For 22 years, ever since I opened my eyes, I have lived in Pune. In this period, I have seen it bursting from a tiny , peaceful city to a bustling metropolis. I have seen it shed away its erstwhile Maharashtrian blanket and make way for a totally cosmopolitian cape. People from every corner of the globe have found solace in this bustling Metropolis situated on the Deccan Plateau. I have always loved this city for what it was and till now also lived under the belief that this is the best city in the world.
But as it so happens, every fairy tale has a villain. The main plotspoiler in this tale is a megacity called Mumbai formerly known as Bombay. Pune has always lived in the shadows of this gigantic megapolis and in my 22 years of stay in Pune, I would have made a countless trips to " Aamchi Mumbai". But never has my love for Pune been threatened.I have always come back home with the feeling," Yeah Mumbai is nice, but Pune is always Pune". Then four months ago, professional endeavours threw me right into the heart of this seamless megapolis and OMG how things changed!!
I finally understood the true feeling of "Love at first sight". Bombay (as I still like to call it) has a charm unto its own. You need to actually live here to be charmed, but once the charming occurs, there is no turning back. Firstly, Mumbai is unrealistically massive. From the southernmost tip of Colaba to the northernmost tip of Virar along the Arabian Sea, the city expands a whopping 94 kms. That is practially larger than some of the smaller states in India. And when distances run into such figures, the infrastructure needs to be top notch. And OMG, how Mumbai delivers that. The city is a potpourri of concrete wonders along every square inch of its magnanimous expanse. The arterial roads of the city ensure quick travel as they are made of the best quality concrete and are 8 lanes wide. But this quick travel is only in the wee hours of the morning. For, as is natural with a city this size, it has a massive population, resulting in clogging of these arterial behemoths.
So what are the alternatives to this conundrum? Ahh ofcourse the impeccable local train network of the city.
For a city which has earned its way to be the financial capital of the country, Time truly is Money, so the city cannot afford even a second's delay. This results in the most precise-to-the-clock Local train network which cover the length and breadth of Mumbai with an alarming penchant for puntuality. And with trains travelling literally every 2 mins on an average and that too with such stunning timeliness and at costs as low as peanuts , they remain the lifeline for this city and its people. A single journey on the local train is proof enough as to why Mumbai is such a wonderful city. The local trains are the cities great equalisers, where everyone keeps status and image aside. Everyone from the poorest guy earning the bare minimum, to the richest guy clad in the most expensive attires and gadgets of the time travel together as one force, uniting sweat and blood to keep the cogs of the economic wheel running. Ticket checkings are a rarity on these trains owing to the unimaginable volume of people using it, but still ticket counters at all stations play host to simply unrealistically huge lines.All you can do seeing this integrity is to take a bow. The most impressive sight though is when a major station arrives and around a 100 people deboard and a 100 more board the train in a matter of 45 seconds through a door barely 2 metres wide(as long as you are not in the middle of it).
Further more Mumbai is a city where you just cant covert air from either side of your alimentary canal into money. You need to work your ass out, because it is a city where hard work is appreciated. It is a city where everyone from a wadapav vendor to the top notch gliteratti are treated as equal forces churning the wheels of the economy. Effort yields maximum dividends here.Even a beggar on the street is an owner of a multimillion rupee property in one of its many suburbs. Mumbai is also literally" The City that never sleeps". You travel at anytime of the day or night, the city and its people will always be involved in some work or the other to keep themselves busy.It is like a 24/7 economic cash churner. It is also "the city of opportunities". People come here from different corners of not just the country but the globe hoping to find some opportunity and make it large( Couldnt resist the use of this phrase :P ). And Mumbai does not disappoint. Anyone with an idea and the willingness to work for it can make a name for himself here.
Mumbai is also the land of Bollywood and the gliteratti here just add to the sheen of the city at the same time contributing their measly sums to its gargantuan legacy. It is also the home of the Underworld which supposedly controls the whole world through financial and political influence.Above all Mumbai is the Land of Dreams. People dream of settling down here just as a cab driver maybe because everyone here is treated as equal. Even a man rich enough to dine at a plush upmarket restaurant everyday prefers to eat at the roadside stalls because he knows the value of money. This knowledge is owing to the fact that the money is truly hard earned here. People have contributed their sweat and blood for this. The temptation to show off your wealth is virtually absent in the city because everyone knows that if people truly begin to flaunt their assets, the battle would be never ending.It is also the only city in the country with a nightlife. While most other cities in the country have restaurants closing by 11, dining in Mumbai starts around 11. They say that you can find anything in the world in Mumbai. How true is that!!
If I continue on, the praises will never end, so let me move towards a conclusion. There will always be a million reasons why you dont like Mumbai, you may not like the crowd, the horrible traffic, the overcrowded trains, the remorseless weather, the littered beaches, the unescapable foul stench and many more but there will always be one reason why you will love it, BECAUSE IT IS MUMBAI!!!!!! And while Pune will always be like a mother whom I always love, Mumbai in this short period has become the soulmate and the wife I will always love and hope to spend my life with ( bloody Calcutta and Delhi and Lucknow tempting me into extramarital affairs :P: P)!!!!!!!!
