When a city becomes an emotion.

Tales of India’s unique and fast-paced city by a die-hard fan

Let me tell you a bit about my city. Bombay. Or as we know it now, Mumbai. In India. The economical capital, the capital of the film industry, and the richest businessmen and stars in India. And if you haven’t heard already, die-hard citizens of this city swear by the quote, ‘Bombay is not a city. It is an emotion’.

Every year the city in the news for creaking infrastructure, or people trudging across the knee-deep water-logged roads. It also makes news for Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi, or for the dense population that will make you wonder, how is there any oxygen left, to breathe?

And it is this contrast, of the rich and the poor, that makes Bombay so special. I have grown up in this city and I hold it close to my heart. It’s not the place so much, as it is the people.

Growing up in this amazingly energetic city taught me a few life lessons. And I’d love to share those with you:

1. Space — is not in our homes, it’s in our hearts: Our homes are match-box sized. They may be costing in billions but they are tiny. A huge palatial home is a luxury only the who’s who can afford it. For the rest of us, it’s simply the 600 sq.ft places we call our home. And it is within this home, that we are taught to warmly accommodate and invite guests, friends, and family. When you come home, you will be surprised to see how space is created, out of nowhere, just for you.
2. Time is precious: We pride in getting everywhere on time. Despite the traffic, despite the rains and despite there being a deadly crowd in our trains. The crowd is so dense, that all you have to do, is just stand in the middle of it, to get in and out of the train. The force, by law, will do its job. We are always on the move, and time-management is something most of us are adept at.
3. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder: At first glance, the city is a mess. Grey mess. Tall buildings, potholed roads, barely any greens, slums on either side. And not to mention the endless tail of traffic that haunts most of us. And yet when it rains, this grey dull city turns beautiful with the makeover given by the clouds! Everything normal around you looks crazily beautiful. If you are in those 30 storied buildings, you will marvel at the red dots of traffic stretching for kilometres underneath and the rains making it look magical and artistic. When you are stuck in that jam, you will be forced to find beauty in watching two unknown people share an umbrella or an auto driver trying to protect his passengers from the rain while he takes the full force of the water.
4. We mind our own business: Seriously! We do! No one judges you by how you dress, by what you eat, by where you stay. At work, you are only judged by your work. When you travel, you will encounter occasional kindness from a stranger. In the form of a seat in the train or sometimes, offering a pack of biscuits as a courtesy. The rich diamond merchant and the poor beggar, stand side by side and share a smile when they travel in the train. It’s an irony that will greet you, everywhere.
5. The sea is our balm: There is a quote which goes by, ‘There is nothing that can’t be solved by salt. Tears, sweat, and the sea’. And Mumbai’s skyline by the Arabian sea breathes magic into the city. Tons of us drag ourselves to the most famous promenade and once, Instagram India’s most photographed place, Marine Drive. We sit, sometimes to romance, at other times to drink a hot cup of tea in the rains. We stretch ourselves over the promenade, staring at the vast expanse of the sea, watching it’s waves crash over the rocks, watching a motley of people, some rich, some poor, some families, some alone, some old, some young, breathing and living their share of life and freedom or washing away their sorrows, by just looking at the sea.
6. Street food is good immunity: No matter where you come from, which strata or which place, street food is our first love. We justify eating it by saying it improves our immunity :). We have our share of street cuisine, like Pav Bhaji, Vada Pav, Bhel Puri, and more which we cannot live without! We also have every cuisine imaginable, international or national. So that way, we have a world of cuisines in this cramped up city.
7. Nothing shakes us: Mumbai is known for its spirit. Exaggerated at times, but true mostly. We bounced back with grace after the terror attack of 2008, we survived the devastating floods and the stories of how we stepped out to help each other, are told even today. In COVID, we came forward to donate for those street vendors who died and who had served us amazing food for years together. Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi is a WHO (World Health Organization) case study on how a slum of approx. 7 lac people have brought the spread of virus under severe control. And it is this very Dharavi from which 149 people have stepped out to donate plasma for the benefit of others.
8. We are honest: Countless stories of cab drivers and auto drivers returning valuables are hallmarks of this city. The system here may be flawed, but it is sincere. From the bus conductor who waits for the girl alighting at a lonely stop to get an auto, to a cab driver who ensures a drunk sleeping girl in his cab reaches home safe, Mumbai is why we saunter around till 4 AM without the blink of an eyelid.

I am away from my city, for 4 months now. And desperately waiting for COVID to end so that I can go back and feel the spirit in me again. For the fast pace that the city has been used to, COVID has been a nasty blow for everyone. It’s a physical challenge more than anything else. And still, we fight. As is the case in every other city across the world.

I invite you to come to see my city — when normalcy returns :) And do write to me about the recommendations on stay, food, etc. Mumbai might disappoint you. Bombay never will :)