Early in the morning you wake up, not by the birds chirping, but due to the ring on your door bell; of your milkman, newspaper vendor, or bread seller. This is the morning scene, very familiar to Mumbaikars. If you are in Mumbai and missing your morning like this that triggers you that there must be something wrong in the city. Though its heavily raining or serial bomb blast in the city this morning session will not be affected. People call this as a true spirit of Mumbai. Truly speaking it is the source for all of them for their livelihood hence none of them would take a chance on missing their income. Well whatever be the reason of serving, every morning they serve you and your day starts in the hustle and bustle of the city life.
As a traveler, you may miss this part of life in the city, but the choice to stay with a local family will enable you to participate and enjoy this life too. Now a day many organizations and government bodies have started home away home concept for travelers, to stay along with a local family and to make them understand their culture, tradition, as well as enjoy their vacations. Today everyone is talking about this city's liveliness, energy, enthusiasm, and speed. If one wants to enjoy these all they should opt for such a concept.
One has to adapt the nature and liveliness of people to experience the real colour of the city. But if one does not want to break his / her shell to explore its diversity, then it will be difficult to see the multi colour it holds. It has people from different ethnic group and a different economic section of the society. You will find the elite group of people at one end whereas voracious people at the other end. You will find plush societies in Malabar Hill, Antop Hill, Colaba whereas shanty and slum parts in Dharavi, Sion and Bandra.
This economic difference between the societies does not uneven the city life, it helps to bring balance between society. Actually the poor section helps the rich section in their routine work so as they can enjoy their luxury and comfort in life. In return, the poor section gets the economic benefit for helping the rich section which in turn helps them to survive in the city. You have everything in the city, and you can differentiate it according to the different categories of people around. You have posh shopping malls selling branded stuff, and you have street side vendors selling non branded stuff. One who enjoys shopping at Atria, Phoenix shopping malls will equally look forward to roam at fashion street or link road.
Local buses and trains are also known as the lifeline of the city. This local transport plays a vital role in the routine life of an individual in the city. They manage their schedule as per the local transport timetable as it is the fast and reliable medium for them to commute. People are following this time table so rigorously that some of the commuters can tell you the whole timetable. The crowd in the local trains and buses has become one of the tourist attractions for the westerners. As a spectator it is very difficult and dangerous job to travel in those overcrowded trains during the peak hours. But still commuters travel on a daily basis without uttering a single word against the system. This is a true instance of their true spirit. Apart from this they celebrate functions, play cards, or songs to enjoy the time while commuting. The best examples are ladies who create their own groups and celebrate religious functions, which otherwise they would not be able to celebrate because of time and work.
The city is being densely populated because of its popularity, availability of jobs and the film industry Bollywood. Compare to any other city in India this city has its own charm therefore still people from every corner of the country wants to come to Mumbai. Now it has become overcrowded therefore the government is developing the nearby cities to increase job opportunities in different cities and developed a substitute of the city: called Navi Mumbai. Though the government and political parties are developing many projects to resolve problems, arise because of the crowd. But no one has come up with a proper solution which will get the city its old charm.
Martin Wynn
