Bombay days: Prelude

There are no buildings here that remind one of the British architecture, there is no apparent awe when you tell someone that you live in “South” of the city. For people here, south has only one meaning perhaps. Most importantly, there is no marine drive. And that large sea facing you and helping you gulp down whatever that life has to throw at you.

There is also no “Local”, to help you keep running away from all those things you wish you had never faced.  Indeed I miss those days when I just used to board at Churchgate, get down at Andheri only to board again from there, just to kill the time and get some solace.

As I discussed all that I miss about Mumbai, the place where I had stayed for brief yet beautiful span of 8 months of my life, with a friend of mine over phone. She reverted by saying why don’t you explore Bengaluru a little. She sounded right, I had been in this city for about 4 months but had not explored it that well. And thus I was forced to make this comparison which I had purposefully delayed.

“But Bombay is Bombay” I would say. “You would never know what this city has to present to you until you move around” she retorted with a reason. Pursued by this logical and intelligent sounding argument I decided to give this city a chance. I moved around the city with a few friends, went to expensive restaurants, amusement parks, tourist spots. But to no avail. The memories carved out by Bombay would still outweigh this surface level delight that I experienced in Bengaluru.

No doubt on the fact that Bengaluru as a city is also very good; once the metro comes up in full shape it would be even better. Climate is very pleasing; there is not so much humidity as one finds in Mumbai. And to some people it is also a lot more comforting a place than Bombay.

Perhaps it’s the iconic status that I associate with Mumbai or the romanticism resulting from Bollywood image that city carries, or perhaps the awe of the rich and famous.  But somehow, somewhere Bombay seems a little more attractive as a place.

Though I have everything here in  Bengaluru, friends, work, apartment to stay, restaurants, amusement parks etc, something seems amiss.

It could be any of the things that I had been fascinated with, locals, nameless crowd in which I can easily merge and lose the burden of my identity, sea that takes in everything, romantic marine drive….. Or just the impression that comes to my mind when I hear, “Bombay”.

Impression, it is indeed an amusing thing, so intangible yet so strong in force, impact and effect on our mind. In coming pieces of this series, I intend to understand this love that some of us have for that city which once considered us as their residents. For a city which taught us to run and made us feel as if we were flying even when we were perhaps barely crawling.

For that place which still has its arms open for us to walk in…...