As I have mentioned in my earlier post, I come from a central suburb called Dombivli which is 50 kms away from the main city of Mumbai. If one travels by train, one reaches Mumbai in one hour which is damn impressive compared to the distances one travels and crosses in Pune. Every city has it's own charm and I would like to introduce you all (who have never been to Mumbai) to a normal day in the life of a Mumbaikar.
I travelled for almost 8 years for office and job purposes. My life was dependent on trains. Trains took me places in lesser time. I will not say that the travel was very enjoyable and stress free, but then I had friends with whom I shared seats and my life and experiences. I took the 5:52 am train for almost 3 years of my degree college and that too in all seasons. Monsoons were usually dreaded because there was water clogging at many low lying places and then trains came to a halt one day when there were incessant rains. We sat in trains for many hours or then had to think of an alternative to reach Dombivli. It was not easily possible to reach Dombivli by road. Trains regulated our lives and life without trains was unimaginable.
After staying away from this Mayanagari for almost 7 years, whenever I come to meet my parents and visit my home town Dombivli, I no more recognize the trains in which I travelled once. The trains seem inaccessible to me now. I am the last person to get into the train now. I have become slow and lazy and no more try to get into the running train to catch a seat even before the train halts at the station (My mom is pro in that and it amazes me to see her at this age do it so swiftly). People in the train give me nasty looks and immediately recognize that I am an outsider. Mumbaikars just can't afford to be slow. Their lives are ruled by the clock which ticks away their lives itself. Half of their life is spent in the trains traveling or in the colleges or the working places. They have no private space or private life. Weekends are usually spent relaxing and away from trains. There are no nature or beauty spots nearby where they can go for relaxation. There are huge malls and shopping complexes everywhere, but then an average Mumbaikar can't afford to go there every w/e. The prices of flats and houses are exorbitant and people spend their entire lives and income in just owning a flat/house in this huge city.
My mom is happy by the fact that I am not a part of this hustle bustle anymore because she believes that life in Mumbai is becoming harder day by day and it is getting more and more difficult to survive here. People have to fight for the very basics here, leave alone earning the luxury part. People throng here in millions, but the resources to accomodate them are depleting day by day. Are people bothered about the environment? Doesn't look like..
Ladies, girls, working women fight it out everyday in getting in the train and getting out of it. They come home and manage the show, cook, look after the kids, take their lessons, tend them and their families and are never complaining. Is this the spirit which is very Mumbai special? Accept whatever comes it's way and take all the problems in their stride? Individualism is somewhere lost here in making the two ends meet. But still people are leading their lives.. Do they have any choice in leading a more fulfilling life? Don't think so..
Though I spent 24 years of my life in this city, I somehow feel lost in the crowd now and am unable to keep up with the fast pace at which this city is moving..
Good or bad?
Comment please!
I travelled for almost 8 years for office and job purposes. My life was dependent on trains. Trains took me places in lesser time. I will not say that the travel was very enjoyable and stress free, but then I had friends with whom I shared seats and my life and experiences. I took the 5:52 am train for almost 3 years of my degree college and that too in all seasons. Monsoons were usually dreaded because there was water clogging at many low lying places and then trains came to a halt one day when there were incessant rains. We sat in trains for many hours or then had to think of an alternative to reach Dombivli. It was not easily possible to reach Dombivli by road. Trains regulated our lives and life without trains was unimaginable.
After staying away from this Mayanagari for almost 7 years, whenever I come to meet my parents and visit my home town Dombivli, I no more recognize the trains in which I travelled once. The trains seem inaccessible to me now. I am the last person to get into the train now. I have become slow and lazy and no more try to get into the running train to catch a seat even before the train halts at the station (My mom is pro in that and it amazes me to see her at this age do it so swiftly). People in the train give me nasty looks and immediately recognize that I am an outsider. Mumbaikars just can't afford to be slow. Their lives are ruled by the clock which ticks away their lives itself. Half of their life is spent in the trains traveling or in the colleges or the working places. They have no private space or private life. Weekends are usually spent relaxing and away from trains. There are no nature or beauty spots nearby where they can go for relaxation. There are huge malls and shopping complexes everywhere, but then an average Mumbaikar can't afford to go there every w/e. The prices of flats and houses are exorbitant and people spend their entire lives and income in just owning a flat/house in this huge city.
My mom is happy by the fact that I am not a part of this hustle bustle anymore because she believes that life in Mumbai is becoming harder day by day and it is getting more and more difficult to survive here. People have to fight for the very basics here, leave alone earning the luxury part. People throng here in millions, but the resources to accomodate them are depleting day by day. Are people bothered about the environment? Doesn't look like..
Ladies, girls, working women fight it out everyday in getting in the train and getting out of it. They come home and manage the show, cook, look after the kids, take their lessons, tend them and their families and are never complaining. Is this the spirit which is very Mumbai special? Accept whatever comes it's way and take all the problems in their stride? Individualism is somewhere lost here in making the two ends meet. But still people are leading their lives.. Do they have any choice in leading a more fulfilling life? Don't think so..
Though I spent 24 years of my life in this city, I somehow feel lost in the crowd now and am unable to keep up with the fast pace at which this city is moving..
Good or bad?
Comment please!
i am actually not the right person to comment. even though, same like u, i have also spent 24 yrs of my life in mumbai but i am away from it for more than 5 yrs now....i dont know whether i ll be able to adjust in mumbai, i think i can if i wish to. its a matter of "savay". I too get really scared now getting into the trains, i feel "lost" when i hear abt new eating n happening joints, i can not stand the hot n humid climate, constant sweating, pollution n especially "gardi", i often complain abt the the car n truck horns....but thts just for a week, from the 9th day i become the part of it...i cant hate anything abt mumbai for more than a week. I tend to weigh pros n cons n definitely for me there are indefinites "pros" to be in mumbai....
ReplyDeletei agree with the number of people pouring in in mumbai everyday from everywhere....but thts giving the city a feel of metropolis, a cosmo climate, importance, to some extent business....just listing out the +ves....as i know there r -ves...still mumbai is mumbai, the city has a culture, bhale cosmo culture but thts very appealing....there is still humanity...i cant stand the mind set of people from other states in india....still get bugged by it. and yes my conclusion is atleast till now, at this very moment i feel tht i can settle down in mumbai.
Actually Night life in South Mumbai is way exciting as there is never ending road which will surprise you every single time you think to turn!
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