The City with a Soul!!

I recently got a mail from a fellow Mumbaikar which discussed the essence of a Mumbaikar....one of the many 'You know you are truly a Mumbaikar when..' mails!!

But, it got me thinking about my own feelings about Mumbai.

Mumbai is a city of cities and there are thousands of worlds within this world, so what is the essence of Mumbai and is there an essence after all?

Well, my first impulse (and i still feel that) was that there is something about Mumbai, and its not the look, not the smell, not how the people dress, not the money, not the buildings, but something more sublime which instantly tells u that u are in Mumbai. Its the same feeling which u get on meeting a fellow Mumbaikar in a different city or country. So, I came to a conclusion that the city must have a soul, which gives it its essence!

Every city is made of numerous microcosms of itself each with its own flavor but there is only one soul to the city! The 'soul', like a halo, glows around the diverse flavors and colors which garnish the city. And no city exemplifies this better than 'Mumbai'.

So, the first thing about Mumbai and a Mumbaikar is their love for each other, a 'love' so different from any other known in the world...

Well, lets just accept the fact that its not easy to live in Mumbai and yet in a strange way it is truly 'a city with a life'. I mean Mumbaikars spend a quarter of their lives travelling and 'travelling' is a euphemism for a much more arduous feat which only Mumbaikars can achieve day after day. Whether its the flooding trains or bustling buses or the beeline of screeching autos...

And yet again, this very time which Mumbaikars spend travelling is the easiest way of getting a taste of 'Basic Instincts'. Not in the context of the famous movie ;) but something truly very basic, the 'instinct of survival'. I can truly make a strong argument against the director's claim for I truly believe that survival is the most basic instinct although the one conveyed in the legendary movie comes a very close second! :)

It is a state of Nirvana...the only thing u are capable of remembering at that point of time is that u are alive!!

So ,in a way, the city tests u every day and u have to prove your worth each day to the city, then only u can wear the prestigious tag of a 'Mumbaikar' and once you get the tag, its not easy, in fact almost impossible, to give the tag away.

So a true Mumbaikar loves his city like a man loves his long married wife....he curses her, he argues with her, dreams of prettier women he could have got married to, even has a few flings here and there but finally knows no other arms where he can peacefully sleep. He enjoys the flings but each time realises the worth of his own wife and draws closer to her.

Rajkapoor must have had this city in mind when he sung the song 'Jeena yahaan, marna yahaan, iske siva jaana kahaan...' in his insightful creation 'Mera naam Joker'. So, then what does the city offer to the Mumbaikar.

And a Mumbaikar myself, I can just feel, not really express, what the city has to offer for all the hurdles it presents. I can speak of it being the only city in the world which is a country's financial capital with 3 lakes, a national park, a mountain range, beaches, a naval base and port with the most accomodating people ever. But truly it is not just all this which defines the city, there is something more to it which I can't really express which differentiates itself from any other place on the planet. Think it is the soul...

The city's got a soul!!