Let me describe my city so you know just why every of its citizens is proud of it. I hav travelled in its symbolic lifeline - the local trains - just like every1 else. I have roamed through
its AC malls and seen them twinkling with glittering lights and silently gliding escalators. But I have also walked through its long winding streets, some of wh
ich lead through slums. I have shopped at Shopper's Stop talking softly to their ever-present staff. But I have also haggled with vendors on Fashion Street. I have brought books at Crosswords but I have also picked up novels at Flora Fountain. I have tasted McDonald's Burgers and Pizza Hut's Pizzas but I have also relished Chowpatty's Ragda Pattice and Vada Pav.This then is my city of many paradoxes. It is so full of life and colour that you could stand at Churchgate station alone for hours doing nothing and yet you would thoroughly enjoy yourself. A maze of flyovers, highways and little bylanes, I am told that my city is just a group of islands joined together. They take tourists around the city in buses and point out the heritage buildings like Rajabai Tower & interesting places like Amitji's bungalow. But that's not Mumbai! No that's not Mumbai at all.
Mumbai is truly Mumbai when there is a strong issue that touches every1's hearts like reservations, or when it is submerged under a deluge of rainwater or even when some good-for-
nothing people try to clamp shut its surging pulse with riots and bombs. Then we all hold hands together and help in any way we can. It could be as simple as sharing tiffins with other stuck fellow passengers in a train stopped in a flood of water or as complex as helping to clear the remnants of a terrible blast. Our papers are always flooded with stories of such Good Samaritans and sometimes there are too many of them (like today when all the hospitals had to declare that the blood banks were overflowing and they needed no more blood!!)Yes, we are a city of individuals who won't care a damn if you try to trick us in helping u by dropping a bunch of papers in a crowded street. Sure, 99% you would have your pocket picked if you are a first timer here. No, our trains don't carry hi-tech security. But ofcourse you'll receive a lift if ur stranded somewhere far off on a rainy night. Certainly you can hope for help if you are lost and need directions to your destination. Yes, you can have a seat even in a crowded train if you are old or sick.
So then this is my very unique and very different city. It holds a diversity in its populace, its infrastructure and its lifestyle too! But hey, isnt that what the 'spirit of Mumbai' is all about? Mumbai certainly doesn't need a superhero (though one would be welcome!) to fight through its troubles. I'm sure proud to be a Mumbaikar! And it would do editors of leading publications a load of good to remember 26/7 and 11/7 b4 publishing the findings of weak unresearched surveys!!
Keep it up Mumbai we r proud of you. Salaam Mumbai!!
