What's the point?

Osama is lingering in our minds like the clouds in the sky. US has killed Osama so Navy Seals are stronger now, ‘Jai Ho US, Jai Ho’. Arriving in another nation without their concern is barbarism but attacking rustics and ignoring the past incidents is an epitome of walking on the white path. What an idea sirji, Humse badkar kaun? Phew! Atleast Obama has confirmed his seat for the 2012 presidential elections. “Yes, I can do it” should be his slogan now.

The curiosity which wanders in my mind right now is giving a dawn to questions whether US has really gunned down the shehenshah of terrorists or is it another conspiracy which also gave rise to the questions on man landing on moon. Obama does not want to leak the pictures saying that it can lead to a ‘major uprising’. It has leaked 5 videos of Osama but without audio! We can conclude that US is trading ISI terror on India to protect itself. How sarcastic! The real proof of delirium of insanity. In my view, Obama should work as a lecturer rather than be the president of United States. He is sententious, scuffles with his own people. But, behind the curtain remains a mystery till now. I think we should wait for Wikileaks to lift it!

India’s lamp has now lightened to give birth for the immediate need of Dawood. US was a mentos for India. ‘Dimaag ki batti jala de’ But, what’s the point in that?

Japan attacks surprisingly on Pearl Harbour during the blackened times of World War II. To calm itself, US shows its might by plotting an atomic explosion on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even Pakistan can now do the same and even it will be supported by its own brothers- Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Jammat-ud-Dawa and many others.

Osama should not have been put to death in this manner. He should have been questioned, interrogated like what Headley is forced to do today, but, our “Mahan US” works on the slogan-‘Kaam khatam, Paisa hajam’ But, what lies ahead? What’s the point? Is India expecting help? Is India in need of a shelter under the roof of the White House or it can stand its ground by leaking the names of the insane politicians who still now work for the World no.2 wanted terrorist, under whose fingers lies the Pakistan Stock Exchange. He is the guru now. The powerful, the mighty, ruling the world from one single place in the complete protection of ISI. They are rubbish, insane and not the attacks of 26/11…

Even Bhagat Singh was a terrorist in the eyes of the Britishers and was accused of bombing though, no one was killed. He also fought for his nation, but he was a freedom fighter. Now, let’s take Osama. He is also a terrorist and most wanted in front of  some of our eyes but he is fighting for Jihad and so among his own people, he is a freedom fighter, so, what’s wrong in that?

If, according to his own views he is right then why he is laid on the death bed? Doesn’t he have the freedom of expression or US has so much freedom that it can kill anyone in the world it wants to ?

Osama was the most wanted in the eyes of US, not India, then it should be a personal war, understanding like what happened in Christmas during World War I. Brotherhood (British & German armies played Soccer on no-man’s land on Christmas Day during World War 1).

I am neither praising nor criticising Osama but arguing on the point that he should have been interrogated. US have killed one but the terror flows like a river and Obama would be gifted with thousands of lives on his feet…

US has made his wives widows and the life of his children a hell. They are almost orphan now. Who will take care? So, what’s the point in killing Osama? Even US is also a murderer of a thousand lives in Iraq and several other nations.

A fire needs just a small spark and nothing else to create a major havoc. US has created the spark and now the fire has to spread. It is its natural property but shockingly Osama was a CIA agent! By killing him, US has stepped upon a quagmire created by US itself. It has wrapped the quagmire around itself!

Here, one gets the Nobel Prize for Peace recently few years back in the year 2008 and now that same, person with the Allied Forces is sending troops and attacking the soil of Libya. How disgusting! Then does this prove that the Nobel Prize is biased or the political ocean is larger, deeper and darker as it seems to? Both Pakistan and US have to answer the world. It is rightly said today that US is the greatest terrorist…because…I believe in it…

US has swirled the lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki but memories remain. You can’t plot an atomic bomb on it. It remains forever as we move on…forever…for now, better catch the crook on run or see the incantation of the terror’s fun !

The Mumbai we live in...

