Metro mantra

When you look at Mumbai, it is like reading the hopes and pride of everyone who built it. It is a city of commercial pilgrimage without a ti...

When you look at Mumbai, it is like reading the hopes and pride of everyone who built it. It is a city of commercial pilgrimage without a time-frame. People came here to make money. They left behind whatever they had to hunt for a bigger dream. They came from every part of India, speaking different languages, belonging to different faiths and from various economic strata.

They were prepared to take risks, struggle and suffer and travel into an uncertain future. They came with hope and belief that hard work can achieve anything. All they were asking for was an opportunity. The city received each one with open arms and provided them the playfield. The majority of them had to start small businesses on Mumbai’s streets. They sold clothes, food, vegetables and fruits, shoes, perfumes, cigarettes, pan, cassettes, music systems, old postage stamps, coins, books…

Nothing deters the Mumbaikar, not even the occasional mobile municipal van seeking to displace them. There are restaurants and bars that cater to every echelon of the society. There is entertainment for all. It has even created its own language. With Hindi as its base, it has coined some very colourful and very effective words and expressions.

Story continues below this ad

Like many others, the young aspiring actors arrived in the city over many years. The city provided shelter, freedom and openings for all those who had the talent — ultimately, of course, talent and luck led some on the path to success. The city has built its own character. There is a purposeful single-mindedness in the pursuit of commercial success.

Most people work long hours because they realise time can be usefully converted into money. Hence, each one leads his life without prying into other people’s business. They do not even have the curiosity to inquire where you live or what you do. This makes life easier to deal with.

Today, the city has rewarded their courage, their ability to take risks and the capacity to hang in. It has famous actors, singers, musicians, painters, poets, writers, doctors, scientists, successful business tycoons, professional managers, reputed newspapers and magazines, popular TV channels. The best of what the country could produce.

So, if recently you got exhausted while wading your way through deep and dirty water, remember the people of Mumbai.