If the world is termed as a maze of cultures and people
teeming to 7 billion in population, Mumbai can be termed as the epitome of such
a representation. As I rise 36000 ft up in the air on a flight to Kerala, the
Captain advised us to look outside to see a stunning view of South Bombay,
popularly called as “SoBo”. SoBo turns out to be magnificent when looked at
from ground. But it’s nothing short than mind blowing when seen from the air.
The breathtaking beauty of the city that defined Bollywood is accentuated in a
subtle way making the onlooker dream at the mystery that propels this city
forward.
Mumbai is deemed to be the 4th most populous city
in the world and the commercial capital of India. Such a description leads us
to the title. An enigma that engulfs every Mumbaikar, from the moment one lands
in the airport or gets down at the “notorious” Dadar station, regarding what
lies ahead for him or her. A world of opportunities, pitfalls, wonders and
fallacies. Mumbai drapes me personally around with such a brilliant thought
that it has become my thought for the past seven months of residing in this
metro. This city in itself beckons people to live in the midst of chaos, draped
in harmony. With the lack of care that pulls away people from interfering in each
other’s lives, the promising care with which people help you out, the vibrancy
that this city carries forward, it’s all a blur in itself.
With towering colonial architecture trading off well with the
latest high rise buildings, Mumbai has seen so much in its lifetime. From birth
of legends to attacks on it. To love stories being born to dreams coming true.
So striking are the city’s virtues that you find it revolting to decipher its
true nature while automatically falling in love with it.
A walk through the 3 km long Marine Drive or the Carter Road
Promenade, wondering on where you stand among 13 million people residing in the
city, gives you a glimpse of the city that relies on its essential chaos. Every
single visit to the seaside is such an enthralling experience that, the more
you sit facing the sea at Marine Drive, you feel your association with the city
getting all the more stronger with every passing second. With extensive
sobriquets adorning the city in all of its incredulity, I would personally
favor “The City That Never Sleeps” that brings a better NYC to India. The life
in this city gathers more momentum every day and night, cascading effects seen
from local trains to the cutting chais served, to the dabbawallas to corporates
at Nariman Point.
A cab ride from Sion to Bandra tells you the tales of a
million lives entangled in different trades of life, attached themselves to the
heart of this mega metro. Colors of life just shimmers in front of you from
slums of Dharavi to the glassy BKC to the clubbing joints at Linking Road. All this reinstates the fact that I have come
to the juncture of a billion experiences that contrasts starkly to the easy
life that many of us visualize.
Immaculate and inherently beautiful, Mumbai is a city that
lives as an engine containing the dreams and worlds of people who gears and
kick-starts it into life every day and night. Still doubtful? Well, stand for a
minute in Kurla or Dadar station only to feel yourself wondering, “Seriously, where do all these people travel
to in the dead of the night?”
Gracias,
ßąரK૯ર
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