Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan
Disclaimer: When I say Bombay, I mean Bombay. That's not a slip of tongue. And that's unlikely to change. Now, let's get back to the article.
With a dense humanity of tens of millions, there’s barely anybody who can claim to be somebody here. Everyone is in hurry and of all, every individual’s priority is the highest at all times. Someone in an auto, some in a bus, some on foot; everybody approaching the railway station, and they all will catch 6:23 AM Virar-fast to Churchgate (which would already be over-packed from the origin station itself)…
On the same time, there are some fortunate ones who don’t have to deal with the crammed railways at all. I leave by 8:20 from home, reach the office at 9:00 passing through one of the greenest areas of Bombay - the Aarey Dairy Township. Unless there is some unusual change in plans, I reach back home by seven in the evening, and have all the time under the sun - all to myself. For any localite, my life is lousy and slow. (Trust me, it’s not.) Probably they are jealous.
And interestingly, with hundreds of thousands issues, there is just no stopping here. There is something in it for everyone. If you observe the crowded buses and trains, students aside, everyone out there is making a small or big effort to make some livelihood. (If you can locate someone apart from these two categories, it has to be some outsider, and most likely some jobless visitor from my part of the world).
There is a stiff competition, but a great market on the same time. Everyone feels that Bombay is hers/his and s/he runs her. It’s true and valid for everyone on the same time. Shanghai or no-Shanghai, there is something about being a Bombayite. I am not sure about my future with the city, but for today at least, I am very proud to be a part of one of the most-lively-global-metro-mechanism…
How about you?