Coming to Mumbai from a smaller town is like going to a discotheque just after having had a candlelight dinner. In a way, you feel exited by the pace and the beats, but at the same time, you badly miss the simplicity and the soberness. When I came to Mumbai, a few weeks ago, I felt like a toddler lost on one of its busy railway stations. I could see some people sit snoozing- dead to the outside world, while some who could not get seats stand irritably glancing at their watches from time to time. Some happy, some sad. Some anxious about the future, some struggling with their present, while some fidgeting with their past. This kept me wondering why everybody was constantly running on the track of time.
Frankly, I find all the run and haste entirely too pointless. This place is a home to 100 million people, a huge population, and yet, amidst the crowd, each one of them is alone, lost in his or her own world of illusions, ridiculously counting happiness on money. When you come to this city, you realize one thing-here, you are not the centre of anyone’s universe, you have to create your own universe, you have to be its circumcentre and you have to make people revolve around you.
The more I think I’ve understood this place, its people, the more it makes me realize I am so ignorant. It’s impossible to know or even see this place completely. And far more impossible is to understand its people; their pointless run after a so-called happiness. A strange thing about this place is that it is a land of extremes. Here, you find Richie spendthrifts spending their Dad’s money endlessly in places like CCDs and MOCHAs, and a few miles down, you see malnutritioned beggars having not a morsel to eat. Right from the pious Muslim ladies, clad in burqhas, to those who spend grands on clothes that cover virtually nothing, all travel in the same compartment of the local train.
I can keep ranting endlessly on this city and its pulsating lifestyles, but now I guess I should wind up. But one more thing before that, while in Mumbai, I ma feeling like I am living in a world of pretensions with nobody around, true-to-the-core. I wonder how much a politically incorrect, unpretentious like me is going to get out of this place!
- KETKI
Frankly, I find all the run and haste entirely too pointless. This place is a home to 100 million people, a huge population, and yet, amidst the crowd, each one of them is alone, lost in his or her own world of illusions, ridiculously counting happiness on money. When you come to this city, you realize one thing-here, you are not the centre of anyone’s universe, you have to create your own universe, you have to be its circumcentre and you have to make people revolve around you.
The more I think I’ve understood this place, its people, the more it makes me realize I am so ignorant. It’s impossible to know or even see this place completely. And far more impossible is to understand its people; their pointless run after a so-called happiness. A strange thing about this place is that it is a land of extremes. Here, you find Richie spendthrifts spending their Dad’s money endlessly in places like CCDs and MOCHAs, and a few miles down, you see malnutritioned beggars having not a morsel to eat. Right from the pious Muslim ladies, clad in burqhas, to those who spend grands on clothes that cover virtually nothing, all travel in the same compartment of the local train.
I can keep ranting endlessly on this city and its pulsating lifestyles, but now I guess I should wind up. But one more thing before that, while in Mumbai, I ma feeling like I am living in a world of pretensions with nobody around, true-to-the-core. I wonder how much a politically incorrect, unpretentious like me is going to get out of this place!
- KETKI
17 comments:
hi ketki,
yes, you are right, this is the face of Mumbai.
Oh hey!
A post on Mumbai.
I've seen two posts on Mumbai since I posted one on my blog some time ago.
It is amusing to see how similar our views are.
-PeAcE
--WiTh
---GuNs
Hi Ketki,
Welcome to Life. This is how it is, not just in Mumbai but everywhere!
:D
Vidya
hi ... nice post ... you don't need to get out of this place ... try this - whenever you feel out of place, just detach yourself and keep observing as if watching a movie ... its fun
this is a place that remains a mystry to me. the place i consider as second home yet a strange place. Every time i land in this city i feel am i a stranger to this place or is this land a strange land to me. a land of opportunity that paved a way to my career life yet a place with full of mystry. just to share an incident. I used to travel from dombivili to VT in search of jobs and for walk in interview i got so bugged in 2000 june that after that i stopped wearing watches and i stopped looking the time. I made a point to myself let me not run behind time tracking it for fast train but let time be on my side to match my pace of living rather me running with the pace of two hands of a clock. i felt connected with this post and honestly ... still i love to venture bombay and i know in my life time i wont know it even one quarter yet will be like a amichi mumbaian may be being so makes one amichi mumbian
I have been to Mumbai 3-4 times for very short duration and loved every thing about Mumbai.Especially to see how lively the lifestyle was.Saw women getting dressed ,doing puja,,cutting vegetables while going back home in the local trains.
I came to Mumbai in 2000 and infact in the begining was totally unawed by the so called mumbai ambience ... but it did sink in ... every thing that u said was so starkingly evident .... u wld also have realised that u hardly spk to ur neighbors ... everyone around u is as alien as close to you .... for my part I slowly felt in love with the city ... I live in HK now but I am still in awe and am just craving to return .... there's a sense with mumbai thats unparalled ...
alok
You seemed to have moved to Mumbai recently and looks like u r not getting a fair deal from this city. Give it a lil more time, you'll fall in love wid Mumbai.
I did.
This def happens moving from small town to a big town, where life moves faster than time. The whirlpool of mumbai lifestyle can drag one into it and only to realise few yr down the lane the difference . All the best and thanks for dropping by my blog.
the analogy in the first line is kinda real interesting!!
:) great post!
good one di,I liked it very much
-sush d kul
Mumbai, a place of Dreams, is what people call..
well, i been to mumbai once and thats when i was too small..
But yes, its a place where you have keep running..
Hope, you had a great time there..
Nicely written about this beautiful city...that is the way our metro's are today. Life just moves on here...!
on the contrary, I think mumbai is the city where you can yourself, be peaceful, be alone and yet be grounded in reality.
"Simplicity and Soberness" . . . it strikes a chord!
Hi Ketki!
Just stumbled upon your blog.. I can share your experiences with Mumbai city.
I landed in mumbai on 23rd Dec 07. and was mesmerized initially. Not to say i am not now. It's a strange city..sometimes it makes me happy sometimes sad. Read how I felt wen i came to mumbai. http://godshandwriting.blogspot.com/2008/01/akkad-bakkad-bombay-bo.html
-Krishna
Hi. A random search brought me onto your blog. Liked this article on Mumbai. I always wished I should write one on Mumbai. But after reading what you've noticed, I feel, its futile to write on it; for, the same is already noticed and written by you!
Nice blog. Liked it. :-)
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