Little did I realize how true these words were, when I heard this famous Rafi-Geeta Dutt song aired on Vividh Bharti numerous times! You see, I had never been to Bombay (Mumbai, as they call it these days) till last Saturday.
I was born in Calcutta (I prefer that over Kolkata), the undisputed culture capital of India (yeah yeah....Marxism too). I lived there till 15 years of age and then shifted to Pune, Mumbai's quieter and cooler cousin. Ever since, I have been living a quiet, happy, peaceful life in Pune. I do get shaken and stirred by the horrific attacks that rock the city,3 hours away from mine, year after year, but in the security of the selfish thought "at least we are safe here in Pune" (though the blast at my favourite haunt The German Bakery is making me rethink and reconsider). I love Pune...and given a chance, will never move myself out of this charming hill city.
But,on matters personal and professional, Lady Pallavi had to travel to Bombay the first Saturday of May. BOMBAY IS A VAMP.AN ITEM GIRL. Not the demure, shy, quiet heroine....Bombay is the tantalizing, titillating, seductive and glamorous vamp....promising you all the secret pleasures and then, leaving you to find it yourself, without help!
You can feel it the moment you set foot in Bombay. She's teeming with people who got seduced by her allure and left their own humble, modest cities to chase their dreams on the shores of the Arabian Sea.
From taxi drivers and road side stall owners mostly from of UP and Bihar, to Marwari business folk whose forefathers had great foresight and set up business in Bombay about hundred years ago, from the young B.Tech crowd who got placed in the various IT companies of Bombay and drink cheap beer in the name of "chilling out" and throng the malls on weekends to the good looking, beefy Jat fellows who want to become "FIL-MACTOR" and run around in autos and BEST buses from one studio to another, from one audition to another. Sometimes you get fleeting glimpses of the dabbawalas, but they are always in a great hurry.
Another breed that populates the city is that of MBAs from some of the country's best Business schools. IIMs, XLRI, SIBM, ISB..you'll find a lot of them here...mostly in the plush offices at Nariman Point. These are the ones that'll bloom into the movers and shakers of India Inc. in a few more years.And if you ever happen to know anyone of this breed you'll notice that they think they are God's own gift to the world. However, they are interesting in their plight. With their kind of fat, lardy salaries, in any other city of India, one could own a neat little bungalow with a lawn and a Mercedes Benz parked in the personal garage. But Bombay is too merciless to allow such luxuries. Like a vamp, she seduced them into accepting offers that brought them to her...the dreams of unlimited opportunities, unlimited money and unhindered ascent.....but gave them the reality of limited space, unaffordable housing, crowded local trains and cut throat competition, with no one to call truly your own. Bombay allows luxury to only those people who have been with her like a true ally for decades and proven their worth...a Raj Kapoor could afford a Krishna-Raj, a Dilip Kumar will have a palatial bungalow...an Amitabh Bacchan will have Jalsa and Pratiksha....a Shahrukh Khan will have a Mannat....but other stars..even those who earn in hundreds of crores....live in apartments.
South Bombay is, in one word, beautiful! Flora Fountain, The Gateway of India, The Taj Mahal Palace hotel, Marine Drive...south Bombay makes you feel like you are in London. Bold facades of intricate British architecture! Looking at the Flora Fountain...you can actually believe Bombay was the part of the dowry of Catherine De Braganza, a Portugese princess, on her wedding to Charles II of England in 1661....a thought thats far from your mind when you are travelling through the mad crowd of Chembur, Byculla, LalBag, Dadar, Malad (not necessarily in that order)
Writing about Bombay is tiring me...almost as much as getting stuck in the never ending traffic jams of Bombay in the scorching, sweaty heat. Bombay may titillate and tease as much as she wants, may promise me the skies or the heavens, may slither and wriggle like a vamp.....I prefer the quieter, cooler and more serene charms of my hill city Pune! :-)
Love
PS - Having lunch at the exquisite Taj Mahal Palace's Sea Lounge, sitting by the sea, being served by a handsome young man who has a wound on his temple from the infamous terrorist attack on the Taj, and is brave enough to come back to work in the same place....Bombay doesn't seem so bad after all!
