Citylights

There are days when you wish you hadnt heard the news . Welcome to Today .
Readers Digest ranked Mumbai as the "Rudest" city in the world ..after surveying 35 different cities .

Here is what cities were ranked on
" These involved three basic tests—holding the door open for someone right behind you, helping a passer-by pick up a dropped newspaper or pile of documents, thanking shoppers after their retail experience."

Honestly - Behjo usko mere pass .

First of all - I'm hardly an expert on politeness . Secondly - I'm definately not a geography expert . But I have lived in 4 cities in the last 5 years .
And I have travelled to 20 or more cities in the same duration. And I have lived in Bombay . For 22 years - everything I learned about life , love , kindness and magic was in the suburbian utopia of Greater Mumbai.

Thanks but no Thanks .
With a staggering population , Mumbai Metropolis is what it is today just because of all the people who live there , accomodate each other and establish order in the chaos .
Be it the riots , bomb blasts , rainchecks and what not - this is a city with a bloodline and a lifeline ..far longer and stronger than most...with more soul , style and snazz that any other.

Mumbai - The melting pot ..home to millions , where people migrate from all over the world to make fortunes , blending into the mainstream ..There is a world that starts and ends with Mumbai ....a world where Ganpati , Navratri , Christmas and Eid are celebrated with as much gusto as the other - a world where theres a song on the lips of hawkers , street children , train sellers .stockbrokers and stars ....a world where your hearbeat and the citys pulse throb together to create the experience of a lifetime.

And to call the mumbaikars rude ?! ..Excuse me ...
They are busy knocking on opportunity's doors - so sorry - they dont have time to open your door for you .
They are too busy picking up the pieces of their own lives and helping each other stand up = so sorry ..your newspapers can wait .
..and thanking people after a retail experience ? - Boss. Get a Life .

When I first read this article . I got really upset . Then as the minutes turned into longer ..I started feeling disappointed with the article .
With great power comes great responsibility - and this means that a publication which is as far reaching as the RD must be a little more accountable and responsible for the authenticity of what gets published . For a lot of people - this article is going to be their perception of my city ..a perception far from real ..mirroring an opinion far from legitimate .

Then as it sunk in - I realised that beneath that initial shock , anger and disappointment ..I felt bad for the reporter who conducted this survey .
That he didnt have the opportunity ...le chance ...rather the blessing of seeing the kinder side of Mumbai - a city with many people , many faces , many facets , a lot of madness , a lot of traffic ..but also a lot of heart .

I always said that you need to be lucky to live in Bombay ..but I guess now I also know that you need to be lucky to love bombay ..and more importantly ..for Bombay to love you back .