Une Visite A Mumbai - mon expérience

A month back I was very excited to go to Mumbai for a long nice trip. The city of dreams, where everyone dream of living. People say that god doesn’t shower water here, money is being poured. But my point of view towards this city is little different from what the conventional stories have made an image of this city. I came to this city after hearing lot of stuff about the place and how amazing it is to be in Mumbai. One said me “If you are in India and haven’t seen Mumbai, you have missed a life time opportunity.” After hearing so much I gave a shot and came to this city. After living here for more than a month, something started itching me deep inside. So I dig inside the city to find what is all the fuss about I didn’t find a single thing that make me fall in love with this city. The question was what was missing here? Did I overestimated the place or it is actually underestimated? So I started with the birth of the place.

History

It all started with the seven islands (isle of Bombay, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island, also known as Little Colaba) in a corner of the huge country which were first spotted by Portuguese somewhere in 16 century. Till this time the city has been passed on to every kind of ruler including Mughal Empire, Ashoka, Shivaji Maharaj and many many prominent rulers which gives this place such a rich blend of cultures. After the invation of Portuguese to these islands they started developing this place as a major hub of trade due to the geographic advantage. But the british was not far away and due to same reasons they tried every means to take control of this place and they were successful in 17 century and then they made this place as their presidency capital. The increasing trade and population forced Britishers to take a huge civil project to unite all the seven island into one. Thus a project called Hornby Vellard was initiated, forming the shape of India’s future financial capital.

Original seven island of Mumbai (Bombay)

Landmarks

In the history of Mumbai everyday has been a landmark in itself, but the major milestone in the pages of history can be listed as:

1. The union of seven islands: the reclamation of the seven islands was the first big step in the development of the city.

2. Connecting island of Bombay with the island of Salsett.

3. The development of the deep harbours through reclamation.

4. Reclamation of marine drive and Colaba

5. The visit of king George V and Queen Mary to Bombay at Gateway of India.

5. The major cotton manufacturer and traders shifting to the city and multiplying there money in manifolds.

The Bombay Dyeing Mill

The Phoenix Mill

6. The rise and fall of mafia and the Don.

7. The evolution of Bombay Stock Exchange: A special thanks to Harshad Mehta Scam.

Culture

The culture in Mumbai is not too different from what is rest of the country. But still the city has its own touch and variation of different cultures and religions. If I go to Bandra I’ll find that majority of the people residing in the area are muslims, will the next door area is parses dominated area and christians on other end. Still the city lives in such a harmony and peace where I can see a shoe cobblers standing rubbing shoulders with a diamond merchant. This kind of integrity of culture is a very rare to find in a country like India.

Food

Apart from what we all know as Marathi cuisine, pav bhaji bada pav, there is a long list of food items in their menu like kothimbir vadi, thalipeeth and the best sweet dish kharwas. There is a whole alphabetic list that can be listed down but these are the dishes that I just loved to have there anytime.

After all these days I want to know only 1 thing, who was the person who had this vision of making these small Islands to form such a big metro city where 40% of India’s money is rotated?

The cold war....

In the year 1700 britishers introduced cricket in India for the first time. Till 1848 non of the Indians played cricket, after which a parsi community in Bombay formed a cricket orient club and started playing cricket. The biggest and the hidden-in-pages story was the match of 1893 between selected Indian farmers and the British commission. Till then cricket was just a game which people never used to care. At that time hockey was at its peak, all credit to Maj. Dhyan Chand. He made the game so interesting that people never used to care what else is going on. But as the time passed Indian hockey players were losing their edge and at the same time Indian cricket players were improving their game. In 1983, the biggest milestone was laid in the history of Indian cricket, Kapil Dev’s boy lifted the world cup in the Mecca of cricket. But that was not enough Kapil dev and Sunil Gavasker broke all previous records and engraved their names in the history of international cricket forever. But there was more to come, a 16 year boy was added in the Indian cricket team. After that there was no turning back from that point of time. The Indian cricket was becoming more popular day by day. And our national game was losing its flavour. In 2008, for the first time Indian hockey team didn’t even qualified for the Olympics for the first time in history.

