The City that never sleeps!

Mumbai, the city that never sleeps, is a saying so very true and I came to realize that during my tour around this magnificent metropolis a few days back.Even before the break of dawn to the last toll of midnight bell, the place is so alive all the time. Be it any hour of the day, the roads are buzzing with traffic; malls and other hangout spots are swarming with people, one too many. There are times when I begin to think that the city is actually breeding people!
Mumbai also flaunts of having one of the largest and the most well-managed local train facilities in the world. The locals provide a very easy means of commutation that covers the entire wide expanse of 608 sq.kms. at a very affordable price. It exempts you of all the traffic jams, the pollution and the heat albeit the rush of the local trains itself is very energy-sapping.
Mumbai is also a city of vivid contrasts. While it is known to be the home of Bachchans, Khans and Kapoors on one hand and Ambanis and Bajajs on the other, it is also the proud home of one of the largest slums in the world. There are the famous and there are also the notorious. You got it right! While there are celebrities and big business magnets, there is also the underworld industry which keeps the city abuzz through its kidnappings, extortions, threats and the like.
A horde of all the head offices of leading brands across the world, the Share Bazaar and a multitude of upcoming new ventures also makes this city the business capital of India. The city has its fair share of tourist attractions as well like the JuhuChaupati, the Marine Drive, the Gateway of India, the Taj and the Oberoi, the Siddhivinayak temple, Haji Ali, Hanging Gardens,the list is quite magnanimous! One very new dish on the menu was the Ambani house and believe me when I say that it is turning out to be one of the biggest tourist attractions of the city.
On this trip of ‘Mumbai Darshan’ I went a few days back, I got a chance to see all these places but in reality it was not these places that excited me. We were in Bandra and the tour guide was showing us the bunglows and flats of various filmstars and celebrities. I got to see ‘Pratiksha’, ‘Mannat’, ‘Rajan’ and many others. Hope you know what they are! This was exciting to me because I realized that filmstars are also people like us who live in houses made of bricks and stones, who eat the food we eat and go to work like any one of us. Earlier, I considered filmstars as people who are terribly difficult to get associated with or be friends with and one can only see them in movies or award shows! I don’t know why but somehow seeing their residences from so close made me feel that I can also be one of them some day …. A little naïve but I couldn’t help it!
I believe this post is something very different from any of my earlier posts in the way it is written and the subject it deals with. At some point it came out as a boring essay while at some it stated things very obvious. But I am writing after a long time, needed something simple to break the ice. This post is also, in a way, very satisfying! This is because I have always brooded over people who keep talking about their place of residence which to me doesn’t matter so much. Now when I can brag about the place I live, it is in someway pleasing to me, wat say!
All said and done, Mumbai is amazing and no city can compare with it in anyway. You wanna differ with me, be my guest. One can only enjoy what the place has to offer once one has been here so please give your mind and heart a little rest till then…..no hard feeling huh!
Cheers,
Piyush.