Having born and brought up in the Bollywood city of India, it is impossible NOT to love it. So invariably, my favorite city is Mumbai … simple because this city is my life. That's why the song "Yeh hain Mumbai meri jaan"
For someone from outside, it is definitely a difficult place to fall in love with. The traffic, the humidity, the heavy rains, the rushed life, the over-over-crowded local trains and so on
Not for me. Mumbai is an enigma for me. I respect the spirit of the average Mumbai citizen who strives to keep his life normal and routine struggling to survive in spite of all the curve balls the city throws at him/her in daily life.
People in Mumbai are simply #madeofgreat stuff and collectively the city itself is #madeofgreat
Drive
Every time a 'calamity' has hit Mumbai, the city and its people have risen to the challenge and proved their mettle. Time and again the average Mumbai has been forced on his knees and every time he has pushed back and got up to face the challenge … not for any great achievement or a revolution; just to bring back life to normal again. It is this quest for normalcy that drives the people here. People have struggled with the over-burdened infrastructure for decades and have almost given up on the government to do something concrete about it (except let's say lay out and dig up concrete roads). All that now drives them is the need to have a normal routine (and quite often boring) life. Ironically, it is this normalcy that drives them and not some great ideal. And that is what makes it great.
Design
By design, every Mumbaikar is a survivor. They face problems day in and out which hardens them and prepares them for the worst. The life in Mumbai is designed to make you a tough person. Of course, there are people who have fun and they hardly have to worry about the hardships (except maybe traffic problems). But the vast majority is work hardened and made tough. The complex problems are God's design to toughen the average Mumbaikar.
Connect
People connect. You interact with scores of people on a daily basis and you seem to connect with all. The milkman to the newspaper boy to the security guard to the familiar face in your regular transport (bus or train) or even the familiar face in the traffic jam or the road-side vendor outside your college/office etc. You meet people and connect with them. Over a period of time, you feel for them.
Unfortunately, the connect seems to have been slowly reducing and eroding due to our busy as well as selfish lifestyles. Also, a lot of interactions are reducing. You don't visit the stores very often now – you just shop online and the goods get delivered. You miss out on all the interactions you could have had in the store.
Nevertheless, the city is still pretty good and people here have a heart of gold
Mumbai is #madeofgreat and the average mumbaikar is also #madeofgreat
