A string of islands beaded together, with millions milling in its environs, adept at survival even in unimaginably small domains of space, united by two deities – one, with a human body, pachyderm head and a mouse for a vehicle, and, the other, 32 years old, 5ft4in tall, wielding a willow and crazy on Ferraris! That, ladies and gentlemen, is the quintessential Aamchi Mumbai for you, with industrious millions, elite millionaires and homeless thousands coexisting peacefully together, constituting the blood flow to ensure a throbbing heart of India’s financial empire.
Nowhere else in the world can you probably imagine, let alone see, a railway compartment housing ten times its rated capacity of passengers, in addition to scores along its periphery and the top. Nowhere else does loud group-singing of hymns to the accompaniment of incessant ringing of cell phones, crosswords, Sudoku and chewed tobacco mingle so freely and openly without complaints – all progressing regularly and routinely with not another care in the world. Where else can you spot the unique genre of homo sapiens under the sub species of train friend’?!
Explode a series of bombs right under the feet of such a crowd in a Cosmo metropolis, at the most crowded of places and at the busiest of hours, killing almost 200 people. Provide punctuations with things like immersing the city under 4 ft of water on one rainy day, stopping all traces of normalcy in life – from that of a film star to a beggar. And what do you expect will happen?
Fear? Shock? Despair?
Well, think again, the answer is a sad NO! Welcome to Mumbai!
The city awakes on the next of days, as usual, and gets back to work, though with a sense of ache harboured at the back of the mind, but not reflected on the face or in the speed of its step.
One would be pardoned for expecting outrage against the events, protests against the administration and a general sense of unease and rebellion in such a scenario, anywhere on Earth! Especially in a nation where an expected hike in fuel prices can stall life for the full day, on two occasions in succession.
But, not so in Mumbai.! The populace has been immunized to the brink of complacency and resignation, quite like the proverbial moth at the flame. The men and women have ceased to realize their identity – resulting from an uncontrolled influx of the human race from all corners of the world’s second largest democracy in search of a meal and a roof; leading to a homogenous blend of race, religion, culture and creed to produce what a billion-plus people accept, identify and adore, as India’s Mumbai!
The city, where resilience is the middle name of its people, patience the only passport to making it your home, and where a Munna Bhai can have the entire population in splits and craving for more, has been rendered numb over a span of time. The heart longs, but the limbs are sore. The mind is agile, but the words fail.
Is there hope ahead? One solution is for the population to be active and proactive, not necessarily reactive, as much about things-taken-for-granted (like security of lives and property) as they are about earning their daily bread…or paav!
Does it help matters any, if an uninformed and unrealistic global poll decree that the city is among the world’s rudest?! Needs to be thought about. How long can a part of our wonderfully competitive population afford the luxury of not being extra conscious of their immediate security surroundings and threats? Is it not better to strengthen while being bent, than repent when broke?
A few questions crop up, to wrinkle the foreheads of any Indian or Mumbaikar who cares.
How do we guard against repetition of such dastardly acts? What do we do to ensure our politicians wake up and act, even before the next catastrophe strikes? How do we, as responsible citizens, evoke the feeling of awareness to such aspects in society at large?
But until the answers are found to such complex issues, ….to the never say die spirit of the city, I would just say …
“Hats Off to You, Mumbai”…
or in our very own desi style….
”Salaam Mumbai”! ...Jiyo Hazaaro Saal!