I hated Mumbai when I first came here. The crowd, the trains, the Mumbaiyya language, the chalta hai attitude, all of these repulsed me. That was four years; four long years ago. Now when I look back, I see that I have changed a lot from what I was, and I owe it all to this magical city. Why magical? Well because it has transformed me into a completely different person. It has made me look at life with a totally different perspective; made me a positive person and as much as I hate to admit, I have adopted the chalega attitude with much aplomb!
Though my first year here was not what one would call a disaster, but I never really made any efforts to enjoy myself. I kept cribbing about the weather, the people, the language, the food… I mean… just about everything! I really wanted to leave Mumbai. But then, there is something about this place, something that pulls you to it. You’re mesmerised by the sheer simplicity and beauty that Mumbai has to offer. Quite literally, the city grows on you. I love getting up early in the morning, walking up to Churchgate station just to have bun-maska-chai. Doesn’t sound like a very scrumptious meal I know, but there is something about seeing the man slicing the bun in half, cutting a chunk of AMUL butter, applying it on the bun and cutting the bun in three pieces with that flat knife. Then there is this tea, which is made to boil beyond boiling point; rather, it is always on the boil. The combination is deadly! We had a bun-maska-chai walla right outside our college until the BMC asked him to vacate…
It was perhaps in my second year that I began enjoying this place, venturing out, meeting new people and discovering new places. And soon, I was in love! Sitting on Marine Drive, or just walking past, with the waves lashing at you during the monsoons, is highly romantic! Walking the streets of Colaba, window-shopping (though mostly, it ended up in burning a hole in my pocket!), exploring the various lanes, was so very mesmerising… I have always gone to these places by myself. Somehow, I feel that having company for these places doesn’t give me time to absorb all that they have to offer. Being on my own, I go wherever I wish to, without having to listen to the other person’s wishes… Hmmm… does that sound selfish? Maybe so… but then that’s how I am… fiercely independent.. Hey!! We’re not talking about Mumbai here… why do I always digress from the main topic? Tsk Tsk Tsk… This city has, I must admit, humbled me a lot. After having been brought up in Delhi amidst luxury, Mumbai paled in comparison. Staying in a hostel, where our rooms are the size of matchboxes “and” which have to be shared with another person, the bland food that our hostel offers, and many other things to which I was exposed to for the first time… opened my eyes… From the haughty, arrogant, full-of-attitude Delhiite, I have become the sprightly, confident, congenial and ever-adjusting Mumbaiyya! My family and friends back in Delhi often wonder if I’m the same person they knew four years ago… Needless to say, I enjoy the compliments showered on me… I am so in love with this city, that the very thought of leaving makes me feel nostalgic and highly emotional! Standing on the sea-shore and recollecting the glorious years that I have spent here, one song seems to resonate over the waves touching my feet – “Ae dil hai mushkil jeena yahaan, zara hat-ke, zara bach-ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan…”