Mumbai: Shades Of Grey

Mumbai, often been labelled by people from other small cities as: a dirty city, a filthy city, an extremely fast city, a city where people have no time to stop & think of each other, a city without hearts, a city too fast for one’s liking, a city full of rude people… and the list goes on. I've always grown up under contrasting impressions of the city, one created by word of mouth, the other created by Bollywood as the city of a million dreams; the land of magic. And as you can expect, the former took over the latter, because; movies for me, in those times, only represented ideas that were unreal and fantasy-like. And I stuck to my prejudices about the place. There’s only one thing I knew about this place and that was that the people who stay in Mumbai would never wanna move out out of this city, no matter what, and with my prejudices, I used to wonder why!!

I've been in & out of Mumbai a few times before the last trip but I never got a chance to travel alone, through the trains and ricks of Mumbai; and it is only when you do that, you discover the spirit behind the land of opportunities. Just like the entire Indian ethos is difficult to capture or define in a single sentence, so is it with Mumbai. For a first-timer, it's weird to digest this place when you step out of the airport or railway station. There's water leaking from everywhere, the suburban areas have open drainage canals running at the most busy routes, the roads are bumpy and look like a final product of bullocks ploughing a soft bed of hot coal-tar, the buildings looking old & some really dilapidated; but it's only when you explore the city for yourself that you see beyond all of this.

Mumbai has been cramped for space and what I love about this place is the ability of the people to convert drab places into beautiful spaces. You're looking for this restaurant you've heard is pretty happening, and when you reach this place, it's nothing like you've imagined. But the building with the shabby looks, worn-out paint-chips, tarpaulins covering the open-areas, supported by unsymmetrical bamboo sticks surprises you as soon as you step in, with the space-utilization, wonderful ambience, classy interiors, choicest of songs custom selected for the background music play-list, prompt & quality service of waiters who know what's on the menu with the ingredients and with suggestions to suit your taste.

Life is tough because of the population & traffic. The traffic & the long distances of commute force most of the people to take up public conveyances which are the buses & the local trains. And you invite the wrath of the crowd only when you do something to disturb, interfere, or disrupt their routine in any way. Otherwise, you'll always find a helpful Mumbaikar when needed. There're a lot of generalizations about Mumbai which I wanna disrupt here.

Generalization No. 1: People in Mumbai are not empathetic.

I was travelling, exploring the city the other day and I had forgotten my umbrella at home. And as irony is my best friend, it rained and it did only on that day. Since it showered after I caught my train to Goregaon, my final destination for the night, I thought this won’t be a problem. But as the train progressed towards Goregaon, the light shower started getting heavier and by the time I got down, it was raining heavily. It didn't seem like the heavy shower was gonna subside anytime soon, so I decided to try & catch a rick out in the open quickly so as to not wet myself a lot. While I was undertaking the most difficult task (to find a rick-driver who's ready to go to a near-by destination), a fellow standing right beside me offered me to stand under his umbrella as he saw me getting wet. We had a friendly chat and we parted on a good note.

Generalization No. 2: Mumbai is full of thieves who're waiting for an opportunity to thug you.

When you leave for Mumbai, you're always advised by your parents and relatives to keep your wallet in your front pocket, not to keep a lot of cash with you, always keep a check on your belongings around yourself. (It’s a good advice, I don’t deny it, but I prefer not to apply to term ‘when in Mumbai’ to it) I had gone to a very small budget restaurant once in Mumbai University with a friend who had some pending matters to be sorted out over there. We had food and we left that place, only to realize on almost reaching my destination that my mobile was not with me. My friend tried calling my cell phone and it had been switched off already. I was kinda convinced that somebody must have stolen it by now and almost started wondering what I shall do without my mobile till the time I manage to get a replacement. I had a feeling that there's a slight chance I should find it with the restaurant manager, and hence I decided to go back check with him. And to my amazement, I did. The waiter found my cell-phone on the table and gave it to the manager who asked me details of the phone and handed it back to me.

Generalization No. 3: In Mumbai, people are always ready to take advantage of your situation, so keep to yourself.

I was in Mumbai on a two day visit, and the day when I was to leave was declared an All-India Bandh from six in the morning to six in the evening. It was foretold that no bus, rickshaw or train shall be allowed to function. Yet I didn't expect it to be implemented so forcefully & strictly. I was to leave at 6 AM to catch a rick, but nobody was ready to go. All the rick-drivers I came across were reluctant, saying that there're riots in the vicinity of Borivali railway station and any three-wheeler going there is being stoned at & the windshields being broken with hockey-sticks & cricket-bats. One fellow even exaggerated that scene and demanded 350 bucks (against a normal fare of 60 bucks) saying that if the windshield is damaged, I'll have to pay for that as well. I could sense he was trying to extort money from me so I went ahead looking for other fellow who was ready to go.

After a few more failures to find a rick, I encountered a driver who said all the fellow-drivers are headed to their respective homes and the ones staying in the vicinity of the station would only ferry me till the station. He was kind enough to drop me to the main road & help me find a cab that was ready to take me to the station on the condition that if there be any signs of trouble on the way ahead, he'll drop me right where we stop.

