I heart Mumbai

An old post which I've found and updated. I think I wrote the original version about 4 years ago and it still holds true.

Though living in India can be exasperating, infuriating, maddening and at times just plain impossible, it’s clear to me that I am totally in love with Mumbai. Though it drives me crazy, I can’t leave it ; though I fight with it on a daily basis, I just keep coming back for more of its rollercoaster highs and lows.

I remember the exact moment that Mumbai took my heart. I'd arrived into the city late the previous night ... driven slowly through streets choked with ragged people, rickshaws spewing out obnoxious fumes, and a general cacophony of sound, sight and smell overwhelming every sense. Usual India/Asia stuff, I'd thought, as I contemplated my future life here. I woke the next morning to a blinding bright blue sky, cloudless and luminous in its intensity. I was picked up from the flat I was staying in at Kemps corner, and driven to the office. As we entered the lanes of cars weaving haphazhardly across lanes, I lost myself in the contemplation of life in this new city. As we suddenly swung a left into Marine Drive, past Chowpatty Beach, I looked up and saw the curving expanse of Marine Drive ahead. In that very moment, inspired by the beauty of that arc stretching far into the distance, and the sun glinting off the immense stretch of ocean, I felt my heart beat faster. I fell in love with this view, with this energy, with this bright expanse of possibility and felt that future would be bright and exciting. Eight years later, I still feel the same way about this city, a place where I’ve grown professionally, met my husband, had my baby, bought an apartment and finally become a “Person of Indian Origin”.

I know that there are cynics who believe that I’m only emotional about Mumbai because I’m living a comfortable expat life here, able to afford the luxuries which insulate me from the dirt and the poverty, and that the nice apartment, the brunches, the manicures and the air-conditioned Innova protect me from the harsher realities of life for the average Mumbaikar. Well it’s true that I’m not exactly living on the streets. And yes I am lucky enough to live a relatively lavish life. But every city in the world is held together by the energy of the people who live there. And Bombay's inhabitants, though often poorer than we can even begin to imagine on the more affluent side of the fence, are the most positive, inspiring and intensely giving people I have ever had the privilege to meet and spend time with. And that lifeforce simply fills Bombay's atmosphere, infusing the city with an energy which overwhelms and invigorates. No other city I've ever spent time in, has had this kind of effect upon me. Forget Hong Kong, Singapore, London, LA, San Francisco, Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok, Rome, Paris. All intense and interesting in their own way, but always somehow leaving me a little cold, compared to the passion I feel for Mumbai.

Though life here can be intensely frustrating, difficult and often despairing, small events and incidences drive my love deeper every day. Walking out of my building after a quick chat with the ever smiling doorman, and catching a glimpse of the boiling ocean crashing on to rocks on my drive to the office. The cool relief which the monsoon brings after a long, hot sticky May and the way the tree lined roads turn from dusty brown to green and lush. Swimming in an empty pool at sunset, and listening to the faint sounds of the traffic with water-filled ears. Sitting in the parlour having my toenails painted fuschia pink by a sweet tempered man lost in concentration on getting the brush strokes of polish perfectly even. A deep tissue massage during which all the aches and pains of the day are kneaded away by expert hands. Sitting in the office, listening to the heated debates emanating from every corner, one moment in English, the next in Hindi and then an indecipherable mix. Sitting in the back of a crowded movie theatre, as the cellphones ring, the conversations get louder, the cheers and moans annotate every moment of the hero and heroine's burgeoning love affair. The list is simply endless. And at every moment, every time these small events take place, they add to the love I feel for this city.

Will I ever leave? I am asked this question on an almost daily basis. I don’t believe that anything happens in life by accident. I came here for a reason, I’ve found my soulmate and become a mother here, and now I’m about to set off on a new personal journey. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to leave Mumbai, but I do I know that I’m not ready to leave it just yet.