All you Mumbaikars will love this wonderful article:

The city of Bombay originally consisted of seven islands, namely Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman's Island, Wadala, Mahim,Parel, and Matunga-Sion. This group of islands, formed part of the kingdom of
King Ashoka, which have since been joined together by
a series of reclamations.

After his death, these islands passed into the hands of various Hindu rulers until 1343. In that year, the "Mohammedans" of Gujarat took possession and the Kings, of that province of India ruled for the next two centuries. The only vestige of their dominion over
these islands that remains today is the mosque at Mahim. Who tore everything down?
The Portuguese/British perhaps? Post partition anti-muslim mobs perhaps?

In 1534 the Portuguese, who already possessed many
important trading centers on the western coast, such as Panjim (Goa),Daman, and Diu,took Bombay by force of arms from the "Mohammedans".
This led to the establishment of numerous churches which were constructed in areas where the majority of people were Roman Catholics.
There used to be two areas in Bombay called "Portuguese Church".
However, only one church with Portuguese-style facade still remains; it is the St. Andrew's church at Bandra. The Portuguese also fortified their possession by building forts at Sion, Mahim, Bandra, and Bassien which, although in disrepair, can still be seen. They named their new possession as "Bom Baia" which in Portuguese means "Good Bay".

This name was later changed to "Bombay" by the British
and much later challenged by the Shiv Sainiks, a renegade political party in the state, saying that the name of the city was "Mumbai" from the Mumbadevi temple. Nobody really put up a fight.
The fact of the matter is the Kohlis who are the fishermen of that area, called a small section (Babulnath to be precise)of the
islands,"Mumba". This in the mid 1990's became a huge political issue with the Shiv Sena party, who were losing a grip on the city. More about the Shiv Sena later.

About 130 years later the islands were given as dowry
to the English King Charles II on his marriage to Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza in 1662. In 1668 the islands were acquired by the British East India Company on lease from the crown for 10 pounds in gold/per annum. Obviously the British did not value these islands at that time.
The Company, which was operating from Surat, was in
search for another deeper water port so that larger vessels could dock,and found the islands of Bombay suitable for development. The shifting of the East India Company's headquarters to Bombay in 1687 led to the eclipse of Surat as a principal trading center. The British corrupted the Portuguese name "Bom Baia" to "Bombay".

The first Parsi to arrive in Bombay was Dorabji Nanabhoy Patel in 1640. The Parsis, originally from Iran, migrated to India about 900 years ago. This they did to save their religion,Zoroastrianism, from
invading Arabs who proselytized Islam. However, in 1689-90, when a severe plague had struck down most of the Europeans,the Siddi Chief of Janjira made several attempts to re-possess the islands by force, but the son of the former, a trader named Rustomji
Dorabji Patel (1667-1763), successfully warded off the attacks on behalf of the British with the help of the 'Kolis', the original fisher-folk inhabitants of these islands. The remnants of the Koli settlements can still be seen at Backbay reclamation, Mahim, Bandra,
Khar, Bassien and Madh island.

Bombay then had a sucession of British governers, who
attracted Gujarati traders, Parsi ship builders, Hindu and
Muslim businessmen; and made the city more populous. A city court was started to uphold the law. A fort was also built, none of which remains, except a small portion of the wall. Governers like Oxenden, Aungier & Grant helped Bombay grow and set up hospitals, roads etc

The Zoroastrian Towers of Silence on Malabar hill were
built by Seth Modi Hirji Vachha in 1672. The first fire-temple was also built in the same year by Seth Vachha opposite his residence at Modikhana within the British fort. Both of the these structures can
still be seen today although they have been expanded and strengthened.

The inroads of the sea at Worli, Mahim, and Mahalaxmi
turned the groun d between the islands into swamps making Bombay an extremely unhealthy place at that time. Reclamation work to stop the breeches at Mahalaxmi and Worli were undertaken. In 1803 Bombay was connected with Salsette by a causeway at Sion. The island of Colaba was joined to Bombay in 1838 by a causeway now called Colaba Causeway and the Causeway connecting Mahim and Bandra was completed in 1845, which was done by Lady Avabai Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy.

