A Mumbai Story – 2012
It was only 8 pm on Dec 31st in Mumbai but already the drums were beating wildly outside my window in an apartment close to the Gateway of India. People are packing the streets here and I’m struck by the sheer energy of the crowds. The vitality of Mumbaikars is catching, their passion to live, to succeed. I’ve been in the city just three days but already I’ve met so many ordinary people who take each day as it comes and pack a punch into it.
There’s the young cook who is a wanna be entrepreneur, cooking in six different apartments in the building. He rings our doorbell at 7 am and quickly whips up several daals, sabzis and rotis, using a pressure cooker and deft mechanized motions. Within 40 minutes he’s ready to cover the freshly cooked meal and move on to the next home. I’ve tasted the food – it’s delicious, home-made and cooked to the taste of each particular family. Yes, he cheerfully makes a living with his wits and his hands – talk about initiative and entrepreneurship.
Then there’s the Maharashtrian bai who goes to several homes in the vicinity – briskly sweeping, cleaning and making the beds as well as washing the clothes. She’s a whiz at fast moves and leaves the house sparkling, with clothes neatly drying on the clothesline, on to her next assignment.
She’s widowed since the last 18 years and her son too has passed on – now she looks after her three grandchildren, saving for her grand-daughter’s college. Her entire family survives on her earnings. She is a hero but no one knows about her.
Then there’s the woman who recently had the most horrendous freak accident in a flower shop in Bhuleshwar where the hefty shop attendant, while standing on a stool to retrieve some goods, lost his footing and went crashing – right on top of her. She went flying across the room, taking the full brunt of his fall. She broke her kneecap and was immobilized for several months, and now after two surgeries, several medical bills and days and days of physiotherapy, she is just about getting back to life, painfully learning to walk back into the world she knew.
Yet you see her tranquility, her lack of anger and her acceptance of what happened to her and the fact that it could have been much worse – but for the grace of God. She can actually smile and be witty about this nightmare. She’s ready to move on.
I think if we can take some of these rare qualities with us into the New Year, we will all be well-armed against the vagaries of life.
Celebrating 2012
Near the Gateway of India which is a stone’s throw from the apartment where I’m staying, crowds are gathering, the police is out in full force, the TV vans have gathered and the momentum is building up. The Taj Mahal Hotel is lit up and looking beautiful – a far cry from the devastation of the terror attacks. A cop tells us that since 26/11 there is not a huge celebration at the Gateway of India due to security concerns and the huge crowds are now to be found at Nariman Point and in Chowpatty.
I myself have not been able to wander Mumbai to see its wild celebrations as I’ve injured the tissue in my right leg. However, since I can’t explore the city, the city seems to have come outside my window, with its joyous, raucous drums and firecrackers. The streets of Colaba are full of merrymakers, and in the lane outside my apartment lots of young kids have gathered, drumming and dancing. Later there will be fireworks as effigy of the old year will be set ablaze.
I finally hobble out for a taxi ride to see the ongoing New Year’s Eve carnival of Mumbai, from the Gateway of India to Nariman’s Point to Marine Drive and Chowpatty and it is amazing to see the streets inundated with people. Couples on scooters, entire families on scooters, girls on scooters. Our taxi weaved its way through traffic jams and our driver told us that he was coming from Bandra where the streets were jam-packed with people celebrating and all restaurants and discos were crowded.
Whole families were out, babies in tow, enjoying coconuts, peanuts and kulfi on Chowpatty beach, waiting to view the fireworks. It was a very outdoor celebration and those who were indoors in apartments were leaning out from balconies, watching the grand show. A surreal half moon gleamed in the dark sky and cars flooded the areas around various clubs, restaurants and hotels, to a cacophony of beeping horns. Mumbaikars sure know how to party!
It was almost midnight as we returned to the apartment. The gleeful street urchins were dancing with added frenzy and the dhols were reaching a crazy crescendo. As the New Year came in, fireworks – red, green, purple and gold – showered the night sky with manmade stars.
As I listen to the energized drums and remember what the city of Mumbai has gone through – and survived, I have a good feeling that we will all collectively face whatever the new year brings – because we can.
So beat the drums, bring on the fireworks – and let 2012 begin! A Happy New Year, everyone!
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1 Comment
Mumbai is the finest city in the world to travel so u guys must travel to Mumbai.