a must read for a mumbaiite-part I
I am from a small town in UP (yeah I know all cities in UP fail to grow beyond the status of town, except of course Noida). But I belong to a small town, I repeat TOWN which happens to be a district as well and not any kasba or village (why I am repeating it, you will get to know in the lines to come). And luck would have it, it so happened that I got a husband who had spent a few years in USA (even his native place is a good big CITY in Rajasthan) . So, every now and then, he would tease me on the condition of my birth place, the electricity scarcity, the water trouble, lack of connectivity (somehow the trains to UP (Bihar also) always run late, some section of the road on the ‘national quadrilateral’ highway is always dug up, to avoid any further embarrassment to me please forget about air connectivity- even Agra which happens to be world famous has not yet managed to have it). What I will call a road he will call a gulli.
But…but..but..now things have changed, (I hope I could paste the joyous photo of mine here which erupts with satisfaction while I type this), I know a city….a metro, which calls their similar ‘gullies’ (sometimes even worse) as their roads…sometimes highways (western or eastern) as well. I know you got the hint, MUMBAI. Mumbai is the city whose roads remind me of ‘Mathura ki gulliyan’-(lanes of Mathura). And on top of that, the people, the authorities, don’t even seem to care. Huge residential or commercial projects will crop up on the side of a lane, with sky soaring rates….. with already suffocated approach roads.
I think the real estate developers should start considering to provide for a helipad facility in addition to the parking facility in their projects, because soon with the kind of money the people in Mumbai seem to have, plus the projected future condition of the roads, it will become impossible to drive in Mumbai. And those who can’t or don’t want to use trains will have to use helicopters. Maybe soon some IITian would develop a ‘helibus’ or an ‘air copter’ customized for the needs of Mumbai. Oh…how I wish ..i could get this idea patented… soon it will be a hit and I will get nothing.
With this I end, with a salute and a thumbs up to the spirit of Mumbai. I think slowly I am also starting to like this city, except of course- the roads, its traffic, and the people who create this traffic. Because with time, this idea is gaining strength in me that –
Dilli ko to log yun hi badnaam karte hain,
Mumbai main log sadkain jyada jam karte hain.
But…but..but..now things have changed, (I hope I could paste the joyous photo of mine here which erupts with satisfaction while I type this), I know a city….a metro, which calls their similar ‘gullies’ (sometimes even worse) as their roads…sometimes highways (western or eastern) as well. I know you got the hint, MUMBAI. Mumbai is the city whose roads remind me of ‘Mathura ki gulliyan’-(lanes of Mathura). And on top of that, the people, the authorities, don’t even seem to care. Huge residential or commercial projects will crop up on the side of a lane, with sky soaring rates….. with already suffocated approach roads.
I think the real estate developers should start considering to provide for a helipad facility in addition to the parking facility in their projects, because soon with the kind of money the people in Mumbai seem to have, plus the projected future condition of the roads, it will become impossible to drive in Mumbai. And those who can’t or don’t want to use trains will have to use helicopters. Maybe soon some IITian would develop a ‘helibus’ or an ‘air copter’ customized for the needs of Mumbai. Oh…how I wish ..i could get this idea patented… soon it will be a hit and I will get nothing.
With this I end, with a salute and a thumbs up to the spirit of Mumbai. I think slowly I am also starting to like this city, except of course- the roads, its traffic, and the people who create this traffic. Because with time, this idea is gaining strength in me that –
Dilli ko to log yun hi badnaam karte hain,
Mumbai main log sadkain jyada jam karte hain.
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