11 More Things I love about Mumbai

History of Mumbai:

Bombay was the first British Indian possession, which came as a part of the royal dowry in 1661 to King Charles II of England on his marriage to the Portuguese princess, Infanta Catherine de Braganza. 

(the 7 islands ceded by the Portuguese to the British in 1661)

Ironically enough, Bombay also set the stage for the birth of the country's historic freedom movement, as well as for some of its major landmarks, including Gandhiji's 1942 call to the British to "Quit India". 

(The first bonfire of foreign goods was lit in Bombay in 1921. Hats, caps, shawls and suits went up in a blaze. “In burning my foreign clothes I burn my shame,” said Gandhi)

It was in Bombay that the Indian National Congress was born in 1885. It led the country's struggle for political independence and indirectly to the liquidation of the British Empire.

The name "Bombay" was changed to "Mumbai" on August 12, 1996.

(Information Source: Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai)

I have already shared my first list of "11 Things I love about Mumbai" in a earlier post;

Here is my list of "11 MORE things that make me a Proud Mumbaikar".

1. In 1890, Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started a lunch delivery service with about a hundred men. The commercial arm was registered in 1968 as Mumbai Tiffin Box Supplier's Association. 

Between 175,000 and 200,000 lunch boxes are moved by 4,500 to 5,000 dabbawalas, all with an nominal fee and with utmost punctuality. It is frequently claimed that dabbawalas make less than one mistake in every six million deliveries. Dabbawaalas are surely a Pride of Amchi Mumbai.

(Information Source: wikipedia) 

2. Want to witness Magic: Visit Mumbai in the Rainy season. I love the lush greenery, flooded roads, the magical Rains, the lashing sea.

Please ignore the pot holes and the open Manholes. After all this is not Alice in Wonderland, this is Us Mortals in BMC-land. Did you know, that established in 1882, BMC was India's first municipal corporation.

3. Founded in 1880,  currently a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, diverse settlement. Dharavi's total population estimates vary between 300,000 to about 1 million.

I love it that a small one-room school in the heart of the largest slum has grown into an institute for 350 children. Hats off to 'Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir'(SSRVM) Team, Dharavi for bringing this challenging and beautiful transformation.

4. I love it how in Mumbai every single vegetable seller, milkman, shopkeeper, 

fruit seller, rickshaw driver, policeman, postman, cable-operator and even a passerby on the street has one common name : 'Bhaiyya / Bhaiyyaji' (brother). Thank God, women are still addressed as Ma, Amma, Aunty and even didi.

5. The worst criminal offence would be to live in Mumbai and not enjoy a Paani-Puri!! 

I love it that even after offering excellent hotelier services, Restaurants still have Chaat counters where people can stand and relish their favourite sev-puri, dahi-batata puri  and pav bhaaji! 

Did you know that Paani puri has 10 more names, viz:  paani ke patashe(Haryana), gol gappa(northern India), paani ke bataashe / patashi (Rajasthan and UP), phuchka (Nepal and Tamil Nadu), gup chup(West Bengal and Odisha), pakodi(Gujarat), Phulki(M.P.), Tikki(hoshangabad, MP), Padaka(Aligarh, UP). Oh, thats mouthering-watering.

6. If you want to witness a Miracle, simply take a ride on a Mumbai Local train or BEST bus. Though survival itself is a Miracle in this city, a train ride, convinces even the greatest atheist about the presence of God's hand in human existence. 

Established in 1905, BEST & Co (Bombay Electric Supply and Tramways Company Limited) today BEST has 26 depots, a fleet of 4680 buses & a daily ridership of 4.1 million people.

We Mumbaikars truly live a blessed life.

7. I remember how there was a time when travel from Andheri to Opera house or from Santacruz to Bhandup was the best time for watching a 2 hour movie on the cell phone or a tablet. I love the way Mumbai has progressed with the Worli SeaLink and now the latest SCLR.

The 16 billion (US$270 million) Bandra-Worli-Sealink was commissioned by the Maharashtra State Road development Corporation (MSRDC), and built by the Hindustan Construction Company. The sea-link reduces travel time between Bandra and Worli during peak hours from 60–90 minutes to 20–30 minutes. As of October 2009, Worli Sealink had an average daily traffic of around 37,500 vehicles.

Well its a different story that Worli-Sealink, intended to give Moksha(liberation) from traffic, is used by few for liberation from life. Sad, but true!

8. I love it that no rain, no thunderstorm, no political call for 'bandh', no festival, so bomb-blast has ever been able to bring Mumbai to a Stop… 

Every single morning my newspaper gets delivered to my door step, every child goes to school in the school bus, local trains are full of people : no matter what!!

Life always… always… goes on.

9. I love it that while terrorist attacks in other cities are either forgotten or marked with mournings and accusations, its only in Mumbai that youth can come together to mark the 1st anniversary of the killings at CST station by performing a patriotic Flash-mob dance at the station platform and convey the message that we love our country and no terrorist attack can break us. 

On November 27, 2011, commuters at the busy VT (CST ) station were surprised to hear a tune from “Rang De Basanti” playing on the Public Address System. They were in for another surprise when 200 youth “spontaneously” started dancing in unison. 

10. Tagging a famous Movie dialogue:

Every Indian state has something to boost of: rangilo Gujarat, communist Bengal, backwaters of Kerala, desert region and palaces of Rajasthan etc… etc… and then we are asked : Mumbai ke paas kya hai? (What does Mumbai have?)

And the One line answer is : Mumbai ke paas Bollywood hai.(Mumbai has Bollywood). Amitabh Bachchan ki Jai ho!!

 

(Publicity Poster & Still from Raja Harishchandra(1913))

Raja Harishchandra(1913), by Dadasaheb Phalke, is known as the first silent feature film made in India. Today Bollywood is one of the largest film producers in India and one of the largest centres of film production in the world.

11. ….and… Of course, Mumbai ke paas Sunil Gavaskar aur Sachin Tendulkar hai, Madhuri Dixit aur Salman Khan hai. 

Ratan Tata, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Nusli Wadia, Adi Godrej, Uday Kotak, even Anil and Mukesh Ambani are all born on Mumbai soil. Lata Mangheskar, R.D. Burman, Geeta Dutt, Javed Akhtar are all products of apni Mumbai. 

…..and… the list of things that make us Proud of Mumbai goes on and on…

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