Posted on May 29th, 2008 by Harsh
Mumbai is a place Delhiites generally don’t like to travel. Heavy traffic logs, un-warmly behavior of people, and dearth of good-looking girls often are the major grievances of those who have been bred in Delhi or North India (disclaimer: I don’t want to instigate the North India-West India divide issue here). On my second trip to Mumbai, I expected all of this, and got none of it (apart from the last J). I was scheduled to attend three meetings in a day in Thane, Bandra and Andheri, and most thought it would consume one entire day. To ensure that I could return the same day, I booked a 5 AM flight, which surprisingly departed on time and arrived on time. I would recommend all fliers to just avoid boarding Go-Air; they are pathetic right from the welcome counter to the aircraft (there were mosquitoes in there) to service.
On my arrival at the Mumbai Airport, I took a cab for the whole day and took off for Thane, which is in the Mumbai suburbs. I reached my destination in 45 minutes, instead of 2 hours what many had said! Mumbai is really very different from Delhi, and both are metros! I am proud to say that Saddi Dilli has a far better infrastructure than Mumbai. The Metro, many flyovers, and wider roads are really a blessing for one and all. The most interesting part was the conversation with my cab driver the whole day. A 50-odd-year-old man from UP who was driving in Mumbai since 1979, he had many tales to tell, and he was blessed with a patient listener. I can’t ever publicly publish everything he said, but he converted some notions into confirmations during the conversation (or should I say soliloquy). He had earlier been driver to quite a few Bollywood personalities like KC Bokadia, Ram Gopal Verma, Manoj Kumar, amongst others. He had special words to say about Ramu and his muses, and confirmed all those things that we think (salacious, I mean!).
Well, well, well, the driver had more gyan to disburse about the thriving flesh trade in Mumbai and how the categorization is done, and who all are involved. I listened to all this with great patience and interest. For a traveler, cab drivers are like guides and give an insight into the city, both the good and the bad. He knew of all the agents and places and techniques. I am not too sure if he was trying to sell his services to me, but I think he could make out that I was only interested in listening, and my contrived objective was to listen to him and put it all on this blog.
Apart from that, the driver had some real mean words for the Govt of Mumbai. Like anywhere else in India, they are corrupt and are indirectly run by the big-wigs such as Ambanis who donate millions of dollars to fund their election campaigns, etc. Mumbai is a city which is run by the powerful and the common man just plays his day-to-day role to keep the city buzzing. On my way back, I was reading Mumbai Mirror which reported that Mukesh Ambani was seeking permission to make a private airport on the suburbs, because there is no place at Mumbai Airport to park his fleet of aircrafts.
I was also surprised to see the narrowness of the road near the airport. On my way to Thane I also crossed a toll junction, and unlike Delhi, where you expect state of the art infrastructure after or before any toll gate, there was nothing really remarkable in Mumbai. I was clueless what were they charging toll for and that too Rs. 25, whereas you have to pay Rs. 17 at Gurgaon Toll. Well, strange are the ways of the world if you come down to comparison. As a matter of fact, Mumbai is more expensive in Delhi in a few ways. In Delhi, parking fee in most places is Rs. 10 (except the money-driven malls), whereas in Mumbai, it is Rs. 50 in quite a few places.
All in all, Mumbai is an exciting and happening place and Mumbaiites just love it. You have many options when it comes to eating out, most amazing hotels, and a culture and air that is just unique to Mumbai. Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan!