth. Just consider BARC and the implications of one terror attack on BARC - a nuclear holocaust is not a far-fetched assertion! And all this is in addition to the money created every day in Mumbai - by various private and public entities - a mindboggling figure.
Bombay is a complete bhagwan-bharose city, ignored for long both by its own corrupt politicians and state goverment, as well as the Central goverment, so focused on North India and the Hindi states. It is almost entirely self-made, brought to glory by its masses, its people, who have toiled for decades, each contributing their bit to building the edifice of its glory.
India might be governed elsewhere, its English-speaking youth might be earning accolades elsewhere, its best educational institutions may lie elsewhere, but India breathes in Mumbai and due to Mumbai.
And this is why I love Mumbai so much. Mumbai, I am coming.
1 comment:
Dude i must say you live , breathe and truly love Mumbai for its pluses and minuses as well.
Worth Reading !!!
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