Flash of insight

The last word has not been said on the war of the cities. Although I make no secret of my preference for Delhi over Bombay, I think I've been successful in becoming friends with Mumbai. We understand each other better now :-)

I've been spending a lot of time recently in Mumbai. Although I live (at someone else's expense!) in the tony southermost part of the city, I have been travelling a lot by local train and autorickshaw, visiting the suburbs. On one of the local train journeys, hanging on to a thin pole (my only anchor against approximately 5000 people who seemed to want to push me off the running train), trying not to breathe in the stench from the tracks, and longing for a sight of land that was not covered in garbage, I finally had the eureka moment.

Mumbai is loved because it is the city of dreams. Survival in this great city requires you to rise above the mundane parts of life. The garbage, stench, crowds, heat and dust - all are mere trifles that necessarily must be overcome if one is to stay sane. An escape from reality becomes a must, and what better escape from reality than through dreams. I have not met many people local to this city who do not dream of great rewards or accomplishments for their toil. And the city of such beautiful dreams necessarily needs to be beautiful.

Mumbai's greatness lies in the fact that dreams could actually come true here. It is a truly green city - only the green is not provided by mother nature, but by the great god Mammon!!

I dont love Mumbai any more than I did before, but I think we understand each other better now :-)