Time Please Life!!: Mumbai

Mumbai – Vibrant and Colourful

The city of dreams, the city that never sleeps, the financial capital, the melting pot of people, the entertainment hub, the shopper’s delight, and the foodies paradise, these are just a few things said about the bustling metropolis of Mumbai. Odes have been written, numerous movies made and dozens of songs composed with Mumbai as muse but nothing comes close to capturing the essence of this megacity. It is all of the above and much more….and nothing comes close to understanding this city than actually being there.

Throughout the journey back from Mumbai I have been trying to write about the city and words have failed me…but one thing I can safely say about Mumbai is that Mumbai is intoxicating. The characteristic buzzing energy pulsating through this city is addictive as it encapsulates you and eggs you to go on and be on the move. It is a city where the life is fast paced, the trains are jam packed, the roads are overflowing, the markets are teeming, and the people fun loving. They do not mope around; they grab life by the throat and live it to the fullest. After a hard day’s of work and travelling in congested trains, people still find time and energy to come back, dress up and head back on to the streets for a round of street food!

Though Mumbai is a charming city, it is also a tough place to survive. I struggled to keep up with its fast pace during this visit and I wondered now how I could keep up with it back then. I guess the first things the city teaches you are multitasking and time management. Here every minute counts and in fact the people make it count. The space constraint and the hard commute notwithstanding, none of the people I spoke to during my local train journeys were willing to trade their beloved city for any other place. If this is not intoxication then what is it? It is also not called the city of hope and city of dreams for nothing. It is a place where urban legends of rags to riches entice more and more people to pour in to try their luck. I know its clichéd to assume that this place is filled with the ubiquitous Bollywood aspirants but it is actually an inside joke. When people leave their homes for Mumbai to make a living, their family and friends tease them asking if they are going to Mumbai to become a “hero”. And yes the city is filled with these so called “heroes” trying to find a footing to climb up the ladder of life, the big hearted city embracing one and all as its own.

The city is also one of stark contrasts. The sight of shiny new high rises sprouting amidst squalor is quite common and it is the Antilla’s of the city that serve as a reminder that if the city favours you, you could be the next Ambani. It is a place like no other and it knows it, thrives on it and takes pride in it. It has come a long way from being a dowry for an English prince to the modern multi-faceted metropolis that it is today. It is “Ancient yet modern, fabulously rich yet achingly poor.” That is Mumbai; you just can’t say just one thing about it! J

Few photos from my Mumbai adventure J