Ai Dil Hai Mushkil Jeena Yahaan...
Zaraa Hat Ke Zaraa Bach Ke Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan!
Perfect lines, and perfect song on the INDECIPHERABLE mystery that is Mumbai - Bombay - What Have You!
It so happened that my boss that for some reason {Wonder what? Cant have been my performance} decided to pack me off to Mumbai. 3 days in the best city in India.
Isnt my first visit - and on each visit, the mystery of this city only deepens!
Just consider
Flight time Mumbai - Raipur: 90 minutes.
Airport - Home: 20 minutes
Flight time Raipur - Mumbai: 90 minutes.
Airport - Hotel: 120 minutes!!!! {What the heck????}
I stayed in that - for want of a better name - city 2.5 days and was travelling for half a day out of that. Previous visit, I stayed 2 days, travelled to-and-fro for 1 day out of that. In college, visited 1 day: travelled ALL of it. Got to spend precisely 60 minutes at the fair!!!!
Yes, the hotel was enjoyable - the best in luxury, in fact. It was the redeeming point of the visit, apart from the very rewarding proffessional side.
BUT, I still cant understand what makes people go and LIVE there? The people have no time! In any other city {OR state for that matter} friends can meet - or family - easily. Not so in the indecipherable Mumbai - the - great. Couldn't meet anyone there - I did have a couple of free hours.
Sample this: Baroda: Friend came from Ahmedabad to meet me in the 1-day stay I had. Bhopal: brother came to hotel and dragged me home for dinner. Was back in time for the evening party. Even New Delhi: visited 2 sisters 14 kms apart and still got my train back. Chennai: found time to visit my old home at St thomas mount - and returned in time for my interview. Total time: 2 hours. Places on 2 opposite sides of Chennai. Pune: visited Deccan Gym - Kothrud - Cant and back to hotel in time for evening get-together. And so on and so forth...
Try it in Mumbai. Just try it!
What makes you mumbaiyaas so gung-ho about that place? Would love to know! Especially when I get home sooner from Rajanndgaon to Raipur {2 cities 75 kms apart} than it takes most of you to get home in Mumbai!
You are welcome to enlighten me!