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The city of Mumbai is like a melting pot where diverse communities, classes, talents, ideas, and individuals simmer.
Summer was over with a BANG! quite literally, I’d say.
A few weeks back, I was caught in a car crash, hit headlong by a speeding bike from the opposite side.
In a flash the airbags were out, the windscreen smashed and curls of smoke began rising up. I felt I had reached heaven. Alas, the doors of heaven aren’t open for me yet.
Fortunately, I escaped unhurt apart from a few bruises and a bleeding lip. The accident did much more to me than just that, surely.
Remember how we empty a packet of biscuits into a jar? A bang on the jar sorts them into their places, making room for a few more. That’s what this jolt did to me.
It sorted out my head and allowed the negativity to escape, making room for the forgotten feeling of gratitude to settle in again. Thankful for being alive, happy, and writing again.
Let’s start at the beginning of summer. As school vacations began, we set off, bound westward! After 3 long years thanks to the pandemic, heading to the city that is characterised by its unique essence and vibrancy. The city that I grew up in, studied, and, formed the most precious building blocks of my life — Mumbai!
The warm and sultry air hits you almost like a friend greeting you with a friendly slap on your back.
Each day millions of people enter this mega polis hoping to fulfil their dreams, make a fortune or just plain have a good time like me. Mumbai disappoints nobody.
The best part I feel, about the city, is the sea. It travels through the island’s length from South Mumbai to the North. You can either visit the iconic, picturesque Marine Drive or catch it at Chowpatty, Girgaum.
If you are a love-struck couple head to Bandra Bandstand for the perfect evening by the waters. For families with pesky kids, Juhu beach is ideal or you can head as far as Gorai creek on your journey with the sea. The Sea Link connecting the suburbs and the city is spectacular and a drive over it at night time is not to be missed.
Shopping is what most head to Mumbai for. Apart from the malls, there are amazing wholesale and local markets in every locality. Dadar market, Santacruz, Fashion Street, Linking Road, Crawford market … the list is endless.
All the best designers have their outlets in Mumbai. My favourite shopping haunt in the city is Colaba Causeway. Globe trotters have this colourful market on their bucket list. Try the shoes, bags, and clothes on the streets or walk into any one of the swanky boutiques. Nobody walks out of those streets with empty hands- no one, trust me.
Mumbai is called the financial capital of India. You can actually smell money on the streets. Every dinner conversation in the city eventually steers towards real estate and property prices. Figures range between 5 crores going up to 100 crore!
It is one of the most expensive cities, yet there are innumerable ways to explore Mumbai without making a big dent in your pocket. Home to Bollywood and the hindi television industry. Celebrities can be spotted easily in any of the swanky boutiques, pubs, and salons in the elite western suburbs of Khar and Bandra.
What I hold dear about this city is its affability. The indomitable spirit of Mumbai! It’s easy to make friends here, Strike up a conversation on a common topic with a stranger, I do it often, people don’t judge too much… which is often he case in small cities.
Here, I can walk down the streets to pick up my groceries wearing shorts and a tee and with a messy bun without as much as a whisper, I couldn’t even dream about doing this in Coimbatore. Here I see people in supermarkets with Louis Vuitton bags and perfect make up- buying tomatoes!
People mind their own business and don’t interfere too much in other people’s decisions. This attitude, however, has its downside. It can get very lonely in this big, bad city. Everyone’s caught in the grind. Too busy and doing their thing. Friends I got many in Mumbai but to meet up when I’m in town I’ve got to make appointments long before! Few in number, but my small town friends are definitely the best! Always ready to help, just a call away. If I’m down in the dumps they’d definitely be around to catch up for lunch and cheer me up!
The city of Mumbai is like a melting pot where diverse communities, classes, talents, ideas, and individuals simmer. Merging and blending together, losing their individuality, and taking on a new hue and identity.
High-rise multi-storeyed apartments coexist with the filthiest of slums here. Beautiful driveways coexist with corners overflowing with waste dump yards. Unbelievable, yet true. Each familiar alley leads to something unknown. A dip in this melting pot brings out new emotions and stirs my senses awakening a restlessness and creativity that keeps me charged. Till the melting pot beckons again.
Image source: Unsplash
Hi! I'm Meeta Chablanii- an animator, illustrator a freelance fashion designer and a full time mom to two little brats. My journey of bringing them up forms the backdrop of most of my posts. read more...
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