My childhood hometown..!! Mumbai, I Love You so much..!! I’m so glad I’m back here, maybe just for a week. But I’m back..!! That was how I thought my state of mind would be when I stepped in here. But then again, I had forgotten that I was that way when I came here 2 years ago. Now, it is so different..!! For the first few days, I had not felt anything different, apart from the package offer of heat and sweat.
Then, I came to another part of the city. Where sabji mandis, beggars, flies on food and all the stuff aam aadmi is used to was used to was present. I don’t know whether I can call it the “real city”. Maybe I can’t. Cause Mumbai is way too huge. If Dharavi is a part of Mumbai city, then so is Bandra, so is Nariman Point. So you’ve got poor and rich, both of them. But no matter how rich or poor, I had understood one thing. There was no time. No one had time for some other soul. No one had time for absolutely anything other than their routine life. Life is mechanical..!! Wake up, get ready, take a train/bus, change the train/bus if required, go to work in time, work, break only for meals, take train/bus again, change train/bus again if required, go back home, eat, sleep… back to another day. Sunday would be wake up a little later, eat comparatively better off meals, and avoid the over-crowded trains. Till today, the way people worked here, I admired it. There was every (good) emotion, every single emotion, including reverence for these people. But never did I assume there’d be contempt someday. All these days I simply adored them for their efficiency. All of a sudden, all of that was lost somewhere inside Me. Buried within a single thin layer of contempt.
I was walking on the roads with my aunt here. We went to a vegetable shop. Not like a shop. More like a vegetable vendor on the road. After we were done purchasing, I also said Thank You. And oh my! I was surprised..!! Shocked, even! The way the vendor’s face lit up. At my place, I was always used to saying Thank You to the auto rickshaw drivers, shopkeepers, etc. They were used to it. It was expected. And why not? It is necessary that we thank them for their services. But here, it was just getting your work done, and leaving. Then we went to a grocery store. We bought some soap I think… When I thanked the shopkeeper, he was mildly surprised. He gave me a HUGE smile. As though no one had ever thanked Him in his long years of service. We walked over to this fruit shop close to our house. My aunt buys fruits only from Him. She also said He knows Her. It was surprising. He didn’t show any signs of recognition. No smile at all..!! The stationery shop near my house, I don’t go to Him all the time. Yet, He knows Me. And always smiles at Me. Even if I’m not buying a thing from Him..!! And here we were, at the financial capital of India; doing over 100 rupees worth shopping. And the vendor had no smile on his face. It was shocking, to say the least. Mumbai was proving to Me over and over again that it had lost its Heart, or I guess a part of it on its way to being the “city that never sleeps” or the Financial Capital of India.
Yes, I do love this place. I do Love Mumbai… But this city is growing up. Growing at such a pace that when one stops running along with the city, and stop by, just to see what is going on with their life: Not only will they be left behind. They’ll also see that it’s a blur. The city is faster than Light. There is no Time to stop, look back and reminisce all the years of Your Life that You spent to change with Time.
Although sometimes I regret moving into a smaller city, today I was happy. Really happy that even though I had not had a lifestyle with all the possible comforts and recreation, I was at least taught that sometimes, you’ve got to stop by and thank someone. It makes their day, and even yours. No matter how busy You are, those 2 seconds of Your Life that You’ve spent thanking someone will stay with them for their Life. At least in Mumbai… I am glad I moved into a smaller city, because I didn’t want to enter a Life where everything is a blur. All You know is that You gotta run, or Your life is ruined (at least that’s how it is viewed)…
I’d like to say: Thank You Mumbai :)
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