On Leaving Mumbai!

Bombay and Bangalore.Or should it be Mumbai and Bengalooru?Either way the inhabitants of the two cities dont give a hoot.Then whats the whole hue and cry about renaming the cities?Politics.Newsmaking and attention grabbing tactics.Why else would precious newpaper space and television time be occupied by such trivial matters in a time and country where terrorism,poverty and disintegration of the socio-economic fabric is getting evident by the hour?

But we are digressing.This is not some column by an erudite economist analyzing the pros and cons of the two megapolis' infrastructure or economy.This is just a couple of lines to answer the queries of various mumbaikars who ask the question "But why Bangalore man..?"

To a Mumbaikar its unthinkable that anyone would forsake this city of sins and move out to spend the rest of their lives.Even to me,a softcore south indian,who came to Mumbai on the August of 2004,the choice was not obvious.Its after a lot of deliberation that I had to take this decision.So this column is also in a way dedicated to those who have stayed in Mumbai,love the place and yet hate it.

Hasn't everyone been frightened when they first saw the rush of heads and shoulders brushing and nudging their way through at CST and ChurchGate to reach the office at peak hours?Wondering how the tapori with the red shirt,dirty blue bandanna and faded jeans always seems lounging about at the same spot whenever you see him?The rusty aarey depot that has lines and lines of coloured milks situated at odd places throughout the city?Where else would we be able to walk out into the night at 11:00 for a snack and get caught in traffic?Where else are the bikes,The babes and The bottles?JW Marriott?

All thats there in Bangalore is a bunch of youngsters with "attitude"!And M G Road and Brigade road.Two streets that do not stand an iota of chance when juxtaposed with Linking Road Bandra or Marine Drive.No doubt Mumbai beats any other city that I have seen hands down.In sheer size and variety.A polyglot of cultures.Its a riot.

To someone who wants to experience life and try everything once I would say Mumbai is his place.Let no man speak of Mumbai as the big bad city.The way it is portrayed in movies and books.I leave Mumbai not because I hate it.But because I love myself more than I love Mumbai.We are incompatible.We had a brief fling together.But we are not made for each other.