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Mumbai: A Walk through the City of Dreams, Struggle and Faith

I had recently read a story about a slum-dwelling girl who dreams of being a pilot someday. I was trying my best to recall the name of her slum. I snapped out of my reverie when the lady pilot of the flight announced that we were all set to land. I looked outside the window and realized that we were flying above ‘Dharavi’, the largest slum in Asia. The 2 hours 15 min long flight from Delhi to Mumbai was full of speculation and exciting assumptions regarding the latter. Finally, it was time to validate them all.

After landing in Mumbai, I took a cab from Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport to my friend’s place in Dadar. During the 30 minute ride, I chitchatted with the cab driver to kill time. I asked him about the city.

chhatrapati-shivaji-terminus

He said that Mumbai is a city where the impossible becomes possible. Every moment of life is a miracle in itself. Because Mumbai is among the costliest cities of India, living a comfortable life there is nothing short of a dream. Struggle for the same is something that all Mumbaikars have in common. He told me he originally hailed from Bihar and moved to Mumbai 36 years ago at the age of 16. After coming here, he got hired by one of the leading Bollywood production houses to work as a spot boy. There was a fine blend of excitement and indifference in the way he talked about his acquaintances with several Bollywood stars.

Later, he started his own taxi business. He informed me that he now owned 4 taxis. He said that he was grateful to Lord Bappa for this improvement in his financial status. He said “When Bappa is here nothing to fear” with all the faith one can muster. Talking to him made me even more excited about exploring this, as he had put it, ‘city of dreams’.

I was meeting my friend after a long time. She was very excited to meet me and show me around. So as soon as I reached her place, we decided to do some sight-seeing. First, we visited the famous ‘Kabootaron ka Chabutra’ (Pigeon Platform). I was taken away by the flock of pigeons. We threw grains up in the air and they rushed to eat them. I saw many young and enthusiastic photographers trying to capture these moments.

pigeons-platform-at-gateway-of india

Then, we visited Mumbai’s only wholesale flower market, ‘Phool Galli’ (Flower Street). The street welcomed me with its captivating fragrance of fresh flowers. I felt like the smell of the rose was hypnotizing me. It reminded me of ‘Ajmer Sharif’.

But my friend annoyed me and breaks my flow of thoughts. We saw there fresh flowers especially the variety of Roses, Marigold, Jarbera, Ceresenthemum, Carnation, ‘Rajnigandha’. After that, we went to eat at ‘Ashok Vada Pav’. The shop was built in the 1970s, making it the oldest place selling the authentic street food in Mumbai. To my astonishment, it was still in the same condition because, according to its manager, it was a symbol of their heritage.

The whole city was celebrating the 10-day long festival, Ganesh Chaturthi. It marks the arrival of Lord Bappa on the earth. Oh! Let me introduce you to Bappa first. ‘Lord Bappa’, also known as Ganpati Bappa and Lord Ganesha, is the elephant-headed god worshipped by Indians. We decided to visit some pandals that had been set up for the celebration and also the nation-wide famous, ‘Siddhivinayak’ temple that has been dedicated to Lord Ganesh, before taking our journey forward.

First, we visited ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ (The King of Lalbaug), one of the oldest and most visited pandals. It was set up in Putlabai Chawl. This place gives an impression of 1.5 billion people standing under one roof. It took us quite some time to reach the idol as there was a long queue of devotees. Hence, it takes approximately 15 -20 hours for a person to reach the idol. On the way to our home, we had fresh ‘Malai Lassi’ from Shree Krishna.

The next day we visited Ganesh Galli Mumbaicha Raja, Khetwadicha Ganraj, GSB Seva King’s Chinchpoklicha Chintamani, all of which are located in Dadar and Khetwadicha Ganraj, which is located in South Mumbai. The day was tiring yet very satisfying.

GSB-Seva-King’s-Chinchpoklicha Chintamani

The third day opened with a train journey from Dadar to C Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. It was followed by a taxi ride to Leopold Café situated on Colaba Causeway. After having a soul-satisfying continental breakfast, we visited other places like the Gateway of India and the Elephanta Caves. Later, we lunched at ‘Badhemiya’. After filling our stomachs to their maximum capacity with the heavenly food, we decided to take a stroll along the Marine Drive before calling it a night.

My friend suggested that we travel to ‘Lonavala’, ‘Khandala’ and some other places around Mumbai the next day and return before ‘Murti Visarjan’, the activity that marks the end of Ganesh Chaturthi. The next day, before leaving for Lonavala, we made a stop at Britannia for brunch. Britannia is a Parsi food joint. It is owned by a Parsi family whose forefathers originally came from Iran some 1200 years ago. These people were originally called ‘Zoroastrians’ and later got the name ‘Parsi’ after coming to India.

After eating, we set out for Lonavla and Khandala. The landscapes we passed by were beautiful and the pleasant weather made the journey more enjoyable, away from the crazy Mumbai traffic, engulfed by nature. From there we went to ‘Harihareshwar’. The place was absolutely breathtaking. It’s an isolated place where you can go to spend some me-time.

We later went to Mahabaleshwar. The greenery of the western ghat was so stunning, I cannot even describe it in mere words. Any peace-loving person would love to spend an entire day there with a nice book in one hand and a glass of wine in another. It was now time for us to get back to Mumbai.

man-returning-home-after-work

The day we returned to Mumbai, my friend took me to ‘Sassoon Dock’ near Cosba to shop sea fishes. The place is full of little surprises. You can find the ladies wearing their traditional attire, ‘Paithani’, and heavy gold jewelry and selling fish. It is a rather unusual and very captivating sight. After asking them about it, I was informed that it is a mark of their pride and their way of paying respect to the job they do.

Apart from this, they don’t go fishing for three months during the rainy season out of respect towards the sea god as the sea replenishes its resources during this time. I was awestruck by the knowledge of how people there worship both, nature and idol, with equal faith.

The culmination of my Mumbai trip happened on the 10th day of Ganesh Chaturthi with ‘Bappa’s Visarjan’. My friend and I wore the traditional Paithani and went to watch the visarjan ceremony taking place in the Arabian Sea. Interestingly, in the procession, it was mostly women who were playing the ‘dhol’. People were playing with colors. The ambiance was that of utter excitement and undiluted enthusiasm.

The celebration was at the grand level. Everyone was chanting ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya, Mangal Murti Morya’ and ‘Jai Shivaji, Jai Bhawani’ in unison. That moment was so electrifying that I couldn’t resist myself from moving my body to the energetic beats like a true Mumbaikar. The city showed me what emotions are, what caring for each other is like, and what living life against all odds is. The cab driver’s words came back to me. In Mumbai, everything is possible. Life here is spontaneous, vibrant, and busier than one can imagine. Still, people of Mumbai, despite their struggle, dare to dream and hold on to their faith.

ganpati-bappa-visarjan
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