Mumbai – Dating OK, Marriage NO!

 Mumbai. Really?

Crowd

Good or bad, Mumbai is just way too crowded. You got to feel for Mumbai, people come here to make a life for themselves and the influx of population is just inevitable. But that’s none of my concern; if it’s crowded it’s crowded and that is it. A spade is a spade! Compared to Chennai or Delhi or Kolkata, Mumbai scores for the worse.

Still, it’s Mumbai man!

The fact that people are nice here is no justification for the fact that the crowd is okay, which brings me to the next aspect.

People

People here are helpful in general, this holds good only for native Mumbai people and those who have settled here, not the floating population.

In times of monsoon, floods and disaster, men and women of this city have stood together which is quite admirable. On this front, Mumbai scores way better than other metros.

Amchi Mumbai!

Culture

Many South Indians have expressed a cultural shock here, especially on seeing people smoking in public places. While this is simply bad, many other things in Mumbai are good – safety in travel even at late nights, availability of food at all times, a glorious nightlife...

What intrigues people sometimes is the ‘famous’ attitude of locals. Once in a ferry, my friend asked the ferry guy “When will you start the ferry?” He replied “Sit back and enjoy the air. I know when to start the ferry. Tu Tension mat le!”

Enough said! Customer service, Respect and care for individuals, courtesy are alien terms here. Anything and everything is considered ‘okay’ in Mumbai!

“Did you hear chaltha hai?!”

The culture here is generally on par with other metros, nothing special again. Except for the flashy Delhi, other metros like Bangalore, Chennai, Calcutta, Hyderabad have equally good culture. And South Indian cities are by far less aggressive (no Virat Kohlis here - you find Dravid, Kumble, Ashwin and Laxman; Sreesanth is not a cricketer!), more helpful and more cultural.

But Mumbai is the city of dreams, right?

Transportation and Infrastructure

Local trains have a big place in the heart of Mumbai citizens; the relatively new metro rails are good too. But hey, don’t they look like the only option available to commute here? Hello, traffic!

Delhi has a better metro, cities like Pune and Chandigarh are less polluted, Chennai and Bangalore have better road transport! Local trains may be historic, but they don’t make history by themselves.

Auto rickshaws are good… if you manage to get into one, you can pay by the meter. They are worse than good looking girls here – they reject you on the face! In any case, auto rickshaws do not count as public transport in my dictionary.

“Local trains are awesomeeeeeeeeeeee!” Sigh.

All the other things!

Due to overcrowding, costs have shot up. Accommodation is quite expensive. Other metros are relatively cheaper. Andheri and a few other areas are costlier than London, who knows!

Mumbai doesn’t look friendly to children and older people (gone in both ends). Even at 20s, I find it hard to take a walk. Can’t imagine senior citizens having a healthy lifestyle here. The life expectancy in India is about 67 years but for those living in Mumbai, it is 59 years (it’s even lesser for men) – this fact is hardly surprising, considering the quality of life people experience here. Spitting is common in the finance capital and that may be a contributing factor – just saying!

Where are supermarkets in Vile Parle? Don’t ask NMIMS students to take an auto to Lokhandwala, please! Irla is strange – you never get what you want though they have a lot of things.

Vada Pav (best food in the world) – Possibly the only reason this business survives is because people don’t have the time to eat real food in Bombay. People not agreeing with this fact should seriously think why this food item is not so popular in other major cities. Street food in Mumbai is good though. Better than most cities.

Hygiene? Sorry.

“Chaltha hai yaar…”

Education – Mumbai scores well for post-graduation just by the sheer number of B-schools, the strong industry presence and the quality of education. By a big margin, Bombay beats other cities lock, stock and barrel. For under graduate education, sans IIT Bombay and St Xavier’s, it does not present as rosy a picture. Chennai is great on this front with SRM, VIT, SSN, CEG and the likes – pure class.

Nature? Fail. Forget enjoying nature, you can’t even see normal things…

On being asked why he can’t spot any stars in Mumbai, one local person told that you can spot them in Prithvi Café and many other places. Actually the poor chap asked about the heavenly bodies seen at night. Looks like Mumbai reads TOI too much.

“Mumbai is a party town!”

Movie tickets have no price ceiling. In cities like Chennai there are government regulations on this, you can enjoy any movie anywhere at INR 120 or less, even on weekends. Now that’s what you call caring for people and their right to entertainment.

“Still, Bollywood daa!”

Enough is enough! No one gives a damn anymore!

Sure, Mumbai is a great city but it’s just not worth the hype it gets. Not everything is right about this place. I do not believe everything written here as well – Chennai is safe does not mean there is no theft in buses; Bangalore weather is awesome doesn’t mean Mumbai weather is bad. I am not saying Mumbai is wrong.  All I am trying to drive home is that, Mumbai is just too overhyped a city, it’s just unwarranted.

Let’s be honest. There are other cities which are great places to live. Mumbai is good for a few years, and then it’s better to leave for greener cities!

Delhi/Kolkata? Delhi

Mumbai/Delhi? Mumbai

Mumbai/Kolkata? Mumbai

And then there’s Bangalore and Chennai! Welcome to civilization.

“Not that glamorous, but you live long!”

Mumbai? Whose dream is it anyway!

p.s. I don't know when this was written; I don't believe this anymore :P