Never imagined that I would write something on Mumbai. Like most of us I had an aversion to Mumbai and did not want to be here at all in the first place. But I think the city has a certain charm that makes you fall in love with it.
I’ll try and keep this as non obvious as possible too. Because most things about Mumbai is common knowledge.The city is a great leveler. You can have the fanciest of cars but the fastest mode of transportation is hanging on one foot in or partially out of the local train. People can be different here with respect to money, status, position etc but none of them have time. So everybody is brought to the same level. If you reach office puffy and sweaty and with a crumpled shirt, well nobody bothers. They all know what happens in a local and most shirts are wrinkled in the office. The locals are a great lesson to community living. If you are sitting on a seat that can accommodate three you are supposed to accommodate the fourth one else the person standing can ask you to do so. There is nothing rude or inconvenient about the whole thing. When a person gets in with a bag and he points that at you then you are expected to put his bag in a safe reachable place and hand it over when he asks for it. Again, accepted social behavior. Accidentally knocking someone out or hitting your elbow against or feeling someone somewhere uncomfortable(accidentally) is all ok and understandable in a local. There is never any fuss about all these things. You may be a senior manager or some top level executive but in the train you are just a passenger like everybody else. The most amazing thing is the conversations. People have long conversations with strangers. The topics ranging from personal stuff to the recent nuclear project. The favorite is of course the Indian political scenario. It is such a large city with so little time that you befriend anyone and everyone without any courtship. Great lessons in community life and a life which constantly threatens our social boundaries , forcibly expands the horizon, pulls us out of our comfort zones and makes us realize that after all that wasn’t so tough.
You are never lost in this city. A person is lost when he loses direction. You cant lose direction here because you will never run out of people on the roads. They will always help you get to your destination the quickest way. The people here are very warm and friendly. Don’t expect them to look at you and wish you everytime you walk on the roads and stuff. This isn’t Nainital or some small hill station where everybody knows everyone. But they can always accommodate you and the mentality of “nothing can happen with one more” is widely prevalent. The accepted ways of life in Mumbai are quite amazing. Every place is about panch minute ka rasta. Its never five minutes. But still that’s how it is referred to. People will scorn you if you take a rickshaw for a distance that you can walk. There is no problem finding a rickshaw for short distances but the idea of a cosy comfortable life is not quite the Mumbayya way of life. If you want to get somewhere then you better sweat is their philosophy. What amazes me the sheer number of people who are counting on this city for their livelihood. They range from the CEOs to the roadside beggars. Most things here are as expensive as any other city but they still want to struggle in this city rather than a city close to their hometowns. There is so much hope and there is such simplicity of life that it provides a very amicable angle to the city. Everybody understands business. The salesmen are outstanding at convincing you. They are all aware of competition and totally welcome it. Everybody has to make a living you see. Even the beggars use amazing lines for alms. So many lessons in Sales management.
The idea of cheating people is not quite inherent in people. You don’t have to worry that every taxiwala is basically a cheat and it’s a matter of who outsmarts who. This phenomenon happens in certain markets of Mumbai but not quite an everyday life for professionals like us. The systems are properly put in place. Most meters are untweaked normal ones. The rickshawwalas don’t over charge you during peak hours or night hours. There is no system of rounding off. Exact change is tendered. Most remote places also have some means of transportation. Because there are definitely people living there. So basically everybody has a life and they get on with it. There is not time to stand and stare like Wordsworth had said. People are just too busy making a living.
This is a great philosophy. Cause there isn’t so much of thinking you do here. Its all doing. No time to stand back and evaluate and give into some fears. It’s a life and it has to keep moving. This is what gives Mumbai the no nonsense approach.
