Big City Life

Second day of induction, one of my friends told me I'd take a liking to Mumbai, and eventually start hating every breath I take in the, what he called "foul and demeaning existence" I'll begin to lead in no time.  My initial reaction was of shock, but then I laughed it off.  As I got to know him better, I attributed the bitterness to his last stint at Mumbai which ended under rather gloomy circumstances for him.  He is in Delhi now.  I am still in Mumbai.

Sixteen months hence, and probably a couple of days more, I continue with my hectic routine travelling in the local train from Churchgate to Borivali as am scribbling down these notes.  Travelers, opportunists, destitute, whoever ends up in this city has his/her own story to tell.  Some crib about the endless monsoon, others of the jam-packed local trains.  For some the concept of "Marathi Manoos" is too difficult to digest whilst others get indigestion just at the mere mention of panipuri served hot! While one generation revels in the freedom and mesmerising night-life in this city of lights, another seeks solace in the artistic bent of mind underlying the city that launched Usha Uthup and gave air to actors like Naseeruddin Shah.  I, personally, love the city.  My mom won't be very happy reading this probably, but then again she isn't really a follower of my endless ramblings.

You can either love or hate Mumbai, nothing down the middle.  I used to think that it was the fast-paced life here that probably got to people or was one of the reasons why they loved it so much.  Seems pretty counter-intuitive considering rush hour usually brings Mumbai to get down on its knees and crawl at snail's pace.  To experiment with an idea, I asked a couple of people why they hated Mumbai so much?  Yes, you can imagine the depth of answers I got - realty prices, space constraints, endless rains, bomb blasts, food, curry smells, the 'marathi' concept, Shiv Sena, and the list goes on.  While having this discussion with someone on the train yesterday evening, I casually passed out a 10er to an elderly woman asking for alms.  She carried on forward mumbling some sort of blessing.  She had moved just a few paces forward when she turned and said "Log hain.  Log hain iss shehar ki sabse badi kamzori saab".  She shook her tin bowl again, the clank of coins inside echoing through the compartment as she went about her business again.

Dear Reader, I'll be honest and accept the dilemma I am faced with right now.  As enticing as it may seem to end the post here, and trust me when I tell you that I had slid my small pocket notebook in at this moment of time in the train as well, but the Indian desire to give my tuppence on that qualifying statement refuses to die out.  We both went quiet after listening to the old lady.  Somehow, neither of us could find words, or anything worth discussing.  Instead, while he closed his eyes and dozed off, I kept staring out the window at the passing buildings, hedges, drains, wondering, where and when we lost track of what life felt like aside from this daily drag.  There was no revelation, no bright moment of realisation, just a brief period of contemplation till I reached Borivali station and set forth on my mission to woo another client to join our Exchange.  It is not the fast pace that has sucked out whatever little marrow of compassion that was left in this metro life, but a sense of indifference and apathy people possess.  Crowds come gushing in, others rush out.  In all the elbowing and knocking each other around just to get your two feet planted firmly on the ground, there seems to be no regard whatsoever on the old guy fighting to even get on with his life.  The disconnect is so pronounced that even a discussion over beer never relates to friends bitching about work, nobody cares two hoots about what problems the other guy is facing.  To each his own is what personifies the Mumbai life perfectly.

Such apathy has its pros and cons, and am not here to discuss these. What it did do, however, is wake me up to face the fact that probably, just probably, am not as happy as I had initially thought I was in this big city life.