Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra, is the most popular and the most populous city of India. It is also the wealthiest city of India that houses the highest number of millionaires and billionaires…Located on the west coast of India, it is basically a culmination of seven islands constituting of fishing colonies till the mid-eighteenth century. Thereafter, some major road and railway projects took underway which made Mumbai a major sea port of the Arabian sea in mid-nineteenth century. It marked a new beginning in the 19th and 20th century after some major commercial and educational advancements took place during and after the British rule. As of today, it not only is the financial and commercial capital of the country and one of the top ten centers of global financial flow that is base to some of the major national and multinational corporations as well as some most important institutions like Reserve Bank of India, National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange, but also the entertainment capital of India that is base to the Hindi film industry called ‘Bollywood’ that comes second to the American film industry called ‘Hollywood’…
To my eyes, who is just a decade old in the city, Mumbai is the new age ‘KURUKSHETRA’… i.e. the land of Karmas (delivering your duties and doing your actions without much ado)… Kurukshetra is a city located in the state of Haryana having religious and historical importance. It is here where the famous Kurukshetra battle between Pandavas and Kauravas of the famous Hindu epic Mahabharata took place and where Lord Krishna preached the holy book of Bhagwad Gita to a baffled and confused Arjuna… Krishna counsels Arjuna and asks him to fulfill his warrior duty and establish Dharma i.e. the right way of living. Hence, it is exactly be-fitting to call Mumbai as the new-age Kurukshetra where Karma is performed to establish Dharma…With the majority of the population being covered by people from other cultures of India settling here for better employment opportunities (According to a report by NDTV, the Marathi speaking population of Mumbai has fallen from 52% in 1960 to 22% in 2015), this city works really hard with you to make you realise your goals. It reverberates with your dreams and inspires you day-in and day-out…
It gives you hundreds and thousands of role models not only through known and established personalities but also from your daily lives. It is an absolute inspiring experience to see your neighbours and friends who have migrated from the rest of the country, start building their businesses from scratch or landing their dream jobs after a formal education…They initially stay in small, crushed, rented 1 BHK apartments or as paying guests sharing their rooms with someone else with a similar story and eventually climb up the growth ladder after years of commitment to this extremely ‘tough’ and ‘lonely’ Mumbai life…
I say tough because it is painful…Mumbai as a city is elongated in shape and most of us migrants cannot afford a cosy home in the heart of the city i.e. South Mumbai (SoBo in short :))…It is elongated in shape because it went on increasing its area northwards to include the ever-rising population of migrants…Hence, daily travelling to and from offices is a big deal here! Majority of the population use the Mumbai locals (the local trains that connects the city across its length and breadth) which are considered as its lifeline, to travel…And wait, the locals are not easy too…they can jolt you up to numbness if you are new to the city…The Mumbai Suburban Railway is known as the busiest rapid transit system in the world and is severly over-crowded at all times at all the stations. Spread over 465 kilometres, the suburban railway operates around 2300 train services and carries more than 7.5 million commuters daily.(Source: Wikipedia) Phew! Travelling in a local is exhausting and nightmarish but with such long distances to cover everyday just to reach your office (Some strong-hearted Mumbaikars travel more than 120 kms daily to and from their offices), you have no other option…There are several other mode of transport for the weak-hearted ones ;), auto-rickshaws or cabs, BEST bus services and not to forget your own private vehicles… Haa…Ending this with a sigh of relief and re-assurance that the world is still a better place to live in 😉
Those are some pics of the dreaded over-crowded Mumbai locals 🙂
Mumbai is lonely too at times… Mostly in your initial years of struggle when you leave your loved ones at bay and come here to realise your personal dreams…Its freedom re-defined in your dictionary. You work hard and party harder and push and stretch yourself through out the day but at the end of the day when you’re done with the hustle and bustle of this maximum city, you realise you miss home…you miss home-cooked food and moreover you miss the warmth of your loved ones back home. Every vacation, every festival, you pre-book your tickets and rush back home (I mean your native place because you still havent accepted that little crunchy nutshell deprived of a full fledged kitchen and love as your own home) until that one day when you decide that you have really graduated and can get your family here forever… 🙂 Till then keep saying adieu to your apartments without any attachments every 11 months (or if you’re lucky and get it extended for another 11 months)…And then, a new locality, a new building, some new neighbours and a new home…Damn!
Mumbai has its pros and cons…but the pros are much much more than the cons and hence it is a very rewarding feeling to be a ‘Mumbaikar’ and accept ‘Aamchi Mumbai’ (meaning ‘my Mumbai’) with all your heart! One of the lowest points of living in Mumbai is its very high property rates that can go upto Rs. 1 lakh per sq. foot in one of the SoBo locations due to its crunch for space that again due to its ever rising demand. Another one I feel is its greens that has been engulfed by the cement and bricks. But there are exceptions too mostly in the suburban parts..Here’s a still from my window
My locality in one of Mumbai suburban areas… Aah! its a bliss!
Still, Mumbai is the city of dreams…It is where the real action happens…Where there is plethora of opportunities for men and women alike from all walks of life…It is here where women feel the safest (Delhi- the Capital of India records the highest number of rape cases including the very tragic Nirbhaya case- 2012 Delhi gang rape case) and work hard shoulder-to-shoulder with men to support their family incomes or achieve their personal goals.
The city talks to me and loves me un-conditionally. It asks me to work hard and persevere. It has taught me to be patient and keep the search on until I find that personal space of mine…And with all its sun-shine and super-powers that can turn lives of its people from rags to riches, Mumbai stands tall (in literal sense too ;)) and strong braving away all the political dramas and the differences of cultural diversity…So, welcome to Mumbai, the new-age Kurukshetra where battles of LIFE are won 🙂
Cuppa tea and me 