This is part 3 of Parallel Ironies and includes Clarissa Dlima's take on the issue at hand. Clarissa is herself a newly mumbaikar and without doubt one of the nicest persons you will ever come to know. Well, one thing is certain is she has a very peculiar way of thinking. So here goes
Being away from
home for nearly a decade and missing Mumbai, I have long been a self-declared
Mumbai lover (and Yes! Non-Mumbaikars can be Mumbai lovers too) but now seeing
the apathy amongst people I seriously doubt is this the same Mumbai I have
always had in my heart? Perhaps the one I did was a little more idealistic. But
what is it that makes a person like Mumbai? Is it really the ever crowded
streets clouded with the smoke and dust? Or is it the lovely free massage the
local train give you? Probably it must be the roller coaster feeling the roads
give you in monsoon?
OK, now please
don’t scream that “NO” out… you know the noise levels in the city are already
at a good mark.
Can it be the
comforts and the great night outs the city offers? If this were the case one
would find it hard to pull through the long day in anticipation of some
relaxation. However the one who truly likes Mumbai will be able to equally
appreciate the noisy days and the snugness of the nights.
So what really
is it in Mumbai that lures people?
I believe it is none but the people
themselves. A people where no one really seems to care whether you are faring
or fading. A vast multitude that seems so non-judgemental. A pace that inhibits
your recognition process and a daze caused by the gushing thoughts strategizing
your next move, that you know will help you whiz past even the glaring stares.
Such is our little tortoise shell that makes us feel safe amid the
huzzing-buzzing peregrinations. But at some point do dare to peep out of the
shell and in this very crowd you will find those random stranger who will
brighten your day with a smile either when you bump into them in an attempt to
carve out a path to move ahead of the masses, or maybe when you are stuck with
the other in an overcrowded bus or in the long wait at the signal (if at all
you do follow signals) and you receive a sarcastic smile that conveys “I
know your state for I am in the same puddle”. A smile that make you break out
of your constructed tortoise shell. In such a seemingly non- bothering crowd you
encounter every day, you might over time let familiar faces become a part of
your routine course. Without the urge to know the other’s names and ancestral origins,
just the awareness of the common hardships lets invisible bonds take birth. In
these elusive manners the city secures you even when you are among the ones you
least know.
Another aspect
of the people in Mumbai is that the people with the different cultures they all
carry manage to blends into a harmonious oneness. By oneness I do not mean the
hum sath-sath hai oneness, I rather
point out to the oneness that make you a part of a new culture. A culture in
which each and every one is forced to set aside biases and overcome
stereotypical notions regarding the other and be modest to pursue those common needs that in turn facilitate
our individual needs, be it the need to give a great push to get into the
locals or the need to co-ordinate and cooperate during floods. This culture not
only helps in mitigating the hurdles that affect a large number socially but at
the same time keeps us motivated to wade through the little disappointments of
each day. It is this unconscious culture that helps us learn many things and
tactics of dealing with life from others, and we may subsequently adapt them to
our personal use. These manoeuvres would have probably always been foreign to
us if we were to shield our world with the blinds of our preconceptions.
Additionally you never know when your way of doing things is admired and
adapted by someone else making you a contributor towards this culture. This
absorbing and diffusing of common wisdom gives considerable scope to broaden
your thought process.
The emotional
soundness that one can find in the daily hurries of life is a unique joy of
living in Mumbai. It brings out the self-motivation that keeps one aiming for a
fuller life. The brotherly and sisterly solidarity resulting from the coming
together of people of different backgrounds creates an intangible realm of belongingness
that allows one to grow more with more and more interaction. When we as new
mumbaikars get more acquainted with this fact we will possible be able to
overcome shallow in differences that do not allow the realisation of a Mumbai
that is akin to the Ideal Mumbai of our Dreams.
SO people go
beyond the physical… beyond you comfy shells and explore the Mumbai that will
gradually add new shades to your life.
Thank You Clarissa for your thoughts and writing to us(me really). Do contact her on the below Email address if you have any questions regarding the article.
clarissadlima@gmail.com
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