Mera Bombay, Aamchi Mumbai!

Which is your favorite city? Mumbai!

Where are you from? Bombay, and Ajmer!

Do you want to go back to India? Yes, to Mumbai!

What do you call the city? Mumbai or Bombay? 

I call it my city, my home.

My city has such a firm foothold in my heart that these answers are very easy! But the one question I have not yet been able to address eloquently is why. Why do I love Mumbai? One would think that reasons would come pouring out, but surprisingly, they don't. 

The real reason is so intrinsically tied to the Spirit of Mumbai, that elusive lady who wraps you in the cocoon of her charm even before you realize it. She is strong, sensuous, scandalous, surprisingly sweet, oh and she is fast! Actually, I don't think she travels at anything less than breakneck speed, and somewhere along the way she invented the "time is money" motto that rules life in her city. She gets hurt often - riots, bomb blasts, floods, shootings - but her recovery rate, like everything here, is accelerated! 

Emotions run deep in Mumbai - may they be joy, victory, festivity, or anger. Mumbai does not celebrate any festival half-heartedly, we are crazy about our Govinda, we pray and then go eat at Mohammed Ali Road during Ramadan, we love our favorite Ganpati bappa, we burn Raavan's effigy on Dussehra, we dazzle on Diwali, we adore the midnight mass on Christmas, we party to bring in the New Year, and we are awash in color on Holi! If that is not enough celebration, we also also do our Sankranti, Easter, Chaat Pooja, Hanukkah, Navroze, Rakhi, the Prithvi Theatre festival, the Kala Ghoda festival... and on it goes!

And before you tell me, yes there is Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum. Yes, the trains are crowded. Very crowded. The traffic is terrible. I also know about the potholes. Yes, sometimes not speaking Marathi can be a problem. Yes, the heat and the monsoon floods. The hawkers and the beggars. Blah blah blah.

Did I ever say it is the perfect city?

There are numerous reasons why I love Bombay, now that I think of it. The problem is, if I start listing them out (I tried), it reads like my personal Lonely Planet guide to Mumbai. That simply does not capture the friendliness of the people, nor does it capture the calm feeling of sitting by the sea with the breeze in your face, and it absolutely does not capture the whirlwind of colors and lights that decorate the city! There is this energy that sustains the city, gives it that extra zing, and pulses in every nook of this metropolis. The word on the streets is survive, and the word in the boardrooms is succeed; both often interchangeable.

I miss the trains, with hands that extend to pull you in, the aunty who grabs you tightly because she is worried that you may fall off, the "I am living an adventure" feeling when only about a fourth of you is actually in the train! I miss the freedom of being able to walk out at 2 in the night and take a rickshaw ride along the sea on Carter Road, saying a quick prayer at Mount Mary, and returning home again, perfectly safe. The bargaining sessions at Colaba Causeway and Linking Road. The revitalized feeling I get after spending an hour in my favorite Agyari. I miss eating coconut ice-cream while sitting next to a celebrity, and other similar small pleasures!

Oh, and I deeply, viciously, miss bombil fry and Joey's Pizza. 

This and more, is what I love about Mumbai!

ऐ दिल, है मुश्किल जीना यहाँ; ज़ारा हटके, ज़ारा बचके, ये है बम्बई मेरी जान!

dangers and desires, in the dark

Some conversations in the middle of a lonely night bring about more revelations than hours of chatting in the sunlight. There is something about the sinuous embrace of darkness which makes thoughts easier to share. There is an illusion of safety which allows hidden feelings to bubble up, over and out. No wonder, moon-lit nights are preferred for stealth and serenades alike!

I believe that we all are alike in our desires, deep down. Unless you are a misanthrope, we desire to meet people who are similar to us, emotionally. Oh, there is a complementary 'opposites attract' theory also. As I see it, these opposites stem from the same source, and therein lies the similarity.

'Its a dangerous thing to know someone like you (or me) is out there.'

This remark of a friend made me think how vulnerable we are to this innermost desire of finding people who 'connect' with us. I hope you are lucky enough to find such people, may they be friends, family, a teacher, or a random stranger on a train; and that you are smart enough to realize it. The bumps on the road ahead will be less bumpy thanks to all the extra support you have under your tush!

Along with the charms of such cozy links, come the dangers of being open and vulnerable to another person. It ain't easy to let go of the inhibitions, and once I let go, I expect the same from the other person. An inability to do so, is danger #1. The thought of rejection, as if the other person doesn't care, is danger #2. The painful part is, that rejections bring back all the clamps and inhibitions, multiplied. That after this cycle, I will withdraw even more into my emotional shell, is danger #3. These people are in the trusted circle, so any backlash in unexpected. This unseen danger, is my danger #4.

Now why am I gushing on about this?

I have been blessed as at each stage of my life, I have found people who I could share my innermost feelings with! Oh sure, this has backfired a couple of times, leaving painful scars. Time goes on, scars heal. New places, new people, new friends meet. Old friends call, chat and email. If you are lucky (like me!), these intrinsic connections remain.

Live, love, laugh; and life goes on!