When I was growing up, I always loved going to my grandparent's farm house. I loved the place because they always used to have rabbits. We had about a dozen of them at any given point in time. When one died of disease, or got hunted down by the dog across the street, my grandpa would always replace them. He always used to tell me to be very careful of introducing new rabbits to the coop. You just cant toss them in, because the others would see the new one as an invader. What one must do instead is to slip the new one into the rabbit pen when the others are asleep. Place it in the pen and tiptoe back to your bed. When the rabbits wake up, they'd see the newcomer and think "Hmm..she must have been here all the time, because I didnt see her arrive" and the newcomer goes about thinking "I must have been here my whole life". They just blend in. Just like that.

Today, I feel like those rabbits.

When I left my house for Mumbai, I felt the same way. At first, I had the apprehensions of going to the big city. The fear of not being native, coupled with the fear of the unknown gripped me at my throat.But somehow, having been through what I have in Mumbai, today, I just feel like I ve been living there all my life. Its been the most open, warm hearted city I ve ever been to. It's not pompous like Delhi, or bleak like Trivandrum. It doesn't share the conservatism in Chennai, or the idealism of Calcutta. it doesn't have the history of Jaipur or the beauty of Kashmir. But somehow, Mumbai is still Mumbai.Every city in the country can be thoroughly defined by a word. Delhi can be associated to centre,Bangalore to calm, hyderabad to technical and Calcutta to Arts. At a single shot, what would you call Mumbai. Catch 22 right? You cant define the city..and that s the beauty of it.




I've always had this feeling that there is a power struggle going on all over India since time immemorial. The big cities always end up competing against each other just to see who would reach out and stake claim to being India's next big metropolis. Will it be Delhi? Or Bangalore? Hyderabad? or Chennai? Probably Gujarat as a whole...just because Amitabh Bachchan chooses to endorse it. They all strive to outdo each other culturally, monetarily and individually.But, Mumbai, I ve seen, has never bothered to even join the race for status. it doesn't compete. It stands coolly in a corner and watches all the fuss and strife, completely exuding an air that says - "Hey- you do whatever y'all wanna do, but I'm still Mumbai."


I ve always been inspired by this self -regal assurance of this town, so grounded and rounded, so amused yet monumental,knowing that she s held securely in the palm of her glorious history.It is one of the busiest cities in the world, yet sometimes, you can find yourself lost in silence. Silence in admiration, of awe, of wonder of how beautiful she is. No matter how she smells, no matter how the roads are caked with dust, or how the sun beats on your head, she is still beautiful. Traffic may spin your head in a hectic circle, there may be cows that jump at you from nowhere, but still, she holds her head in silent dignity.

I find her endurance and her spirit, comforting and reassuring.This city has had such an erratic career, but has always adjusted itself to the wildness at hand.To me, Mumbai is like a person who has led an extremely crazy life, someone who may have started up as a housewife, unexpectedly became a widow, took up to dancing to make money, and ended up being the first lady of India. She may have even tried her hand at national politics but has an intact sense of self no matter what the upheaval might be in and around the country.

I also noticed that the city never had the class divide in it. No matter who you are on the street, you are your own person, and you re open to the choice around you. What you want you get. I see rich people crowded at local Panipuri wallas and the lower classes enjoying themselves at many of the Mumbai Malls. One does not see often, someone driving up in an H2 Hummer beside a pav bhaji wala and standing next to a panwala to buy his lunch. I ve never observed people actually standing in lines in order at a bus stop getting into the bus in order. Mumbai transport, though fashionably late, does manage to show you the cross section of people she carries with her. The one place where I saw this major cultural diviersity is in the local trains. The life line of Mumbai. Very apt term. It shows the average life in cross section. A corporate rubs shoulder with a dabbawalla, a student rubs shoulders with a beggar, a Hindu sits peacefully beside a Muslim solving a Sudoku puzzle. It shows how Mumbai transforms through stops. From huts and cowsheds to the skyscrapers galore. The roads transform from modern buildings to historic monuments, from a horse drawn tonga to a Porsche Carerra GT. Everything about this city seems like a transient blur. There is no divide.


But to me, what makes Mumbai, Mumbai are its people. The people I have had the chance to meet [Meet would be a bad verb, Experience is more like it!] have touched my heart and brought them closer to me, despite having friends I ve known for 18 years. I ve found my soulmate in Shruti, mothers in Aunts Althea,Genny and Ingrid, a best friend and brother in Kedar, a sister in Chakku, a little brother in Siddhu, the uncle who is your secret's keeper and the guardian of all wisdom, in Krishna Uncle, a really good fun aunt in Jayshree aunty, a heart of pureness in LakshmiAmma and the epitome of awesomeness in Raji aunty and Pam. This city has given me awesome friends and family and for that, I'm indebted. Staying in Borivali has made me realise the values of having a close knit, doors open society. Truly it is heaven on earth and I'm truly blessed that people have accepted me as part of their lives, pray and care for my good and love me for what I am.

Despite having bad experiences, I never felt lost or out of control. That's becuase of my excellent backup system in Shruti, Kedar, Aunts Althea and Genny and Krishna Uncle. When I had money lost out of an ATM, or when my bag containing my passport and ID's were robbed, I still didnt hate the city, because somehow everything would always be all right. I got my passport the day before I left it. She took what she needed but she gave back what was important to me. Therefore, it goes without saying that Mumbai has heart, and she bleeds when she sees someone bleed. This heart of Mumbai is what entwines the spirit of Mumbai. She s resilient yet vulnerable, cold and warm, busy yet makes out time for you, conditioned but unconditional. She s a paradox but a wonderful one at that.

And dont even get me started on food! My travels got me to pig out. But, somehow despite all my hectic eating, I havent even brushed the surface of its culinary delights. I have has the pleasure of sampling some of it s wonderful cuisine, but that s probably more of the proverbial tip of the iceberg.I just wish I had the time to sample its gastronomic delights and with the variety of food it offers, I think its a glutton's dream destination.Let me put it in this way. It would take you five years of your breakfast, lunch and dinner times to sit at every one of this city s restaurants to sample just one platter on their menu, and not end up repeating what you ate.So for me, Mumbai makes my heart rock and my stomach rumble.



I look at Mumbai and realise that my life may not have been as chaotic as hers, after all.It is merely the entire world that has been chaotic, bringing changes to us that nobody could have anticipated.Mumbai warns me never to get attached to obsolete ideas about who I am, what I represent or what function I may have intended to serve. I may have been a glorious monument to somebody, but  I too, had been broken down, walked over, chewed up and spit out, but somehow, I ve overcome my riots in life and ride the seas through endless waves of transformation to enjoy the silent glory of who I am today.For this whole reason, I wanted to thank you Mumbai. You make me feel special. For once, I feel like I am where I belong. Someday, I'll end up being tagged as a Mumbaikar, though in my heart I already feel like I already am one.