Mumbai, be my jaan?
I landed in Mumbai on Monday morning, with my friend Pallavi. Both of us came to appear for our PITs and PIs. But more significantly, Pallavi hadn't ever been to Bombay. And I was more than excited to be part of her first time.
If Chandigarh was running at the speed of a cycle rickshaw, Mumbai seemed to be the jumbo jet. People didn't have the time to stop here. In Chandigarh, by contrast, we had a lot of time. As much as I treasure being laid back, I have been restless since I was a child. A dynamic personality, perhaps? But I think I may have acclimatized myself to the pace of Chandigarh and lost my restlessness along the way. Maybe its not a bad thing. But then, every time I visit Mumbai, the beat of this city gets to me and I wonder if I can become a Mumbaikar. For some reason, it never happened when I moved to Delhi. Delhi and Mumbai are two of India's biggest metros. One is the political capital, another the financial capital.
As we were being driven through Worli Sea Face - Pallavi and I were silent. Which must have come across as a miracle had any of our co-passengers from the flight we had taken, seen us. And that's the thing. Mumbai has left me speechless. A lot of the time. Delhi, on the other hand, hasn't. Unless it was that one pretty afternoon when it rained and the Hauz Khas fort and lake looked like they couldn't ever have been prettier.
Another wonderful wonderful feeling I get here is once again related to independence. The independence to walk free from the stares of men. It's quite liberating, actually. Ever since I moved to Delhi, all I felt when I walked outside home was men seeing me with x-ray vision. It felt like an invasion of my personal space. It would feel like maybe I didn't have the right to walk about on my own. That was how extremely I felt five years ago. Now, I have unfortunately gotten used to it and am more accustomed to ignore their existence. But this is not to say that I still don't feel uncomfortable or insecure. I guess it doesn't hit me as a surprise/culture shock anymore. In Mumbai, there is a shocking absence of those stares - the good kind of shock.
Vada Pav. Daabeli. Pav Bhaaji. Mirchi bajji. Misal Pav. And more recently discovered - White Sauce Pasta, Iced Tea at Leopold's Cafe and Chocoholic and Raspberry Baked Cheesecake at Theobroma. Wowowow.
When I moved to Delhi, I did feel like I didn't fit in. As a Delhi-ite. Which was okay because I actually wasn't looking to be called a Delhi-ite - my Chandigarh loyalties run high. But over the last five years, Delhi has grown on me. And I am identified as a Delhi-ite. But it's taken time, didn't entirely feel natural. But Mumbai feels like it could be an easier transition. Perhaps because I have already lived in a big city in India.
Yesterday, as I stood in the Local, on my way back from CST to home - I looked out and the sunset! Oh so pretty! While some evenings are beautiful in Delhi, here I find every evening different and beautiful. Maybe it is because I have time to notice that stuff. Maybe I'm in a bubble that could burst a few months into moving here? I like bubbles. So I'm good for now.
While I may be a mostly South Delhi but otherwise generally Delhi kid there, I doubt I'd ever be the South Bombay kind. :) South-Indian though, I will be forevermore.
My mother is a Mumbaikar. My brother was born here. My father comes here every other week because of work. My paternal grandmother, father's older brother and his wife live here. DDLJ is still running in Maratha Mandir here. Shah Rukh Khan lives here. It is the city that sort of got me to publish my first ever blog post.
Apart from all these associations, it is a city I aspire to spend some time in to learn about life and grow up a some more.
From as far back as I can remember, I have found Mumbai magical. It's exhilarating. It's energetic. And in my mind, it stands as a symbol for independence - those of you who know me would know that I value independence highly. My entire life till now has felt like this preparation to be independent some day. My parents have always maintained that Mumbai gives one life-education and that no other city could possibly equal it. And so, I hope you can understand why I am slightly obsessed with it.
If Chandigarh was running at the speed of a cycle rickshaw, Mumbai seemed to be the jumbo jet. People didn't have the time to stop here. In Chandigarh, by contrast, we had a lot of time. As much as I treasure being laid back, I have been restless since I was a child. A dynamic personality, perhaps? But I think I may have acclimatized myself to the pace of Chandigarh and lost my restlessness along the way. Maybe its not a bad thing. But then, every time I visit Mumbai, the beat of this city gets to me and I wonder if I can become a Mumbaikar. For some reason, it never happened when I moved to Delhi. Delhi and Mumbai are two of India's biggest metros. One is the political capital, another the financial capital.
As we were being driven through Worli Sea Face - Pallavi and I were silent. Which must have come across as a miracle had any of our co-passengers from the flight we had taken, seen us. And that's the thing. Mumbai has left me speechless. A lot of the time. Delhi, on the other hand, hasn't. Unless it was that one pretty afternoon when it rained and the Hauz Khas fort and lake looked like they couldn't ever have been prettier.
Another wonderful wonderful feeling I get here is once again related to independence. The independence to walk free from the stares of men. It's quite liberating, actually. Ever since I moved to Delhi, all I felt when I walked outside home was men seeing me with x-ray vision. It felt like an invasion of my personal space. It would feel like maybe I didn't have the right to walk about on my own. That was how extremely I felt five years ago. Now, I have unfortunately gotten used to it and am more accustomed to ignore their existence. But this is not to say that I still don't feel uncomfortable or insecure. I guess it doesn't hit me as a surprise/culture shock anymore. In Mumbai, there is a shocking absence of those stares - the good kind of shock.
Vada Pav. Daabeli. Pav Bhaaji. Mirchi bajji. Misal Pav. And more recently discovered - White Sauce Pasta, Iced Tea at Leopold's Cafe and Chocoholic and Raspberry Baked Cheesecake at Theobroma. Wowowow.
When I moved to Delhi, I did feel like I didn't fit in. As a Delhi-ite. Which was okay because I actually wasn't looking to be called a Delhi-ite - my Chandigarh loyalties run high. But over the last five years, Delhi has grown on me. And I am identified as a Delhi-ite. But it's taken time, didn't entirely feel natural. But Mumbai feels like it could be an easier transition. Perhaps because I have already lived in a big city in India.
Yesterday, as I stood in the Local, on my way back from CST to home - I looked out and the sunset! Oh so pretty! While some evenings are beautiful in Delhi, here I find every evening different and beautiful. Maybe it is because I have time to notice that stuff. Maybe I'm in a bubble that could burst a few months into moving here? I like bubbles. So I'm good for now.
While I may be a mostly South Delhi but otherwise generally Delhi kid there, I doubt I'd ever be the South Bombay kind. :) South-Indian though, I will be forevermore.
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