Conjested, bad traffic, crowded, polluted but has a throbbing heart and a beautiful self -that's my perception of Mumbai.My Mumbai visit last weekend was in tune with fulfilling an overdue promise to a friend.
The drive from the airport to the city itself was like reminicising the past. Old world architecture, fountains at crossings, marine drive, old Parsi restaurants, sindhi houses, glamourous Victorai Terminus, roman churches, churh gate, gateway of India. Each nook and corner of the main city had a beautiful surprise in store.
Sadly, the subburb was quite a disappointment as compared to the main city. Match box houses, dirty roads, crowded bazars all added up to make you feel that you are on the same time visiting some other city. There are some parts like Malhad, Juhu(famous for its star presence), Band Stand which look in all this chaos a good attempt to polish off the dirt and filth and have an ultra modern look. Altogether quite a chaotic mixture not appealing to my taste.
Whatever might be the stark difference, the main beat of the city is definitely the people, or rather '' bindaas'' people. Spirited, enthusiastic despite all the traffic and expense hassles, enjoys whatever fun they can in the most least expense like having pao in chowpathy or just sitting in marine drive or just hanging around Gateway of India. The true spirit of Mumbai!!
Among the metros or even other happening cities, I would definitely rate Mumbai and Calcutta as best experiences in terms of a city - the perfect combination of heritage and vibrancy is sadly missing everywhere else.
