Tuesday, 3 September 2013

7 Things Mumbai taught me

When I stepped in this magical and glamorous city called Mumbai I was a naive small town girl chasing after her dreams of a bright future. I landed here with my bags and dreams. Like many other I struggled through a lot of things, more than that I was scandalized with the change in culture, I would literally stand on road wide eyed and gape at people. But thankfully professionally my struggle ended quite quickly and gradually I learned to look beyond the veils of lights and glamour. Almost 10 years here and I can proudly say I am a Mumbaikar by heart now. This is my home and I owe it a lot. It did change me but I would like to believe, it changed me for better and taught me things that I still carry with me.

Below is a list of few things that I learnt in Mumbai. Some are quite obvious and some are quite unique, part of an experience that only Mumbai can give you.

1) Spirit of Mumbai: I am a part of this spirit. I walk, work and progress. I have learnt to never break down, never give up even in the face of the most difficult situation always carry on. Always move forward, always progress. I swam through floods, have hung on local trains, have traveled through riots and shoot outs and have survived, worked and progressed. It was not easy, there were times when I was ready to give up like after the bomb blasts [I was trapped in a riot and I survived by begging with folded hands to let me go] I saw people going back to work the next day and I really felt that they were heartless running after their careers and money. When I shared this sentiment with some of them, they told me that if you stay at home, you are giving more power to terrorists; you are telling them we are hurt and unable to move on. Ofcourse we are hurt but each hurt, each attack, each dent gives us more strength, makes us more powerful, makes us realise the value of life and how much we love the city. Isn’t it true? Yes it is. If we continue to live in the moment of our sorrow, we give more power to the person who has hurt us. Giving up and breaking down is more easy but moving on is more difficult and I learnt to do the more difficult thing.

2) No personal space: If you live here you know what I am talking about. Everyone is at everyone’s face. There is no personal space; every free space is free for everyone. Like a true Mumbaikar I have picked up the trait inspite of being claustrophobic I don't mind sitting within centimeters of a complete stranger.

3) Privacy: There is no personal space but there is enough privacy. Even if you are sharing the same sq.meter space; the other person gives a dam about your personal life. You can easily go on about your personal life, fight, cry, laugh...no one will interfere.

4) Lend a hand: If you ask, everyone is willing to lend a hand. They may not have the warmest face but they do have their hearts at the correct place. But you need to ask.

5) Never say no: Really no one says no here. If you ask for help especially directions people will always help, even if they don’t know. They will never say no. And neither do I but I try and not lead them to incorrect information.

6) Measure distance in time and not in Kms: We talk time and we walk time. Distance is never measured in kilometres. It is always measured in how much time you will take to reach a place. So Thane to VT is not 60-70 kms, it is about hour and a half.

7) Walk: We walk a lot. Most of us do and we walk fast. Walking is like second nature. Anyone who uses public transport here would easily walk around 4-5 kms daily and would walk fast. Sometimes it does get to me and I really feel if just for few minutes all of them could stop, and breath.


These were some of the things that Mumbai taught me. What about you..where do you live? What has your city taught you?

18 comments:

  1. I loved the post. I have been in Mumbai for over 2 years now and I have learnt all the above mentioned. Most of all this city liberates you. There are many things that I dislike about this place but the good things about it surpass it all. It grows on you and you become a part of this city somehow. I love Mumbai.

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  2. Great post, love reading it. The things mentioned is really obvious and may be unique for Mumbai, but the trend is been setting around India widely.

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  3. I have lived in Mumbai for 8 years and relate to all the things you have mentioned here. I love the spirit of Mumbai. Once there were heavy rains and near flood situation. We waded through waist deep water from Mumbai Central to Bandra and got help from unknown strangers, food and water from residents near the roads. The helping spirit is too high in Mumbai. Love this city!

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  4. Nice post, based on what I have heard and seen of the city and its people in limited interactions, this post truly captures the spirit of this wonderful city...

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  5. I loved two of of them....measuring distance in time and everyone is in everyone's face...when i reached Mumbai for the first time these were the things I noticed the most.

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  6. You are really challenging me to write bout my Mumbai experience. I become a Mumbaikar and planning to stage ma comeback::)
    Cheerz
    www.vishalbheeroo.wordpress.com

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  7. Awesome post,catching quite a lot of points :)

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  8. Relate to it totally ... :) it is becoming a second home.. with the walking talking

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  9. Hoping you will tell us more about your experience in the riots...it must have been very harrowing!!

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  10. Never stayed in Mumbai... your experiences give a fair picture of the city.

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  11. I grew up here, did my schooling and college. In a way, this city has defined me and has a role to play in making a confident person and professional out of me. Your take is bang on!

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  12. Beautiful post and very aptly captured. I can relate with all of them since I spent 6 years there and went through the same terrorist attacks, floods and bomb blasts. I got goosebumps as I went through your post and memories came flooding back. Maybe you should share your experiences during those trying times. I still cant erase those memories from my mind...

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  13. The image which we, non mumbaikars have about Mumbai is almost the same. But through your post the entire picture of Mumbai just comes in front of eyes.. The city which is known as the fast going city, where everybody is running after their goals. I have heard once (though I don't know that how much it is true) that women while going back from their office, they try to finish half of their household work in train only like cutting off vegetables and all. This really shows that they don't want to waste even a sec. But slowly and gradually this is becoming the story of more or less all cities. I live in kolkata which is known as city of joy, culture. But now here also, the trend is changing very fast and the part of the city where I live i.e. Saltlake, the story is almost same. Nobody interferes in other's life. They are just running.... But being a small town girl like Sfurti, I have coped up in this life too. Travelling for hours, local trains, buses, humidity and how can I forget walking which is another means of transport here. But now thankfully after my marriage I got engaged in my husband's business and now I don't need to travel so much. But my overall experience is very good and now I have started loving this city too.

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  14. it feels so nice to read when one has so much good to say about the city in the current times

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  15. Have never been to Mumbai...nice take on the city!

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  16. Great post! I enjoyed reading the things you learned. :D

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  17. Mumbai for me was an equally learning experience and yes even I remember distance between Dadar and Meera Rd in minutes :D I learnt to move on .. but it was real tough so much that I moved on from Mumbai myself :D
    Loved this experience .. and I am missing Mumbai all the more

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