My first step towards Mumbai...

When I initially shifted to Pune some 9 years back, the Mumbai-Pune expressway was a very new phenomenon. People were still getting used to it and the Expressway was considered with awe and great respect. Only the brave and the adventurous ones drove their cars (read only Sumo, Qualis and Scorpio) on the Expressway. Today anyone and everyone drive on the Expressway. It has become the lifeline of this region and has proved to be a major reason for Mumbai and Pune to come closer, both geographically and culturally.

Of course I am no one to give any verdict on a subject like this but my recent trips to Mumbai have left me thinking and wanting for more. Before I start (though I have already started), let me tell you that I was never a huge fan of Mumbai (until maybe now) and have been very comfortable being a Pune-ite!

Since long, Pune has been considered as the "Oxford of the East", with a very palpable student culture thanks to thousands of students thronging the city to take advantage of its university and university affiliated colleges. Pune has also been known as the "Pensioners Paradise" with retired people relaxing and enjoying their retirement. Mumbai, on the other hand has always been perceived as the city of opportunities with its fast and hard work demanding life. The city never sleeps they say... Well it really doesn't...

I have made loads of trips to Mumbai in the past for a myriad of reasons- for giving my GRE exams, for catching cheaper flights to the North Eastern cities of Imphal, Dibrugarh and Guwahati, for catching Rajdhanis to New Delhi, for catching direct trains to cities like Benaras, Gwalior and the like, but I have never really fallen for Mumbai... I have never felt Mumbai welcoming me with open arms as Pune had. Pune was my home and Mumbai? Mumbai was the big city where one had to go to get things done.

This feeling of mine was doomed to change and I realized that Mumbai doesn't welcome you, it simply beckons and lures you and you can't help but embrace it with your "arms wide open", with a foolish grin on your face and a feeling of hope in your heart. Such a change of heart? Well, this change was brought about by my father getting posted to Colaba, Mumbai and I was left with no choice but to travel to Mumbai from Pune on the weekends ;)

I have made two trips to Colaba in Mumbai in the past one month and it has been enough to change my perspective about the city which is home to India's Hindi film and television industry, to Asia's largest slum and to great heritage monuments like the VT, BMC building, The Taj and the gateway of India.

True Mumbai-kars tell me that living in Colaba and visiting these tourist places isn't really living the Mumbai life. The Mumbai life is all about deriving pleasure out of getting stuck in traffic jams, journeying in local trains, shopping on Fashion Street and winning over rush hour to reach your school/college/office on time every single day.

But I have made a start and I am sure it would be soon when I will be brave enough to live life in true Mumbai-kar style :)