Time and again Mumbai has always been criticized for its indifferent behavior with respect to any initiatives taken in the interest of the society or India at large. The recent one in case was Anna Hazare’s fight against corruption where he was expecting around a lac of people, which eventually quite turned out to be a damp squib. Only 10,000 people gathered to show solidarity with another freedom movement – freedom against corruption! And not much to my surprise everyone took it in a bad light, especially our so called elected representatives sitting in the parliament, who didn’t leave any stone unturned in proving that, this meant mumbaikars are not with the movement, giving it unnecessarily a political colour. It’s easy to make interpretations by sitting idle at one place, but how many of us view this world through the other person’s eyes? How many of us empathize than sympathize? How many of us know what it means to be a mumbaikar?
It’s a fact that Mumbai has pots of money but very little time. This isn’t today’s lament. If you venture in the past and read about life back then, you will find that the city’s character remains the same. Only the name has changed. People say, it is easier for us to criticize about whatever is wrong & get on with our daily lives than to drop the onerous task of living in a ‘fast’ city, even for a while, & get down to fixing problems. It is this standoffish manner of ours that has allowed a few chauvinists & extremists to lord over the city for the past several decades.
My question to such people, will you come to feed us if we don’t work for a day? Where were y‘ll when Mumbai showed spirit & valour against all the ghastly acts of humanity that scarred its soul like a deep wound, difficult to heal. The resilience displayed by us is something beyond the understanding of the political or benefit prone zealots. We may not have time to spare but we stand united against things. An average mumbaikar can binge on a vadapav and sleep on a pavement to get things going without cribbing. There are people who earn money per day to survive. Their day’s toil & sweat earns them bread and butter at the end of the day. They are survived by their families, so a day’s labour means a peaceful sleep in the night. Such people can only show solidarity through sentiments and not through physical presence. There’s only one word mumbaikars know – go on!!! It’s in the blood of Mumbai, come what may be our adrenaline rush is enough to push in things. We help each other in the times of crisis and this is what I love about Mumbai. Being a regular commuter myself, I have seen people helping a faint person to reach hospital. Ten hands ready to help an old woman collect her basket of goods scattered all over the place. That’s real Mumbai, a feeling of togetherness and brotherhood. To stand collectively, hold on to its nerves in testing times and fight against all odds to get going without waiting for support.
We may be considered as a slave of time but it is erroneous to jump to the conclusion that we don’t stand against a cause. We have always supported & voiced our concern from time to time (if not by physical presence, at least verbally & in spirits). We are willy-nilly disciplined persons. We are law abiding citizens and follow proper systems like true-blue mumbaikar (that’s how we end up paying the maximum tax!)
To conclude all I would say is, if you can’t understand, please don’t try to berate & degrade us. We never fail to display the resilience during tough times, giving essence to our existence of a true-blue mumbaikar. We are not irresponsible, just a little busy, trying to keep pace with the ever running life. It keeps us on our feet, perhaps making us feel, what it means to be a part of a maximum city that never stops….!!!
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