In the mid 1800's the cattle that people owned used to
graze at the lush Camp Maidan (Azad Maidan). The British, always ready to levy taxes, started a grazing tax, which most people could not afford. Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy spent Rs. 20,000 to buy some
grasslands near the seafront at Thakurdwar and saw that the starving cattle grazed without a fee in that area. In time the area became to be known as "Charni" meaning grazing. When a railway station on the BB&CI railway was constructed there it was called Charni Road.

On Saturday 16th of April, 1853 a 21-mile long railway
line, the first in India, between Bombay's Victoria Terminus and Thana was opened. In 1860, the railroads connected Baroda and Central India. With the Suez canal also opening in Africa, Bombay saw a great ecomonic boom. Cotton being the main export. Many families made their fortunes during that time. Even the Americans imported cotton during the Civil War that started in 1861. The population of the city went from about 13,000 in 1770 to about 644,000 in 1870.

In 1858, after the first war for Independance, where
people like the Rani of Jhaansi played a big part, Bombay was taken back by the crown and the East India Company was in dire straits.
Governer Frere had a fountain made in his honour at that time. Which was later called Flora Fountain, but this is a fact that is quite unknown to the general public.

Then in 1863, the Governer got piped water from the
lakes (Tulsi, Vehar & Tansa). After which they banned all open water storage systems like water tanks and wells, which were breeding grounds for mosquitos.
This was met with a lot of opposition.

The later half of the 19th century was also to see a feverish construction of buildings in Bombay, many of which such as, the Victoria Terminus, the General Post Office, Municipal Corporation, the Prince of Wales Museum, Rajabai Tower and Bombay University, St. Xavier's College, Elphinstone College and the Cawasji Jehangir Hall, the Crawford Market, the Old Secretariat (Old Customs House) and the Public Works Department (PWD) Building, still stand today as major landmarks. The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of king George V and Queen Mary for the Darbar at Delhi in 1911. The Princess Dock was built in the year 1885 and the Victoria Dock and the Mereweather Dry Docks in 1891. Alexandra Dock was completed in 1914.

Soon Bombay saw the rise of the Parsi Liquor Mafia in the "Play House" area, which was later changed to Pillhouse by the locals and became a red light district. At this time a terrible episode of Bubonic Plague wiped out a huge population of Bombay.

The Bombay Gymkhana was formed in 1875 exclusively for Europeans, who played the game of cricket there. Other communities followed this example, and various Parsi, Muslim, and Hindu gymkhanas were started nearby with fierce sports competitions among them being organized on a communal basis. This was opposed by several secular minded persons,
such as the late A. F. S. Talyarkhan, and sports teams
based on community, especially cricket teams, came to an end gradually after independence from British rule in 1947.


Lord Sandhurst was the Governer after that from 1895-1900 and he was commemorated by naming a road and railway station after him.

Around 1914, a train line was started from Ballard Pier to Wadala, around the same time Tata Power Company set up overhead transmission lines. In 1927, electrical locomotives were imported from England (Vickers) and serviced the route between Pune and
Igatpuri. These helped carry troops from Bombay to the rest of the country later, during WW-II.

In April 1944, a fire started in the holds of the ship "Fort Stikine" (7420 tons), which was carrying Dried fish, Cotton bales, Gunpowder, Timber, Ammunition and Gold bars from London. There was about 2 million pounds sterling in gold, to stabilize the
Indian Rupee. The explosion, was so big and loud that it could be felt till Dadar, more than 8 miles away. The docks and the surrounding areas were completely destroyed. Over 120 brave men from the Bombay Fire Brigade in the second blast and hundreds of dock workers lost their life (a monument was erected for them). The locals thought that the Japanese had attacked (like Pearl Harbour), which was not true, since they were currently fighting a losing battle. All the gold bars (which had landed all over the place) were subsequently returned over the next 30 years to the British government. All citizens who reported any damage to property or self, were promptly paid compensation.

