Mumbai
– A City of Dreams
In my travels across India
during my sales trips , I have had the good fortune of observing some of the
major cities at close quarters. Each city has its own character, a way of life
and attitude of its own. Be its cultural repertoire , its vibrant night life ,
safety for its inhabitants , the way it treats the outsiders who come for a
living , its food quotient or the clean and secure environment it offers to
citizens. You could say I am biased but I still find Mumbai with highest scores
in all these indices. Being born and brought up here I have lived and breathed
this city and experienced much it has to offer. Needless to say true Mumbaikar is the only living being
even when he feels a lot of pride about his city, will not shy away from
berating his city during a heated discussion on the lack of amenities and
infrastructural bungles it faces. If in group someone says aloud that Mumbai
has gone to the dogs and its infrastructure is collapsing due to administrative
mis-management , a tru Mumbaikar will join the chorus and put out 10 more
points on why Mumbai is losing the game as compared the other famous Global /
International cities. As a tradition Mumbai has always been compared to cities
like New York due to Manhattan skyline and similar space constraint or to
London due to the red busses and for a matter of fact that it was directly
ruled by the British for a long long time than the regional rulers like the Maratha’s , Mughals or the Nizam’s of
the south. It has alsways been influenced by the British or the Portuguese who
rule before them. The Mumbaikar felt let down when its storm water drains
failed and it got compared to Venice , as its streets were flooded during 26/11
or was scarred when its heart was ripped out during the 1992 serial bomb blast
and the riots that followed during 1993. This was much before the world got its
taste of terrorism during 9/11 in New York .
Still it is a fact that the
soul of Mumbai is very resilient and every time it has been knocked down by bomb blasts or has faced the
wrath of mother nature it has always stood up and taken the punches squarely on
the chin , without complaining and making the whole Nation proud because of this
resilient nature which is at its core. This unique nature has been ingrained in
the DNA of every Mumbaikar.
Where else will you find a
city which is Cosmopolitan in nature and allowing each and every one coming to
this dream city and letting them be absorbed in its bosom and be treated at par
. Be it the local neighbourhood sabjiwallah
who has left his native some where in
Bihar or UP and travelled all the way to this maxim city to earn a
livelihood. Or the Lambadi families
migrated from Rajashthan and earning
a living working as manual laborers at construction sites Or the North eastern
girls and boys working in hotels or hospitality businesses Or the well educated
and hardworking Keralite women working as care givers in its many a Hospitals
as nurses. This city has always given a safe and secure place to all those who
want to make this city their Karmabhoomi
and make it big by living out their dreams.
Another aspect of Mumbai and
which is the most taken for granted and often verbally abused is the travel
infrastructure built over centuries. Starting from the Railways which the British built starting from VT (Victoria
Terminus and now renamed as Chatrapati Shivaji terminus ) to Thane or the
highly unionized Kaali Peeli’s or Taxi’s
and the Rickshaws which scurry around like rats ,moving through most traffic snarls
and then there are the BEST buses
modeled on the Red Bus in London. I still remember hurrying up the stairs
of the big Double Decker bus and
fight our way through the crowd to catch the seat right at the front on the
upper deck . Looking out and enjoying the City view. Or during monsoon days
taking the bus route winding down the Marine Drive enjoying the splashing of
the waves of the big pontoons. You may curse the Taxi drivers or the Auto
wallah but where else will you be able to hail a cab or that odd Auto in the
middle of the night or at crack of dawn on a silent street or that creepy
-eerie street with just a wave of your hand . You could thank your stars that
you live in a city which never sleeps and never let you go hungry even if its 4
o’clock in the morning and you want to grab a bite. You will always find some
place open serving you a hot pav bhajji – Mumbais very own all time favourite
fast food or that garma garam Vada pav
with that spicy garlic chatni or even a yummy and lip smacking Unda Burji Pav right across a busy
railway station and fill your stomach with food and your heart with that
special warmth.
Mumbai has a unique magnet –The Bollywood home of the arc lights
and all that glamour and jazz that attracts people from far and wide to come
here and try their luck at striking gold in the Film Industry as it is called.
So you will find young boys and girls from Delhi , Himachal , Punjab trying to
grab the attention of the event
promoters , ad producers , photographer to get a toe hold in the film line with
a wee bit roles or ad campaigns. You will find these young crowd hanging around
the Café’s in Juhu trying desparately to
catch the attention of these connect people. Though most of them have a lot to
struggle before they get a meaningful break , there are stories of a certain a
lad from Bhuleshwar who turned into India’s first Superstart – Rajesh Khanna or
a certain Jaikishan Shrof a guju tall lanky boy staying in Teen Bati area
striking gold when found by Subhash Ghai and turned into a overnight sensation
of Jackie Shroff or in recent times a young kid from Delhi doing VJ jobs on
Television becoming the new heartthrob “Ayuushman Khurana”.
This city has also given wings
to person of business acumen and turned petrol pump atttendants to Muliti
Milllion Dollar Industriallist like the one and only Dhirubhai Ambani. Or even
the lad from UP but a IIT –IIM graduate going by the name of Dheeraj Gupta turn
a simple Vad Pav into a franchise chain business like the McDonalds – our very
own Jumbo Vada Pav. This city has nurtured talents like Sachin Tendulkar’s and
now the current crop of cricketers like Abhishekh Nayar or the copy book
batsmen like Ajinkya Rahane.
Though the city is congested
and at times it feels claustrophobics moving around town , it still has a
vibrant Arts and Cultural ethos. In South Mumbai you have the Art District around Jahangir Art Gallery
and National Gallery of Modern Art just
across the famous Chatrapati Shivaji
Sanghrahalay or the Cities Mueseum which is host to a lot of historical
artifacts. Every year during February there is the Kala Ghoda festival where there are lot of contemporary
performances by musicians and artist coupled with lot of food stalls on the
streets of Fort area from Jahangir Art gallery right upto The iconic Gateway of
India. During the 10 days the city folks enjoy the experience of walking this
art district and have fun.
This city also plays host to
innumerable classical singing program like the Pandit Wamanrao Sadolikar Sangeet Samelan arranged and hosted by
the famous Jaipur Atroli gharana singer and his daughter Shruti Sadolikar Katkar . This is open to music lovers and hosted at
the Shanmukhanand Hall in Matunga –King
Circle. This hall has been a hub of activities to promote musical and
especially the classical singing talent. Many a stalwarts like Pandit Jasraj , Late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi ,
Pt. Shivkumar Sharma (Santoor maestro) , Pt. Amjad Ali Khan (Sarod Maestro) and
Pt.Hari Prasad Chaurasia (Flute maestro) have performed and keep performing
here to mesmerize the listener’s and take them on a musical journey which out
of this world.
So next you are calling names
to our Mumbai city and are cribbing about issues step back for a while and
think how great this city has been how it has evolved over time .And why did I
choose this topic , I want all my readers to exercise their franchise on
Tuesday Feb 21st of voting for the Municipal Council election ,
which may seem very trivial but remember to vote for those who have delivered
on the promises and made this city a little better place to live …..Do take
part in electing the right candidates , those that can carry on the development
, take care of the special ethos or the
character of the city and maintain the cultural diversity. Let this city of Mumbai always be the city of dream fulfilment, a city
with never say die attitude and a city that never sleeps….
Proud
to be a Mumbaikar……
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