This is my first ever trip to the much talked about Bombay or Mumbai. Growing up in a small town in India, Bombay was what New York is to most Americans. It is land of movie actors, the famed trains, the tall buildings, Juhu beach and Marine drive. The brief brush I had with Bombay was in 1993 when on my way back from my wedding to US, the Air India flight was grounded due to strikes. I was put in the famed Taj Mahal hotel in front of Gateway of India. With no transportation available I spent the 2-3 days around the hotel.
This time I stayed in my brother's-in-law friend's apartment in Lokhandwala, Andheri. There was lot of trepidation in me on my flight to Mumbai. In spite of the fact that I lived for 15 years in New Jersey-New York area there was an uneasiness to be in Mumbai on my own. The auto drive to Andheri from the airport was without an event. The apartment was not small as I thought most apartments are in Mumbai. The second day of my arrival I had a client meeting at Mahalakshmi. I decided to have an adventure and take the train rather than a taxi. I had a computer bag, a small bag that I always carry, and a brief suitcase of my cloths (I was going to Matunga to visit my wife's cousin). Instead of buying first class I unwittingly purchase a second class ticket for Rs 7. I walked hesitantly to platform 3. It was 12 noon. I was hoping the trains to be less crowded but they were not. The train came sailing into the platform and it was spilling with people. People spilled like insects from a hole. My attempt to get into the train was futile. I was pushed back. I secretly hoped the second train would be equally bad and I would then take a taxi. As soon as the second train stopped I tried to get in but to my horror, the sudden surge of the spilling crowd knocked my specs off and fell right in front of the door the passengers were getting off. I knew it was going to be a disaster - crushed specs, no means of seeing things, cancel meeting, no spare specs. I was lucky. I was able to rescue it before it was crushed.
Once inside the train the troubles started. I was squashed. It was hot. Some guy farted and it was stinking. I held my breath hoping it would pass away. When I started to breath again, the stink was replaced with the smell of Attar (perfume). People started asking me where I was getting off. I thought that was very nice of them to ask until I realized that they wanted me out of their way so that they could get off at their stop. After about 30 minutes of ride I get a seat. I finally get off the train at my stop (Mahalakshmi). I was wet with sweat, ruffled shirt and smudged shoes. I was triumphant of having traveled in the fabled trains of Mumbai.
I was an hour early for my meeting. So I look for a place to have lunch but couldn't find anything decent. I finally find a bar. It had nothing but a big hall, dark but clean. The AC was relief from the humidity. I order a bottle of beer (I couldn't resist getting one even though I was an hour from my meeting and some tandoori chicken). It was relaxing.
After the meeting, I take a rundown taxi to Matunga. Unlike in Hyderabad where you will find latest cars and vans as taxis, I only found rundown Padmni Premier model cars as taxis in Mumbai with mechanical meters. However taxis don't turn you down as they do in Hyderabad. Next day I head to Pune to visit family friends. I had an interesting experience while waiting to purchase bus ticket to Pune.
I was at the stop by 7 AM to get into a government run Volvo bus (Volvo busses in India are considered luxurious, safe, and smooth. Their tickets cost more). While I wait in the queue, the counter window is shutdown because the next bus is not due for another 30 minutes. While a wait I hear a fair looking guys b**** and complaining. I look to him and he didn't seem like an Indian but didn't have any American or British accent. He was complaining about the information being displayed only in Hindi and why he had to wait for the ticket window to open and so on. A few minutes later I hear him speak broken Hindi. So I realized he is an NRI. But his complaints kept going and going and started becoming bitter. For the first time during my time in India, I couldn't stand this NRI and those who behave like him. I hated him for being so vociferously critical about a country that he was once part of. They have to learn to take what they get and not act as spoilt brat. Even more resentful is that they are not truly foreigners but regular Indians who lived most of their lives getting used these services and now they start complaining about the state of India. I look around to see what the other Indians are doing or thinking. I am sure they must be thinking just like me but were polite enough not to confront this guy.
Finally we get our tickets. The scenery of the 3 hour ride from Mumbai to Pune was fabulous. The Ghats, the lush forests, waterfalls, tunnels drilled through mountains. The most interesting thing is the highway - it may be the best highway I have ever seen in India. 6 roads highway. Everybody stayed in their lanes and road signs were just like in US or any developed nation.
If you ask me what I felt overall about Mumbai, I haven't seen enough of it to have an opinion. It is definitely not a dangerous place, it ain't New York but it has a character of its own. I heard Delhi is not cosmopolitan like Mumbai. I didn't find it crowded like Manhattan. Strangely it feels like Manhattan geographically with Nuva Mumbai the Brooklyn and Queens. While waiting at the airport, I can see a stretch of slums next to runway.
Next time I shall return with my family to explore the city more.
No comments:
Post a Comment