I was born in Calcutta (I prefer that over Kolkata), the undisputed culture capital of India (yeah yeah....Marxism too). I lived there till 15 years of age and then shifted to Pune, Mumbai's quieter and cooler cousin. Ever since, I have been living a quiet, happy, peaceful life in Pune. I do get shaken and stirred by the horrific attacks that rock the city,3 hours away from mine, year after year, but in the security of the selfish thought "at least we are safe here in Pune" (though the blast at my favourite haunt The German Bakery is making me rethink and reconsider). I love Pune...and given a chance, will never move myself out of this charming hill city.
But,on matters personal and professional, Lady Pallavi had to travel to Bombay the first Saturday of May. BOMBAY IS A VAMP.AN ITEM GIRL. Not the demure, shy, quiet heroine....Bombay is the tantalizing, titillating, seductive and glamorous vamp....promising you all the secret pleasures and then, leaving you to find it yourself, without help!
You can feel it the moment you set foot in Bombay. She's teeming with people who got seduced by her allure and left their own humble, modest cities to chase their dreams on the shores of the Arabian Sea.
From taxi drivers and road side stall owners mostly from of UP and Bihar, to Marwari business folk whose forefathers had great foresight and set up business in Bombay about hundred years ago, from the young B.Tech crowd who got placed in the various IT companies of Bombay and drink cheap beer in the name of "chilling out" and throng the malls on weekends to the good looking, beefy Jat fellows who want to become "FIL-MACTOR" and run around in autos and BEST buses from one studio to another, from one audition to another. Sometimes you get fleeting glimpses of the dabbawalas, but they are always in a great hurry.
Another breed that populates the city is that of MBAs from some of the country's best Business schools. IIMs, XLRI, SIBM, ISB..you'll find a lot of them here...mostly in the plush offices at Nariman Point. These are the ones that'll bloom into the movers and shakers of India Inc. in a few more years.And if you ever happen to know anyone of this breed you'll notice that they think they are God's own gift to the world. However, they are interesting in their plight. With their kind of fat, lardy salaries, in any other city of India, one could own a neat little bungalow with a lawn and a Mercedes Benz parked in the personal garage. But Bombay is too merciless to allow such luxuries. Like a vamp, she seduced them into accepting offers that brought them to her...the dreams of unlimited opportunities, unlimited money and unhindered ascent.....but gave them the reality of limited space, unaffordable housing, crowded local trains and cut throat competition, with no one to call truly your own. Bombay allows luxury to only those people who have been with her like a true ally for decades and proven their worth...a Raj Kapoor could afford a Krishna-Raj, a Dilip Kumar will have a palatial bungalow...an Amitabh Bacchan will have Jalsa and Pratiksha....a Shahrukh Khan will have a Mannat....but other stars..even those who earn in hundreds of crores....live in apartments.
South Bombay is, in one word, beautiful! Flora Fountain, The Gateway of India, The Taj Mahal Palace hotel, Marine Drive...south Bombay makes you feel like you are in London. Bold facades of intricate British architecture! Looking at the Flora Fountain...you can actually believe Bombay was the part of the dowry of Catherine De Braganza, a Portugese princess, on her wedding to Charles II of England in 1661....a thought thats far from your mind when you are travelling through the mad crowd of Chembur, Byculla, LalBag, Dadar, Malad (not necessarily in that order)
Writing about Bombay is tiring me...almost as much as getting stuck in the never ending traffic jams of Bombay in the scorching, sweaty heat. Bombay may titillate and tease as much as she wants, may promise me the skies or the heavens, may slither and wriggle like a vamp.....I prefer the quieter, cooler and more serene charms of my hill city Pune! :-)
Love
PS - Having lunch at the exquisite Taj Mahal Palace's Sea Lounge, sitting by the sea, being served by a handsome young man who has a wound on his temple from the infamous terrorist attack on the Taj, and is brave enough to come back to work in the same place....Bombay doesn't seem so bad after all!
veryyyyyyy goood one... waiting for more blogs from u...keep it up my dear frnd...
ReplyDeleteYour writing reminded me of a job interview I had gone to attend last year at the Maximum city....the city with its own share of infrastructure woes ...still is an enticer with fat paychecks and promise for more....but somehow was able to keep away from its lure but I do still harbour some regret!
ReplyDeleteA true charmer but its still got a long way to go before it can come anywhere near Calcutta!
Yes Mumbai is a charmer...but as you said...long way to go before it can come anywhere near Calcutta. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Really great effort. Everyone must read this article. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete