Idle Musings : What Makes Mumbai… Meri Jaan*…/ thoughts on a windy, rainy weekend evening
I am in awe of Mumbai. Even after more than 20 years of living in this city. I look at her with the dedication and vigor of a teenager in his first love. Intensely and completely.
I am born in Kolkata in the last century. Educated and brought up in that city, as well. I have travelled practically half of the globe. Been to the cities like London, New York, Prague, Sofia, Budapest, Dubai, Abuja, Hong Kong, Singapore et al. Yet, to me, Mumbai is the best with all her imperfections. The way she handles everyday chaos and ambiguity is mind boggling. Most of the international cities I have visited would crumble under pressure to manage such population density, infrastructural dichotomy, economic disparity and socio-religious-cultural complexities. Mumbai teaches you a lot about life. She teaches you to be humble. To be meritocratic. To value your commitment. To value time. To be accommodating. To be giving. To value yourself and others.
Every time it rains in Mumbai, the city mostly gets flooded. I wonder all the time if the city is becoming a necropolis. If it would crumble and come to a standstill. Yet, I always witnessed the huge power of human spirit that pulls the city out of the rut. The next day of the deluge is a not a rainy day – holiday - here. The city is back to work. Even when there is a three-day cyclonic weather warning, people don’t absent from work. On a nine-day Navratri festival, the city works during the day and celebrates all-through the night. Same holds true for Ganapati festival. It is not a week-long absolute closure of work, year after year, that takes place in Kolkata during Durga-Puja.
The lifeline of Mumbai, her local trains, are personification of her preeminence. Once you see these trains operate vis-à-vis rest of the country, you are bound to be convinced that efficiency is still possible in India. Once you witnessed the patterns as well as the homogenous and synchronized behaviour of the massive human waves of the daily commuters at Mumbai’s CST, Churchgate, Dadar and Andheri railway stations, you will understand, without prejudice, why Mumbai, even though it is one among world’s most densely populated cities, (in fact, the dubious second after Dhaka), is able to still generate so much wealth for India. Because, it inculcates the sense of precision, focus, punctuality and delivery. No quarrel for space. No divide. No aggressive overtures but accommodation and reciprocity. To live and let live. To work as a team.
Presently, India is trying to recalibrate herself across all aspects of the society; from economics and politics to media and culture. Growing mobile and wireless connectivity, elevated online trading and e-commerce, mall and multiplex mass-culture, as well as promotion of right-wing beliefs in cinema, television, and in everyday lifestyle are among the drivers for this shift. The politics of the day is more focused on religious ideologies. Yet, Mumbai as always is compassionately buzzing. Full of life.
The best thing about the city, that I have personally seen, is the spirit of bonhomie - Mumbai has an inhabitant in Colaba, a Mumbai born Malayali Roman Catholic, whose first name is of a Hindu God – “Krishna” Kumar Tennyson. There is a Mumbai born young woman in Andheri, a devout Muslim, S Rukhsar Shaikh, who worships lord Ganapati at her home during Ganesh Chaturthi and her Hindu neighbours visit her place to have ‘annaprasadam’. And, there is Yogesh Govindram Ahuja of Worli who finds solace in Wednesday evening mass in church every week. They are for real. They make the city quintessentially tolerant. And people call her ‘ Meri Jaan ‘.
We need a lot of Mumbai.
* Meri Jaan in Hindi means - My Love.
Without Prejudice: Epic Tale of a Mumbai Bar Dancer
I am born in Kolkata in the last century. Educated and brought up in that city, as well. I have travelled practically half of the globe. Been to the cities like London, New York, Prague, Sofia, Budapest, Dubai, Abuja, Hong Kong, Singapore et al. Yet, to me, Mumbai is the best with all her imperfections. The way she handles everyday chaos and ambiguity is mind boggling. Most of the international cities I have visited would crumble under pressure to manage such population density, infrastructural dichotomy, economic disparity and socio-religious-cultural complexities. Mumbai teaches you a lot about life. She teaches you to be humble. To be meritocratic. To value your commitment. To value time. To be accommodating. To be giving. To value yourself and others.
Every time it rains in Mumbai, the city mostly gets flooded. I wonder all the time if the city is becoming a necropolis. If it would crumble and come to a standstill. Yet, I always witnessed the huge power of human spirit that pulls the city out of the rut. The next day of the deluge is a not a rainy day – holiday - here. The city is back to work. Even when there is a three-day cyclonic weather warning, people don’t absent from work. On a nine-day Navratri festival, the city works during the day and celebrates all-through the night. Same holds true for Ganapati festival. It is not a week-long absolute closure of work, year after year, that takes place in Kolkata during Durga-Puja.
The lifeline of Mumbai, her local trains, are personification of her preeminence. Once you see these trains operate vis-à-vis rest of the country, you are bound to be convinced that efficiency is still possible in India. Once you witnessed the patterns as well as the homogenous and synchronized behaviour of the massive human waves of the daily commuters at Mumbai’s CST, Churchgate, Dadar and Andheri railway stations, you will understand, without prejudice, why Mumbai, even though it is one among world’s most densely populated cities, (in fact, the dubious second after Dhaka), is able to still generate so much wealth for India. Because, it inculcates the sense of precision, focus, punctuality and delivery. No quarrel for space. No divide. No aggressive overtures but accommodation and reciprocity. To live and let live. To work as a team.
Presently, India is trying to recalibrate herself across all aspects of the society; from economics and politics to media and culture. Growing mobile and wireless connectivity, elevated online trading and e-commerce, mall and multiplex mass-culture, as well as promotion of right-wing beliefs in cinema, television, and in everyday lifestyle are among the drivers for this shift. The politics of the day is more focused on religious ideologies. Yet, Mumbai as always is compassionately buzzing. Full of life.
The best thing about the city, that I have personally seen, is the spirit of bonhomie - Mumbai has an inhabitant in Colaba, a Mumbai born Malayali Roman Catholic, whose first name is of a Hindu God – “Krishna” Kumar Tennyson. There is a Mumbai born young woman in Andheri, a devout Muslim, S Rukhsar Shaikh, who worships lord Ganapati at her home during Ganesh Chaturthi and her Hindu neighbours visit her place to have ‘annaprasadam’. And, there is Yogesh Govindram Ahuja of Worli who finds solace in Wednesday evening mass in church every week. They are for real. They make the city quintessentially tolerant. And people call her ‘ Meri Jaan ‘.
We need a lot of Mumbai.
* Meri Jaan in Hindi means - My Love.
Without Prejudice: Epic Tale of a Mumbai Bar Dancer
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