The historic session of the All India Congress Committee began on the 7th of August 1942. Its venue was the Gowalia Tank Maidan, where the congress was born in 1885. It was at this session that the "Quit India" call was given by Mahatma Gandhi and other
Indian National Congress leaders. The Indian leaders were arrested by the British soon afterwards but the momentum of the Quit India movement could not be stopped and led to the final withdrawal of the British on 15 August 1947. The last British troops on Indian soil left for England through the archway of the Gateway of India on that day. They bade farewell from where they had entered 282 years before. The people of Bombay, in a gesture of generosity wished them bon voyage, forgetting the bitter memories of the fight for independence. Today the maidan from where the call to "Quit India" was given is called the "August Kranti Maidan".

After independence the Congress party led by Jawaharlal Nehru at the Center was swept to power in most of the Indian States, which were constituted on the basis of lang uage spoken by the majority of its people. The Bombay State included the city as its seat
of government. In 1960 the state of Bombay was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat states again on linguistic basis, the former retaining Bombay city as its capital. The Congress party continued to administer Maharashtra until 1994 when it was replaced by the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) coalition.

The Stock Exchange at Bombay was established in 1875 as "The Native Share and Stockbrokers Association" which has evolved over the decades in to its present status as the premier Stock Exchange
in India. It is one of the oldest in Asia having preceded even the Tokyo Stock Exchange which was founded in 1878. In the early days the business was conducted under the shade of a banyan tree in front of the town hall. The tree can still be seen in the Horniman Circle Park.

With the success of the back-bay reclamation scheme in the late 1960s and early 1970s Nariman Point became the hub of the business activity. Several offices shifted from the Ballard Estate to
Nariman Point which ultimately became one of the most expensive real estate in the world as high demand pushed prices to astronomical limits.
Nariman Point is named after K. F. Nariman, president of the Bombay Provincial Congress Committee and former mayor of Bombay.

'Bollywood' is a term used to describe the Indian film
industry. It has been a long story of a century, starting in 1901,with the early shaky screen images turning into a multi pronged and multi winged empire of its own, that has yielded about 30,000 feature films and thousands of documented short films. These are almost all musical family melodramas which rule the roost. Cinema has
raised India's flag high in the world as the consistently largest film producer. But when it comes to quality the flag has to fly half mast.

The glamourous image of Bombay and the rumour that everyone is as beautiful as the movie stars, attracted people from all over India to this city. But eventually the city could not provide jobs to these teeming millions and these people had to beg for a living and slowly
slums began to flourish all over the city, especially near the railway lines. The city also has the dubious record of the second biggest slum in the world (Dharavi).

Crime is on my mind: terrorists, contract killings, extortion, explosions, shoot-outs, naaka-bandi, encounter deaths... The slums and the poor strengthed Bombay's immense mafia presence.
There is huge evil nexus of the underworld, politicians and Bombay's police force. Indian politics are filled with convicted felons/criminals, more than 700. Slum lords and smugglers like Dawood Ibrahim, Abu Salem and Iqbal Mirchi rose to fame. They became the feared names in India. The untouchables.

And today Bombay is the financial and business capital of India.

Seven Diamonds : A story

PART- I

I still remember my days at IIT. IIT, the most respected and the most prestigious institute in India where lakhs of students all over the country want to get in. Thousands of application forms spread over the table, only the best among the best are selected. IIT is a dream for lakhs of Indians. But, only few can break that diamond…

Today after a long journey, being a successful person I still remember my days at IIT Kharagpur. Today, I again go back into my golden, cherished moments; the dreams, aspirations, success and failures at IIT…

The results of the IIT were declared. The rapid beats of my heart increased. The air beside me felt mum. But, the feeling of ecstasy soon filled my about to break feelings when I learnt that I am selected at IIT, It was far more pleasing and satisfying than conquering the Everest. It was just like a dream come true… I got an AIR of 02.

