Strolling through the streets of Mumbai, I heard of a song playing on an old rustic radio in a barber’s salon. The lines were- “Aey dil hai mushkil jeena yaha, zara hatke, zara bachke, yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan…” You can be sure of one thing as you take a look at this city- You are different just like all the others around you. Every person you bump in to seems to be telling a tale, which can be as familiar as yours.
With millions of faces, comes millions of stories. A story of struggle, where a mother struggles to wake up in the morning to prepare her child for school and pack lunch for her husband. The struggle that one makes to catch a seat in the jammed locals, to reach at work during the peak hours. In the ladies coach one will often find that there are women who are just travelling buddies, were they tend to reserve seats for their travel companions. The enormous density of trust and understanding prevailing between them, bestows them to share their secrets with one other. This merely describes a tale of an anonymous friendship.
Walking by a beach and coming across a chaat wala who barely manages to earn Rs.1000 each day yet, bold enough to serve each customer with a smile. Often I come across people who are sitting all by themselves near the sea, with pain, anguish and regrets hovering around them, or a loving couple listening to the melodious music of the waves. The story of mere lonesome existense of an old woman, driven with poverty residing in an abandoned van, all by herself near the Juhu Beach. Life in this metro is sure not easy.
Bollywood dwells in the heart of this city. The star studded city has attracted many like a magnet. Though people are busier here than anyone else in this world, they will still manage to stand in front of Amitabh Bachchan’s bunglow for long hours, anticipating for a glimpse of the star. This is a place where people have created stars.
The 2006 Mumbai train blasts sabotaged the entire city, yet its people managed to get back Mumbai on its tracks the very next day. However ruthless this city can be, it somehow manages to restore the faith with the advent of the dawn. This financial hub of the country is where struggle, victory, pain, happiness reside in its core. This is a city of dreams which has been luring people in to its heart. An untold tale where thousands flock here but are taken away by the poverty and only a few manage to make it to the top. Just like the two sides of a coin, Mumbai has its two sides, where on the other facet resides the gleaming glory of the abundant, unfamiliar with the dark side of this city.
This is the city which has a glorious past, a city where dreams are converted in to reality, a city where one will go out of his way to show you directions when lost, a city where lending 5 bucks to a poor is much more difficult than doing a Rs.100 charity in a temple. A middle-aged couple in my neighbourhood did manage to find love in this hustle and bustle of the metropolitan life, thereby shredding the age old superstitious belief and living their own way of life in a live-in relationship. This is the small instance that Mumbai has indeed grown a lot over these years, where people have come to accept in terms of reality.
We Mumbaikars of different religion, different culture, different economic backdrops have come together as one to build this city of passion and glory, called ‘Mumbai’.This is the story yet to be told of a place where one can manage an entire day with 20 bucks in his pocket. Be it rich or poor, Mumbai caters to all. After all there comes the famous line- “Yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan.” Unveil the classic story of Mumbai with many tips and turns, it will be a rollercoaster ride you would be familiar with. Revealing its retro and yet contemporary look, call it a day off and visit this fascinating city, the exploration of which you would fall short of a lifetime. What is your story…?
– Urvashi Shah
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