Mumbai Meri Jaan
Almost a year away from aamchi Mumbai for the first time in my life. I miss my city... I miss Mumbai’s humid air that feels so familiar, Mumbai rains! I miss travelling in the local trains, metro, Bombay Times, Mumbai Mirror, Marine Lines, Juhu, Churchgate, Dadar, Bandra, the sea link, Borivali, National Park, Abhinav Nagar, Home!
I remember my first local train solo travel where I boarded train for Virar while heading to Goregaon :P How I learnt my lessons! And specifically in this case, checking the indicators :D Remember being caught at Dadar Central with a ticket of Western Railways. The kind TC let me go once I shed a tear or two (it was an honest mistake):P. But most of all I miss standing on the door of an almost empty compartment (need to travel at odd hours or bunk a few classes to experience that in Mumbai), feeling the wind in the hair, ahh freedom, peace!
I miss the street side shopping at Colaba, Dadar, the latest in trend brand shopping in the huge malls Oberoi, Infinity, even Inorbit. The street side food as well as the food in the cafes, fine dines, ever so tasty cakes of Merwans, everything is so yummy! Pav bhaji, Sev puri, vada pav, tawa pulav, sitting on the beach having baraf ka gola! I miss Mumbai’s Ganesh chaturathi where each colony makes really nice Ganesh mandaps (sometimes they enact a mythological story too), Dahi handi, Holi, Sankranti, Diwali, all the festivals. But most of all I miss The People.
I have never seen people cooler than the people of Mumbai. There is a certain belongingness the people there have for each other. The overcrowded local trains with people holding on to each other, making sure no one falls. People juggling their seats to make sure no one is standing for long. That is Mumbai! The city is getting so over-crowded because once you have lived in Mumbai for a year, no other city will be good enough! It just encompasses each and everyone.
The city that has survived the toughest battles, natural or man made and stood back stronger each time. I remember walking home 10kms in heavy rains with strangers helping me as the locals stopped on 26th July; merely escaping the blasts at Borivali, being scared to step outside my home after 26/11. We were all scared for a while, yes, but it couldn’t hold us down longer. With each blow, the unity amongst the people kept increasing.
I am really a proud Mumbaikar! That city taught me independence, humility, courage, survival in the toughest conditions, dealing with so many different types of people, friendships. Yes the language is a bit tapori, there is no fake respect in the language but there is respect and belongingness in the hearts. Mumbaikars have the least pretence. The most pure hearted souls I met are from Mumbai.
It is impossible to wrap the spirit of Mumbai in a few paras but let me stop here. To sum up my love for the city, I have tears when I see Mumbai as my flight is landing as well as when I bid it bye, till we meet again and my flight departs. When I love Mumbai so much, what am I doing in Bangalore? I really don’t know, maybe wanted to make an identity outside my city, outside my comfort zone or maybe I had just lost it :P Anyways I was and will always remain a Mumbai chi mulgi at heart, hoping to see you soon Mumbai!!
