Five things I hate about Mumbai

Diary of a Frustated Soul!

We all know and approve of the magnanimous pool of opportunities Mumbai throws at you at every nook-n-corner. We also agree that this city has a charm that no other city offers. And we are crazy about the fact that Bollywood and Marine drive are both in this same city! But but but, Mumbai, as impeccable as it is, has some irritating inevitable features that instigate me to just pack my bags and leave this city. Here’s my personal list of 5 things I hate about this city.

Wit the advent of summer, Mumbaikars can well understand the plague of heat and humidity- a deadly combination. I shower, wipe myself clean and step out of the house, and there it starts, tiny beads of sweat treacherously crawling down my cheeks, until a downpour of perspiration starts. No handkerchief or tissue can save you from the horrors Mumbai’s summer has to offer. One can look around and find ocean of faces, all sweating, cursing and walking.

The second thing I hate about Mumbai- Travelling. It takes hours and hours to just reach from one end to another end of the city. And on busy days, you can finish your whole meal at traffic signals! As much as I love the trains, they are still a pain. The combination of humidity, packed local trains, heat and sweat is a nightmare I dread to undertake. And even if you have the luxury to hop in a cab, you still have to walk. Walking is crucial in this city, one just can avoid it. Mumbaikars are used to it, but for new comers, they suddenly have a lot to take in! How can one just walk when the sun’s shining bright and there is sweat threading down your body?

But, the positive side- travelling is cheap and so is food, what is expensive is, any guesses? Yes, housing. And that is on my Hate list number 3. I’ve spent days hunting for affordable flats in South Mumbai, and until now my hunt continued. For a person working on a meager salary, living near Marine Drive is dream that stubbornly refuses to turn true. A small 1BHK can cost you around 50,000-60,000 per month, and that is the starting price. If you fancy getting a fully furnished flat for anything less, forget it!

It is already challenging to settle down in this hectic city, what makes it even more challenging is the sheer population. You go anywhere, walk on any footpath or sit in any restaurant, you will invariably find people all around you. The crowd comes on Hate list number 4. When you walk on Andheri station or in Crawford market, you have to play this game of dodging people. There’ll be crowd filling in from everywhere, and you just have to squeeze your way through them. The population explosion that this city is witnessing is historic! Only Andheri has a population of more than 1 lakh. With more and more people making Mumbai their home every year; infrastructure, sanitation and basic amenities are suffering a set-back.

But, what I really hate about this city is the one emotion that it tickles inside my guts- separation. One has to leave his or her home to be able to carve out a space in this big city. The struggle demands not only long working hours but also alienation from the comfortable life back home. There are tens of thousands of migrants living in Mumbai, people who have left homes to fulfill their dream, people who have come to attain better education and people who have come just in hope of better opportunities. But, as much as I hate to admit, Mumbai has made all such people (including me) stronger by thrusting separation. It has taught me that sacrificing something you gingerly love for something else is a process you can never avoid.

Mumbai, a city that has inspired so many films, has also inspired me in life-changing ways. And as much as I hate this city, I love it for making me the girl I am today- hopelessly independent!

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