This is not enough in the game, the emotional touch always comes in between when the players perform well or if they lose the match. Winning can make them the national hero and losing a match is like committing a crime against the nation. But we often forget that winning and losing are part of game. When the game ends one has to win and one has to lose it cannot be a win-win situation for all. The rise and the fall is the part of the cycle and then it goes on to its lowest point but from there it has to rise. At the same time if one does not concentrate to take it back to its original deserving post them the flavour in the game is gone and if at the same time another can rise. But does this all make sense? People are over spending just to have a _______.... I don’t know what they get out of it. The game is now mixed with the politics and with this they try to settle in the scores between the nations also, which does not happen usually. After some time everyone forgets the so called heros of that time (how many of us can name the 11 members of the winning team of world cup 1983?) and start living there life. But the political effects are not so easy to wash away. They leave an impression which is carried out throughout the life time and the nation citizens are affected from it most of the time. In short run happiness we often forget to see the big picture behind the screen and then when the things fall in the trouble we realise that it’s too late.

I do not say that these kinds of games are bad. But the only thing we all should start realizing that there is another picture behind the screens running which is often over look the blur picture running behind the stadium. The real war is not with guns and tanks anymore but they are more with the balls and the players running behind it. The win always brings a moments of joy and proud for all of us but still the puzzle has few pieces to be connected.

The unfair life

The life never took the road that I wanted to travel. I always have to move forcefully in the direction it showed to me. Whenever I wanted to go right it was showing me the way to the undesired way. Does it always mean it is good?

If I go through my memory lane, I can only recall that I’m standing in a point where I never thought I will be standing. From the beginning whenever I asked for a mango it offered me an orange. And if I wanted a grape it gave me berries. Why? I always dreamt of fighting for my country, but what I’m doing is just sitting on the lappy writing some blog to take out my frustration. Sometime I think I was never strong enough to fight for my dreams and then I say “I STAND FOR WHAT I BELIEVE IN.” Was I weak enough or was it my parent’s happiness that I was doing it for. I never had this wisdom to look beyond the horizon and say “YES THIS IS WHAT I WANT FOR MY LIFE.” Somehow I feel happy looking at my parent’s happiness. Sometime feel that thank god that I never went for what I wanted to do then I would never had all these that I’m enjoying right now. But if I evaluate then what have I achieved qualitatively or quantitatively? Nothing still I have to say my Dad’s name in front of the mass to make my identity. Though it’s not bad but there should be something that I should have done to make my family proud enough to say my name in public. There is something that is still missing as part of my life. There are hundreds of kids born every day in this world and almost all of them just live there life and go on. But what is the difference that makes people like Warren Buffet or William Gates III or Lakshi Niwas Mittal different from others. It’s not about the money or the position they are holding, it’s about the respect they are holding in eyes of millions of people. They strived hard to reach the top of the pyramid along with not losing their humility and the humbleness which was there in them years back when they were like other in the mass. They also took risk, they also sacrificed but life pushed them so that could achieve something in their life. If life can push these men in the path where they are standing then why the life always destroys the blue print of my plan to reach the top of the world. I have no Idea why the life is so unfair some people travel the world in business class and why some people strive to death of hunger. If the word is so simple then why can’t the life be? Every moment we have to fight for the things that we want. Some people say “if the life become so simple where you are granted every wish you desire for then the fun in living will die.” Is it so??? Is living a life of cowards fun, is a life fun of horrors so fun, is snatching every bit from other’s mouth sound fun?? I disagree with all those people who say so. If I wanted a car and worked for it, then it only gave me the piston. What are they expecting from me that I should work 1000 times and collect all the pieces and then assemble it?

If life is tough on me and easy on all those people who are good enough to stand against me then I guess it have a plan for me like life has some plan for everyone. The almighty has the power to move the whole world according to him then grant me one wish that please explain me what do you want from me? In last I can only say: “all’s well that ends well.” Hope my end is also well so that I can say proudly one day that everything is good my son everything happen for a reason.

