Thursday, February 25, 2010

Bombay belongs to?

The ever-crowded local trains,

Streets and pavements filled with people,

Crammed little boxes for homes,

And several homeless trying to survive,







Heavy rains and guaranteed floods,

Endless traffic and the resulting pollution,

MNS riots and Sena bandhs,

Terror attacks and bomb blasts,








...and yet something pulls you here.



Chai tapris and vada pavs,

The ever smiling chacha in irani hotels,

Needless to mention- their brun muska and chai,










The hardworking dabba wallahs,



making sure we get to eat on time,
















Countless sea faces,

And the pani puri stalls on the shores,

Roadside chaat and chataai pav-bhaaji,







Dreams and desires in the eyes of people, 

The warmth in their smiles,

Religion-language-caste no bar,

Their welcoming nature,

That "Chalta hai" attitude,

A hand to hold and a shoulder to cry on,

Unity in calamity,

And, no matter WHAT,




...Bombay lives ON!









Bombay for Marathis, or Bombay for India? Neither!!

Bombay for everyone, Bombay for the world. :)


Image Courtesy: Shreyansh Mazumdar, and some Googled for.

18 comments:

ankur said...

Ae dil hai mushkil hai jeena yaha...zara hat ke zara bach ke ye hai bambai meri jaan!

Beautiful images and a gr8 post

Unknown said...

People will come and go.
Mumbai,Bombay what ever its name changes to in the future will welcome the next tired soul.

came to the realization after standing at kanheri caves . wondering about the monks who lived there 100s of years ago .In a jungle called in a place called Mumba or Maha-Amba filled with tigers..

Shreyansh said...

Great post. <3 your passion for Bombay and blogging =]. And thank you!

Anonymous said...

Simply Beautiful!!!! I could feel the passion of a true mumbaikar and a valued Indian in this blog :D

Rohan - Smiles to go before i sleep :-) said...

nice 1...had written something similar 2 years back...

try
http://rohangaitonde.blogspot.com

and click on "an experience"

Sachin Tendulkar and Mumbai spirit are 2 topics i can read and write again and again :):)

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful way to express. Mumbai for all!

Anonymous said...

Lovely!! I agree of course :) Bambai/Bombay/Mumbai is for all Indians... as much as any other city in India. But I do fear the influence of not the terrorists or the floods but political groups succeeding in changing this.

Vishesh said...

that's the case with every city! they belong to everyone...

Ritzz said...

Mumbai Meri Jaan..... :D
Mumbai is not for me not for you but for all!
And i don't give a Shit to politicians who are trying to break unity of Bombay.Because no matter how hard they try its mumbaikars who define what mumbai is not those Morons.... :P
I love "Chalta Hain" Attitude...you know its only in vogue in Mumbai people outside Mumbai tend to misunderstand it to Helplessness or something. Great Pics.

Anubha said...

@ankur
"Aye dil hai aasaa jeena yahan
Suno mister, suno bandhu, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan" ;)
Thanks! :)

@Inde
Welcome to my blog! :)
Yes, people come and go.. and Bombay will always continue to welcome them :)

@Shreyansh
Thanks to you, lovely clicks!! :)
And yes.. I <3 BOMBAY !!

@Janeve
Thanks Janeve. You could write a post on how much you liked it here so far, since you're originally from Kerela :)

@Rohan
Don't know about Sachin but I can surely write about Bombay endlessly! :D Heading over to your post...

@partywithneha
Yes, Mumbai for ALL! :)

@indianhomemaker
Hey, welcome to my blog! :)
I don't think any political party can change this entirely as long as we citizens think otherwise. They can only change things at the surface level; we'll always fight back!

@vishesh
Yes it is indeed, but politicians seem to think differently when it comes to Bombay.
And I guess it's your first time here.. welcome! :)

@Ritzz
Nothing and no one can break the unity of Bombay. :)
@

Anonymous said...

every city has its own charm, be it the mega-crowded trains or mushy sea shore ;)

u hold 'em all and did it well :)
and the visuals r all apt to the words. :D

Calvin Pereira said...

I love Mumbai.......I love Mumbai....I love Mumbai.......I love Mumbai.......I love Mumbai.......I love Mumbai..........

Anubha said...

@desininja
thanks a ton.. we are indeed lucky! ;)

@Calvin
Oye Bombay bolneka kya ;)

Prasad Gupte said...

Written in great Bombaiya spirit!

Sheth Raxit said...

want to put link to this blogpost on our home page for few days ? plz contact on www.m4mum.com/contact.html

Reema said...

coming to Bomday soon...actually will be making a stopover. :)

Anubha said...

@Prasad Gupte
Thanks and welcome here! :)

@Reema
Oh lovely.. when?? Let me know if you have some time with you! :)

Harsh said...

jaraa has k .. jaraa bach k ... ye hai mumbai meri jaan .. ;)