Mumbai Meri Jaan

I saw this picture first time in 2005 when Mumbai faced a kind of flooding due to torrential rains, a nightmare that caught the city totally unawares. Like lakhs of Mumbaikars I was caught in the rain too, but safe and sound, and well cared for in the Police Training School where I was in the middle of a training. Because the school was at a height, and because there was no TV in the School, we did not realize the enormity of the situation (an enormity which strikes only once you ‘see’ some things or ‘experience’ things first hand), despite the various wireless messages which went on throughout the night. Early next morning when we did venture out to gauge the damage the sight that beheld us is etched in memory. Deserted cars, dead bodies, washed out roads. It was only late that day that I had reached back home. And everyone everywhere had a story to tell – either horror ones of how some people sat in cars, with windows rolled up, waiting for the waters to reside and dying of suffocation. Or tales of compassion, of people walking for miles, making new friends, being served snacks and water by unknown people, the angels in human form.

The next morning when I glanced through the papers this was the picture that jumped out from Asian Age. A picture that to me signifies what Bombay truly is. This guy was from a slum in the suburbs, who managed to salvage the mode of his livelihood and survive and SMILE.

That is the spirit of Mumbai I guess, it is a survivor. That is how I remember my most favourite city in the world. It has space for everyone, despite propaganda by right wing parties. If you have an idea and if you are willing to slog, Mumbai will rarely let you down. As I prepare to move into its rival city, Delhi, with unmatched tales of horror (which only a Mumbaikar can narrate), my mind is at ease. I am looking forward to an interesting and unique experience, and many more stories to tell. Despite my own qualms about the city, mostly from heresay, I am more than willing to set aside my reservations and let the city surprise me. Much like an enemy country, more than a decade ago, enthralled me so much that I had slowly and gradually fallen in love with it.

Though my heart will always beat for Mumbai – Meri Jaan :D