I am an “Indi-Cosmo” girl. Born, having a rural farmer-class pedigree and live in cosmopolitan cities of India, Delhi and Mumbai. I have spent a larger chunk of my lifetime staying in Delhi, yet I find an equally strong force pulling me towards Mumbai. Not to my surprise, I find meaningless answers hidden in the debates, chats, tête-à-tête that I end up getting entangled into with arbitrary strangers, every time I am between the cities on board INDIGO/RAJDHANI.
They say:-
That’s because you are a Maharashtrian?
That’s because Mumbai has beaches, mountains and a NIGHT LIFE?
That’s because Mumbai is safe for women even at 1:00 a.m?
Well, my counter to these are simple:-
My parents have spent their childhood in Maharashtra, but I am hardly a Maharashtrian.
So does, Kerala, Himachal and New York.
My foot. It’s all in the mind.
Despite these arguments, fact is, I travel to Mumbai four times an annum, just to offer my ‘Hi’. This city has a refreshing vigor that helps me gather myself into a single functional unit. It isn’t due to the acquaintances of mine, rather it’s mostly because of the people I do not know. The masses in Mumbai excite me. Try commuting by the LOCAL train from VT to Panvel or Churchgate to Borivali; even before the first suggestion of the long two hour trip, one would have disembarked upon the destination. Its like a free of cost movie, where people going in and out of the train evoke countless emotions in you, despite the fact that you stand amongst them posing as a third person. Such is the relevance of the Magical Mumbai on me.
Having said all that, I cannot sideline “Saadi Dilli Dilwaalon ki”, where I have been raised and am spending my topical years. This huge decision of moving base from Mumbai to Delhi was on my Papa’s shoulders much before I was born. I would always complain to him for choosing the grumpy corrupt Dilli over the mighty spirited Mumbai, although, the recent years have been an eye opener for me. Dilli, he considered to be an ideal city to give his children a metropolitan upbringing with emotional stability and future oriented vision. Now, when I travel to the hussle-bussle to Mumbai, I wonder if I were to be born here, how much more eccentric I could have been. My sensitivity towards my ambience would have numbered zilch. It’s a city of mad rush for basic daily survival, where people fight with time (the most precious God’s gift) every second of their life.
Today, I thank Papa for taking this revolutionary and appropriate decision for him and us.
Dilli too is a wonderland, with a very strong reminiscence of PanJABBI culture. It has its own individualistic and self made pace. People are easy on each other and don’t fear a stampede every other day. It is in Delhi that I have learnt to be warm and friendly with people belonging to all age brackets. It is here that I have learned to crawl, then walk and run. And my oh! my, what a mighty run, it has been so far. The city has a strong culture of its own and most of all is loaded with memories from my childhood.
CP, Dilli Haat, Kalkaji, India Gate, South Ex, Dukaan, Noida, Oh..ji Patparganj…as much as VT, Colaba, Marine drive, Bandra, Essel world, Dombivali, Vashi ani amcha Kharghar :-D
If only I could divide myself in to two individual human beings who could stay at both the places at the same time. Since otherwise I will keep making 5 visits to the other city in a year, never knowing which one to call my home.