The experiment of love....

As I interact with many people who are in love and they claim that the love is the most beautiful thing in their life I notice that in one point or another they feel “why the hell I’m with him/her? Why is she/ he poking me again and again? Why can’t I live my own life my way?” I never understand the real meaning of getting into a relationship status. Is it a mean to show that someone is there with me or is it a means to kill your loneliness. If a person cannot be happy with each other then what’s the whole point of being with that guy/gal. The only thing that I can figure out is that the person is so low in his/her spirit that they seek a moral support from someone whom they can bank upon but does this really happen in this harpy world?

As far as I can understand the answer is NO. Today people just try to show that they are going out with someone. It has become a kind of fashion statement. The girls gossip about their person lifelike: “You know what he gave me a big gift and took me to a dinner in his car.” The other will say “Ohh really, you know what my boyfriend gave me a ring and took me to Hyatt for a dinner in his corolla.” In the middle there will be a girl who doesn’t have anyone about whom she can flaunt. So in the end she will be so demoralised that she will land up with some wrong guy just to show other girls that I too have a boyfriend. Similarly the boys will sit and start telling their tales about their girlfriends. One will say: “dude, you know she is really hot man.... we did this we did that and blah blah blah..... “ The other one say “man my girl is really sweet she did whatever I said to her and the dream story begins.” But in the end whom are we fooling? Ourselves only. The youth enter this kind of world to find happiness but they are left with only loneliness.

The thing is that love is not that comes to your way by just having an attraction towards him/her. The sense of love is always to give the care and support to the other person. If the mutual understanding is not there between the couple then what are they trying to show the world. The darkness inside you will start killing you slowly-slowly. It acts as a silent killer which leaches you from deep inside your sole and pushes you in the state of loneliness from where you have started your path. Some of the lucky one does find a real love of their life which turns out to be the best decision of their life. But the uneasiness of their mind makes you lose lot of important things in your life which cannot be regained. So is this kind of decision worth experimenting???

I just lost my smile...

Playing with a plastic toy

life was like a ride of joy

A cracking sound on the courtyard tile

And before I knew it, I just lost my smile

Was in tears when I broke my Rambo doll

All I could do was cry and bawl.

Startled by my hue and cry

my mother wipes my tears dry

Was eying a place in the hall of fame

while keeping my eye on the game

I lost my game by more than a mile

And before I knew it, I just lost my smile

My father sat beside me

Taught me the rules of the sea.

Told me "The small fish gets eaten by the bigger one,

So always put in your best, my son.

Walking around in La-La Land

We held hands as we walked on the sand

The happiness was short lived, it was only for a while

And before I knew it, I just lost my smile

Enter the world of drugs and sleeze

It sucked me in before I could say please

Love and trust are foregone words

Feel like my remains are being pecked by birds

I still tried to move on with my life

Balancing is hard when you're walking on the edge of a knife

I'm fighting a losing war, realisation took a while

And before I knew it, I just lost my smile

Losing it all in the blink of an eye

Made me ask questions to the spirit in the sky

No response just made me believe it was all a lie

All I wanted to ask was "Why me, Why?"

The beginner....

There always a time when a process starts

Its only the game of what your mind crafts

Thoughts might me unlimited

But it is all about only the selected

People might laugh at you

Say that you are insane, over creative

But how much you do, is your prerogative

There will be some against you, some with you

But its all about how much you dare to

Life is about ups and downs

The more you fall, more you learn

Once up you go, then there is no U turn

There is always a king’s crown

Waiting for you in the hall town

Some say do this, some say do that

Remember one thing nothing is good, nothing is bad

You just have to open the golden door

There is always a room at the top floor

Upper level might say

How can you do this? you are new

But remember.. you are selected from crew

If you miss the chance

Then there is no second glance

Way will be full of obstacles

Difference comes in approach one tackles

So snatch your pack of share, because

You just have to-do the dare.

Always maintain the relations

The winning secret is patience