About Bombay

OK, you folks from Mumbai, don’t trash Sharath, he’s a good guy and is entitled to his opinion , I’m just posting this blog entry because
1) I don’t quite agree with it , and I’m not quite satisfied with my retort
2) I know Bombay is polluted , as is pretty much any other city from what were the original four metros in India .


Overdone Mumbaikar spirit - Why Raj Kapoors movies were a superhit in Communist world
By The Broadcaster


The next time someone talks about the so-called 'indomitable spirit' of Mumbai, I am going to commit a crime that is seriously punishable ! This is about Mumbai - from here.

We are 18 million people crammed onto one tiny island, with a population density of 43,898 per sq km. (Compare this to just 9033 per sq km in Delhi). * Real estate prices are so unreal that in downtown Mumbai you could pay Rs 60,000 for a single sq ft.

• Yet, there are 19,846 buildings in danger of collapsing. And eight million people — nearly half of Mumbai’s citizens — live in subhuman slums, where every public toilet is shared by 4,000 people.

• Two million others commute like slaughterhouse animals on the hopelessly inadequate suburban train system, and another four million use moonscaped roads, pockmarked with an estimated 23,639 potholes. There is only one bus for every 1,300 people and only two public parking spots for every 1,000 cars.

• We have a water shortage of 1000 million litres. The commodity is so scarce that swanky skyscrapers have to rely on private suppliers, and those who can’t afford to eat must shell out Rs 20 for a bucket to drink.

• With a deficit of 1500 MW, the city is on the verge of a power crisis.

• We generate 7,800 tonnes of garbage everyday — only half that of New York — but much of it lies uncollected because there are only three municipal dumps.


What is this indomitable spirit all about - is it the spirit that makes you guys tolerate anything, everything and go about your life living in desolate conditions ? What use is this spirit of afterall ? Each time there is a major tragedy in Bombay, the legislator/MP comes in and makes a speech about Mumbaikars are resilient and go about their life the very day after floods, after bomb blast, after building collapse etc. as if nothing happened. The media too joins in and sings the same song. All Mumbaikars are not only convinced but they are also happy and proud that their city's resilience is being bandied about. End of story.

Its much like the early years of the 1950s and 60s when Raj Kapoor's RK Films produced movies that glorified poverty and decadence. You just have to look at the lyrics of the title song from Jis Desh Main Ganga Behti Hai, a part of which goes like this -

(mehamaa.n jo hamaaraa hotaa hai vo jaan se pyaaraa hotaa hai ) - 2 zyaadaa kii nahii.n laalach hamako tho.De me guzaaraa hotaa hai - 2 bachcho.n ke liye jo dharatii maa.N sadiyo.n se sabhii kuchha sahatii hai ham us desh ke vaasii hai.n, ham us desh ke vaasii hai.n

Translated, the text in bold, says something to the effect that "We manage with what we have, for we arent a greedy people. Our mother Earth gives us whatever we want, as has been going for years." Then in the next para he goes,

ye puurab hai puurabavaale har jaan kii kiimat jaanate hai.n

Translated, this means - "We are the people of the east, we appreciate the value of life."

Wait a minute, did he actually say that ? Or is there some sarcasm there ? I am a major fan of old Hindi music and Shailendra has produced some gems no doubt ( Guide (1965) is just an example ). But these songs of those years tell us something about that age much like today's reflect current mores. And now you know why Raj Kapoor's movies were a superhit in Russia, Eastern Europe and parts of Africa. This is basically the socialist/communist/collectivist utopic vision of society - "be happy with what you have and celebrate your penury, scarcity and despair - these are obligations you have to the fellow members of society. " Mumbaikars, I dont believe you are a bunch of gullibles - over a million strong. If this is the spirit you so much love and proud of, you shall forever be condemned to the life you live and nobody will shed a tear for you - you deserve what you get because you didnt ask for anything more. So long !

My comment:

I’ll tell you what the indomitable Mumbai spirit is about-
It is quite frankly the most cosmopolitan city in India!! The city has welcomed generations before us from various nooks and corners of the country with open arms, the city lacks pretentiousness ….. and I feel it’s the closest we have to an open minded western society, most (if not all) of the successful inter community love marriages I know of happened in Mumbai, with both partners having being brought up in the city, homosexuals , “outsiders”, women and ,barring riots, religious minorities aren’t persecuted as much ,cultural conservatives coexist but cant dominate , the mindset is very different from people in the other parts of India … the only claim I have to the city is that I was born there… I’m from Karnataka and I love my home town , but my favorite city in India has to be Mumbai , I don’t know; may be I’m biased but no other city comes close ,sorry Bangalore!!! I agree the infrastructure needs major rework, but it’s getting there ..it’s better than it was 8 years ago!
FYI – My dad left Mumbai in 1975 , because he found it too polluted and crowded!! I’ve never traveled by local train , BEST bus all the way, on my last trip five months ago ,I tried the AC one , it was good!!…. The last time my mom was on a local train was when she was in college…

In retrospect did I make Mumbai sound very Decadent?? Gah!!!! There’s much more to it man….