The city of Mumbai is a glorified one. There are various connotations used to define the city, with some of the most famous ones being, 'The city that never sleeps', 'The city of dreams' and 'The heart of India' among others. And how about 'The city which has redefined traffic?' Although the Mumbai traffic may not officially find a place amidst its other well known facts, one can certainly not consider Mumbai without thinking about the vehicular congestion that encapsulates the city.
Every conversation about Mumbai that inadvertently highlights its traffic scenario....
Person X: Where are you planning to go for your postgraduate studies?
Person Y: Umm.... I have shortlisted Pune, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Mumbai which offer the course I want to specialise in. But Mumbai seems like the most ideal option. I'm almost on the verge of finalising a college in Mumbai. Even though Mumbai is a little more expensive than the rest of the cities, in the end it is the 'It' city.
Person X: Okay, but do you know....
Person Y: You have been living in Mumbai for quite sometime now and I'm sure once you have lived in Mumbai you would never want to live anywhere else. Right?
Person X: Before coming to Mumbai, even I had painted an idealistic picture of the city. No doubt, everything is good except for the city's roads and its traffic, which make me want to have wings. People in Mumbai who travel long distances everyday spend half their lives traveling. A place that should usually take 10 minutes to reach takes 30-40 minutes in this city's traffic. What does one do with all the money in the world when time is more precious than money?
Person Y: Oh really? I never knew the situation would be so bad.
Person X: You bet!
The traffic graph is on a rise, so much so that an active Mumbaikar gets to enjoy ample alone time while driving. Ideally, from the time a person starts his day till the time he reports to work, all his to-do things must be checked off. Right from walking upto the car which is parked in a distant corner due to space constraints that helps burn calories to making all the important and I-shall-be-late-due-to-traffic calls to taking glances at the newspaper when at the red light to doing good karma by helping eunuchs and street urchins with some money while stuck in traffic, a car ride in Mumbai is wholesome in all respects. If that is not enough, the alone time you get coupled with good music in the background can bail you out of any and every worry-that-be. If all of this is not enough, there is also a great deal of work that needs to be carried out on the social media front. There are always some pending Facebook updates that need to be checked along with equal number of posts to be liked and commented upon. And if you are looking presentable enough for a selfie, an Instagram upload is definitely a good idea. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but in today's day and age, if you have a smart phone with good internet connectivity then you are never alone. C'mon, what can you not do with that smartphone? Pun intended.
The other set of people who take local buses to travel have their own stories to tell. Imagine getting on a crowded bus with barely any place to stand and involuntarily having to smell the armpits of the passengers around and being at the receiving end of taunts and frustration from the bus conductor every time you fail to produce the exact money for the ticket! If one ever manages to get a window seat on a bus and if there is a long ride that awaits, then sleep can never avoid him/her. Because nothing is more familiar than a bumpy ride combined with chaos all around, which makes every Mumbaikar feel at home.
Every conversation about Mumbai that inadvertently highlights its traffic scenario....
Person X: Where are you planning to go for your postgraduate studies?
Person Y: Umm.... I have shortlisted Pune, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Mumbai which offer the course I want to specialise in. But Mumbai seems like the most ideal option. I'm almost on the verge of finalising a college in Mumbai. Even though Mumbai is a little more expensive than the rest of the cities, in the end it is the 'It' city.
Person X: Okay, but do you know....
Person Y: You have been living in Mumbai for quite sometime now and I'm sure once you have lived in Mumbai you would never want to live anywhere else. Right?
Person X: Before coming to Mumbai, even I had painted an idealistic picture of the city. No doubt, everything is good except for the city's roads and its traffic, which make me want to have wings. People in Mumbai who travel long distances everyday spend half their lives traveling. A place that should usually take 10 minutes to reach takes 30-40 minutes in this city's traffic. What does one do with all the money in the world when time is more precious than money?
Person Y: Oh really? I never knew the situation would be so bad.
Person X: You bet!
The traffic graph is on a rise, so much so that an active Mumbaikar gets to enjoy ample alone time while driving. Ideally, from the time a person starts his day till the time he reports to work, all his to-do things must be checked off. Right from walking upto the car which is parked in a distant corner due to space constraints that helps burn calories to making all the important and I-shall-be-late-due-to-traffic calls to taking glances at the newspaper when at the red light to doing good karma by helping eunuchs and street urchins with some money while stuck in traffic, a car ride in Mumbai is wholesome in all respects. If that is not enough, the alone time you get coupled with good music in the background can bail you out of any and every worry-that-be. If all of this is not enough, there is also a great deal of work that needs to be carried out on the social media front. There are always some pending Facebook updates that need to be checked along with equal number of posts to be liked and commented upon. And if you are looking presentable enough for a selfie, an Instagram upload is definitely a good idea. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but in today's day and age, if you have a smart phone with good internet connectivity then you are never alone. C'mon, what can you not do with that smartphone? Pun intended.
The other set of people who take local buses to travel have their own stories to tell. Imagine getting on a crowded bus with barely any place to stand and involuntarily having to smell the armpits of the passengers around and being at the receiving end of taunts and frustration from the bus conductor every time you fail to produce the exact money for the ticket! If one ever manages to get a window seat on a bus and if there is a long ride that awaits, then sleep can never avoid him/her. Because nothing is more familiar than a bumpy ride combined with chaos all around, which makes every Mumbaikar feel at home.
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