This cab service (I forgot the name), on a normal working day has fare charges between that of a rickshaw and the regular yellow/black Mumbai cab. On the way, the cab driver told me to pay him a little extra as per my convenience & wish as he was going out of his way to the station to drop me in the time of emergency. He ended up dropping me 100 mts. away as he saw some policemen who, I assume, were there to keep the situation in control. The meter showed 7 kms. of travel, and considering an average of Rs. 13 per km in this cab, I should have paid somewhere around Rs. 90 on any normal day. I asked him how much I should pay him. He thought for a few seconds, and said, "You were in an urgency and considering there're riots in this part of the city, I still got you, you pay me what you feel is appropriate at your end. I insisted, "But still you tell me, how much you want? 150? 200?" Again he went into this thinking mode for a few seconds and then said, "You pay me 100 bucks." I was really happy to see that he was not taking advantage of my situation. And I happily paid him the amount he demanded.

I’ve come across a lot of rick-drivers in Mumbai who are friendly and helpful as much as the rude ones. There was this fellow who was getting late to deliver the rick back to its owner, and yet he offered to drop me on the way. To get to this mall I wanted to go to, he'd have to take a detour from his regular route and then come a long way to get back on track. I asked him to drop me on his way and not exactly at my destination as he'd get further late, and he ended up charging me lesser that the fare ‘cos of my gesture. He told me, “You got down keeping in mind my convenience, and that is more than enough for me!!!”

There’ve been other instances where, by just being a little warm towards the rick drivers, I received a lot of co-operation from their end, be it taking me to my destination by the shortest possible route, or letting go a buck or two in case of lack of change, or giving proper advice like "It's better if you get down here itself and go walking from here as the destination is not far away or else you'll end up paying 1.5 times the money and waste your time being stuck in this traffic."

The point I wanna make here is no city is either black or white. Just like the people. There’re always shades of grey. And Mumbai being the most lucrative dot on the map of India has every experience written for an individual with higher frequency of occurrences. Every city has bad people. Mumbai is no exception. But the lure of quick money drives more number of bad people as much as it does to good people as compared to any other city. We tend to take the good for granted; so much that we stop noticing it, and exaggerate the bad. It’s a normal human tendency to do that. Being rude, sometimes, is a shield people use, so that no swindler bothers to take them for a ride. But if you got a genuine smile for people, you’ll receive the same in return.

I say; try & live like a Mumbaikar. Be a part of the city. It’s not as hard as it is in other places. Just make a small effort to be blend in and the city will embrace you with open arms. I was out on my own for 5 days, yet the city made me feel at home. I was not some stranger who was to be stared at incessantly, or who was made to feel different from the crowd. The cosmopolitan city (in a real sense) has got all possible faces, dressing styles, hair-do’s, make-overs that you can’t be an oddity in Mumbai. It’s just not possible. And I think Mumbai is the only place where you can roam around on your own and yet have a good time without feeling lonely even for a while.

I used to set out from home (my friends, who gave me a shelter to retire to at nights were so welcoming that I almost felt at home, and that’s the term I’d use for their place) with my iPod and my laptop bag and I used to walk. And walk, and walk as much as possible. A walk through a street gives you more insight than 20 rick-trips from the same way. And that’s one of the reasons I've seen the essence of Mumbai and have connected to this place. And from what I’ve discovered for myself and from my discussion with my friend who stays here, it’s the energy of the city that attracts you. This place makes you feel as if anything is possible. With so many rags-to-riches stories lurking around everywhere, you feel you can also make it big here. It gives you a sense of confidence you’ve never felt before. It gets you addicted to its superior quality of life.

It’s a place for everyone. A person who earns 10k per month has access to the latest fashion in clothes, accessories, good food; and so does the person who earns 1 lakh a month. There’s a lifestyle for everyone. There’re a lot of hang-out joints with so many social-clubs. You’re a fan of movies, theatre, heck; even board games, there’s a club for that too. There’re Mumbaikars who’ve started sites dedicated to local trains, timings, buses, suggestions for best routes; good restaurants, different clubs, various pubs & bars.... you name it, you got it. It’s a small, self-contained world in itself. To the extent that if you wanna escape the daily hustle bustle of traffic to a quiet, natural place, go to Yeoor Hills; a resort in the dense green jungle; in the heart of the city. Go to the Powai Lake for a walk early in the morning. Let the calm and serene surroundings lull your mind and it will time-travel and wander as far as it can.

The energy of the city rubs on you too and makes you a vibrant person, a person who wants to enjoy life, take it in its stride. It makes you respect all kinds of people as the long distances of commute & dense traffic on roads force a lot of people from different classes & economic backgrounds to be constrained in a single compartment of the train. It makes you tolerant of others. It teaches you how to make the best of what’s given to you instead of cribbing about it. It makes you patient, understanding, and open-minded. It makes you feel as if you’re a part of the bigger picture. But most important of all; it instills passionate dreams in you and gives you the strength and confidence to pursue them.

We've been hearing this line very often courtesy Bollywood, but it's only when we discover the city for ourselves that we understand the true significance, passion & emotions behind it. And now that I’ve discovered the magic, the essence of Mumbai, the very first thing that comes to my mind when I wish to express my sentiments about the place is, "Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan!!”