As my first day in Mumbai comes to an end, here I am standing at Mohammed Rafi Chowk showcasing a silent
protest against the legendary Rafi sahib’s 1956 song that claimed
“Kahin building,
kahin traame, kahin motor, kahin mill
Milta hain yahaan sab kuch , ek milta
nahi DIL
Insaan ka nahin kahin naam aur nishaan
Zara hat ke, zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan”
Translation
(Buildings, Trams, Motors and Mills.
You get everything here except a HEART
People don’t have a name or identity here
Keep away, keep safe , This is Bombay my dear)
At around 4:15 pm, I set my foot on Mumbai. A lot of Bollywood
scenes went through my head in fast forward mode. I just reached the city of
double-decker buses, yummy street food, capital of Bollywood, fast-paced life,
extravagant culture, jam-packed local trains that are a norm, romantic locations,
diabolical traffic, a city that never sleeps etc., in short the CITY OF DREAMS
. I looked outside and saw people. I
turned my head towards the right and then left, there were people, a lot of
people. Now that’s POPULATION EXPLOSION! I ve never felt the same in Kerala,
Bangalore or even Chennai, always kept wondering where are all these people.
Now I know the reason “EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE IN MUMBAI”. If Mumbai alone were to break away from
India, its population would still be greater than Australia’s. Anyways, the
human eye always finds what it wants and mine was quick enough to spot it. My
heart just skipped a beat, body felt loose as if someone was pulling me towards
it . There at one corner engulfed by people was a shop that sold ‘Vada Pav’.
Adding to it, there were samosas, pav bhaji and much more, I ate all of it till
my heart’s content.
My new roommate said he’ll reach the flat only by 7 pm that left me
stranded on the streets of Mumbai with three huge sacks that had everything
including memories of my wonderful friends. Where there is a problem, there
must be a solution! What followed was one of the most successful deals, I had ever
made in my life. After a fair amount of negotiation, an autowala promised to
take me around the city (nearby places) for just Rs 150. Now I had a place for my luggage while also
exploring this astonishingly huge city.
You cannot ask for a better start when the first two places you saw in Mumbai
were the Hanuman Mandir in Dadar and a 350 year old Dargah in Mahim, the oldest
of its kind in Mumbai. This was followed by the Khodadad Circle that was
formerly known as Dadar TT (Dadar Tram Terminus)
in an age when there used to be a tram service in Bombay. This site illustrated
an imposing colonial edifice just like Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminus. The next in
line was a Portugese Church, a spiritual center that is an architectural
beauty. God is omnipresent, he is everywhere be it Church, Mosque, temple or
Gurudwara. Before entering the church, a passerby told me “Ask for anything
with a pure heart and he will give it”.
After a while, we (Me and jatin bhai (autowala)) resumed our
journey. Our chit-chat about Bombay continued. Jatin Bhai had come to Mumbai 23
years ago to receive his father’s body, which died in an accident. Ever since,
Jatin Bhai is in Mumbai feeding his family and most importantly providing good
education to his children. The places we visited might be low-profile compared
to Mumbai’s status. But as they say “Every wonderful story has a humble
beginning”. Actually “they” didn’t say that, it’s one of those random things
that just popped up in my head right now. It’s one of those typical adolescent things where you
find a quote that relates to your life and adds a ’feel’ to it, and you just
keep it as if you were born to do it. :P.
It was time to meet my flat mates and that put a halt to my journey for
the time being. But technically my first day is not yet over; there is time
till 4 pm the next day. I met my typical migrant Mumbaikar flatmates , and one
word for them would be A=W=E=S=O=M=E. Not
as Awesome as you Somesh, if you ever read this. We went out for dinner and
they took me around a few places in Andheri.
In Bangalore, waking up early was an occasional exercise just to
ensure we have breakfast atleast once a week. During M.C.C days, breakfast was just
a myth. Despite crashing at 2 am , I was up and steady by 5:30 in the morning.
This was new, but something dragged me for a morning walk. Socks rolled up,
sneakers on! I set out to burn some calories. I have a feeling that 90% of the Gravitational
force in India is concentrated in Mumbai. Scientifically impossible but this
city just attracts you towards itself. There are three beautiful gardens near
my place, one named after the brave Vijay Salaskar who sacrificed to save his
fellow countrymen during the Mumbai attacks. After the unusual exercise, I made
up my mind to cover the two much-hyped locations in Mumbai.
Every Nature lover must have a journey along this natural bay. A friend told me that if there is any reason
she would come to Bombay that would be Marine drive (actually one of the main reasons). Lovers here, lovers there, lovers everywhere
embracing each other with love, were taking long walks holding hands, staring
at the sea probably imagining their long happy future or God Knows what! Lined
with palm trees, known as the ‘Queen’s Necklace’, this place is surreal. The breeze at the place is so refreshing that on just
don’t want to leave the place.
With the image of an amphitheatre placed above the ocean, Bandra
Bandstand is a lover’s paradise. The self-proclaimed ‘king of love” , Shahrukh
Khan’s not-So-humble abode “Mannat”is located very close to this romantic
location and probably serves as an inspiration for his successful romantic run
in Bollywood. Wait! The not-so-romantic Salman Khan also lives nearby. Well,
anyways discussing their “looowee” story could be injurious to health. Mumbai is filled with lovers embracing ,
kissing and holding each other. I ve heard similar stories about Paris and
Venice.
Hence Mumbai is not just the “CITY OF DREAMS” , but also the “CITY OF LOVE ”.
Anyways, here I am at Mohammed Rafi Chowk with my love , Vada Pav and a small
message for Rafi Saheb.
Dear Rafi Saheb,
Yahaan dil hein, dilon mein
pyaar bhi
Yahaan insaan ka naam hein aur
voh kamaane ka dhariya bhi ,
Arey socho mat , daro mat .
aayiye
Yeh hai MUMBAI meri jaan
Translation
This city has a heart
filled with love
Here people have an
identity earned by patience
Think not, Fear not. Just
come
This is MUMBAI, my dear
