I don't think I can begin my blog without talking about Bombay. These days its called Mumbai, but this is my blog so I'll call it what I want to. It has a nice ring to it. Plus, the name suits it well, considering the fact that it has been bombed so many times. However, all silly reasons aside, the name Bombay has debatable origins. It either comes from early Portugese settlers, who called is the 'good bay' hence Bombay or from the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi and so now eventually Mumbai.
Bombay was actually a cluster of seven islands, which were eventually merged thanks to engineering projects by the British Raj. With a massive population of more than 15 million, land reclamation (from the sea) continues. It is the commercial and entertainment capital of the country and also has Asia's biggest slums! (Dharavi as it is called houses one million people and has a black leather market. The white market generates $1bn in revenue annually.) This is perhaps one of the most fascinating facts about Bombay. The co-existence of extremes.
I used to work in South Bombay, where most media companies were located. Since I lived in the suburbs, I'd have to endure an excruciating one and a half hour journey via the train and bus to get to work. Driving to work would be unthinkable. However, without a traffic nightmare, it would take just about 20 mins to cover that distance. So anyway, every morning I'd get into a packed train, stand sandwiched between fat aunties with smelly underarms, horribly boisterous machi walis (ladies selling fish in big straw baskets with fish water dripping all over) and the rest of the conscientious middle class junta. Not a pretty sight and definately not comfortable. (Seriously our government has to do something about our population!) And yet the trains are perhaps the most reliable means of transport in the city. About 6 million people travel by train in Bombay daily. Of course, after the seven consecutive bomb blasts that occured in various trains this July, these numbers might have dwindled, though however I'm sure by just a trace. The city and the railways were back on track the very next day. Bombay has seen so many such incidents though that sometimes I wonder whether we've just become immune to death and disaster.
When the big cloudburst took Bombayites by surprise on 26th July 05, a spirit of amazing kindness took over the city. I clearly remember it being my first day at my new workplace. After a three hour long meeting, my bosses and I got out of the clients office only to find the water level in the compound to have risen to an amazing 2 feet. Initially we were really amused by the madness, but when the car refused to move we realised, as had the hundreds of others on the street that it was going to be a long walk home. We (me and my boss) walked hand in hand (it was really funny) till we had to part ways. That evening however confirmed my belief that Bombay is one of the more safer places to live in. I was escorted to a friend's place by a complete stranger, without whom I may have probably fallen into one of the various sewage drains that are carelessly left open. Water levels around my house had reached 6 ft. The suburbs recieved 944 mm of rain that day, the norm usually being 93mm. Almost 1500 people died in the flood and related diseases.
So, Bombay is not perfect. But that's where its beauty lies. Every nook and corner in the city has its own story. Right from Khau gully (eat street) where you can sample a huge variety of Indian dishes all on the street and for less than 50p to Oh! Calcutta where you can have the same food for twenty times the price; from Churchgate's fashion street where you can buy your favourite designer wear cheap (hehe) to the GAP's and D&G's of the world; from polluted factories to pure nature, beaches and mountains, hot weather, dirty streets, haughty celebs, pretty faces, extreme poverty, disgusting wealth, Bombay has it all.
And so, if you can live in Bombay, I bet you can live anywhere in this world!
Bombay was actually a cluster of seven islands, which were eventually merged thanks to engineering projects by the British Raj. With a massive population of more than 15 million, land reclamation (from the sea) continues. It is the commercial and entertainment capital of the country and also has Asia's biggest slums! (Dharavi as it is called houses one million people and has a black leather market. The white market generates $1bn in revenue annually.) This is perhaps one of the most fascinating facts about Bombay. The co-existence of extremes.
I used to work in South Bombay, where most media companies were located. Since I lived in the suburbs, I'd have to endure an excruciating one and a half hour journey via the train and bus to get to work. Driving to work would be unthinkable. However, without a traffic nightmare, it would take just about 20 mins to cover that distance. So anyway, every morning I'd get into a packed train, stand sandwiched between fat aunties with smelly underarms, horribly boisterous machi walis (ladies selling fish in big straw baskets with fish water dripping all over) and the rest of the conscientious middle class junta. Not a pretty sight and definately not comfortable. (Seriously our government has to do something about our population!) And yet the trains are perhaps the most reliable means of transport in the city. About 6 million people travel by train in Bombay daily. Of course, after the seven consecutive bomb blasts that occured in various trains this July, these numbers might have dwindled, though however I'm sure by just a trace. The city and the railways were back on track the very next day. Bombay has seen so many such incidents though that sometimes I wonder whether we've just become immune to death and disaster.
When the big cloudburst took Bombayites by surprise on 26th July 05, a spirit of amazing kindness took over the city. I clearly remember it being my first day at my new workplace. After a three hour long meeting, my bosses and I got out of the clients office only to find the water level in the compound to have risen to an amazing 2 feet. Initially we were really amused by the madness, but when the car refused to move we realised, as had the hundreds of others on the street that it was going to be a long walk home. We (me and my boss) walked hand in hand (it was really funny) till we had to part ways. That evening however confirmed my belief that Bombay is one of the more safer places to live in. I was escorted to a friend's place by a complete stranger, without whom I may have probably fallen into one of the various sewage drains that are carelessly left open. Water levels around my house had reached 6 ft. The suburbs recieved 944 mm of rain that day, the norm usually being 93mm. Almost 1500 people died in the flood and related diseases.
So, Bombay is not perfect. But that's where its beauty lies. Every nook and corner in the city has its own story. Right from Khau gully (eat street) where you can sample a huge variety of Indian dishes all on the street and for less than 50p to Oh! Calcutta where you can have the same food for twenty times the price; from Churchgate's fashion street where you can buy your favourite designer wear cheap (hehe) to the GAP's and D&G's of the world; from polluted factories to pure nature, beaches and mountains, hot weather, dirty streets, haughty celebs, pretty faces, extreme poverty, disgusting wealth, Bombay has it all.
And so, if you can live in Bombay, I bet you can live anywhere in this world!
1 comment:
oh, i had to do this, even tho u r pissed.
congrats on ur achievement, deeps (if i may call u that)
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