The happiness of getting into IIT came with the dreaded feeling of leaving home. I had to stay alone. Now, the time had come to lead a life of responsibilities at the hostel. It was an epitome of the cursed life of Julius Caesar. On a bright sunshine morning in the year 1995, I took my luggage and started a journey of a bright future at IIT…

PART- II

Abhang Gadkari, a Marathi manoos from Mumbai was my first friend at the campus. He stood tall, with dark sparkling eyes, a snow-white skin and a clean combed hair. He wore a light pink coloured shirt and a black colored pant. “Hi, I’m Trishit Banerjee from Mumbai. You…?” I asked him when I first met him. “I’m Abhang. Abhang Gadkari also from Mumbai. Nice to meet you.” He said in a silent, slow and in a matured voice, with each word pronounced just perfectly while he was a Marathi and not a firangi. In our first meeting we discussed so many things and knew each other very closely. The best thing about him was that he cracked IIT without coaching! He got an AIR of 05. I wondered if he would have had got coaching, he would have got an AIR of 01!

“What your parents do?” I asked him casually. “My mother is a school-teacher. My father…” he stopped. His eyes were filled with tears and I could see he had curses to die. “M-m-y-y f-father-r d-d-ied in the ’93 b-blas-sts.” Tears rolled down his cheeks. Now, silence for him seemed like an assassin. “After my father died, we had a lot of financial problems. My mother was the happiest person, when she learnt that I am selected at IIT with a good rank. Ah! What about you?” He asked me in a sudden curiosity. “My father is a mechanical engineer and my mother, a housewife.” We felt silent again. I pondered that I got guidance at every step of my life. What about him?

“Hey, what happened? Lost in your own world? C’mon. Let’s go” he came back again in his cheerful gay mood. For now, we headed towards our room…

PART- III

We stood before our room. The door was slightly open. We knocked 2-3 times, but, there was no response. We opened the door. The room was dark and smoky with a smell of alcohol and hashish mingling in the air. We found the switch. I put on the light. There was a boy, with uncombed hair, lying on the sofa and was murmuring “I want to die. I’m fed up; I want to die; I’m fed up…” There was an empty bottle on the table with a glass fallen and alcohol dripping on the floor. The room was also very messy. We couldn’t see anything due to the smoke of hashish. We cleared the room for this moment but still it was untidy. There were 3 beds and one sofa. We didn’t understand what was going on?

Dinner time came up. “We should pick him up and inform him about the dinner” suggested Abhang. “Fine, as you say.” I replied. We tried to call him but there were no signs of awakening. After some time we left the room for dinner. We came back in 1 hr. He was still lying on the sofa. We took the blanket and went to sleep after a tiresome day.

The birds chirped and sunlight pierced through the window. The mysterious boy became even more mysterious when we saw him completely ready in a formal dress. It seemed that last night we were drunk, since we got up late as compared to him…

“Please introduce yourselves with your AIRs.” asked the professor.  The mysterious boy got up and said, “Akanksh Chaudhari from Uttar Pradesh. AIR- 01” Everyone’s mouth hung open in amazement. It included me and Abhang also. The boy who is a drunkard, drug addict has got an AIR- 01! It was like stabbing oneself! I pondered, if he is so good in studies then why this habit? It was a very big doubt that IIT had put before me…

PART- IV

After the Applied Mechanics lecture, we three went in our room. 4 months has passed at IIT. The happiness of brilliance of Akanksh came with the sadness of his habit and anger too. I planned to complain to the authorities about Akanksh, but Abhang stopped me every time saying that we should know about him, his habit though he refuses to tell! It was true. Akanksh was a very good friend of ours but he never told his story. We didn’t even know who his parents were and what do they do? We only knew that Akanksh lives in some corner of UP and has an AIR-01 at IIT-JEE and is a drunkard and a drug addict.

That evening he asked us for going out on a trip around Kharagpur. We were more interested in this trip since it was a chance to know Akanksh more deeply. We took a rickshaw and moved down to the main city. “Let’s buy a watch.” Akanksh suggested. “Watch, why?” asked Abhang in a distressed curious mood. “I want to buy.” Said Akanksh in a joyful mood. It showed that he preferred to spend more and he was rich! He bought a watch, an expensive pen and lots of clothing. After that, there was a shock! We went to a bar. He drank 3 glasses of alcohol! He offered us but we always remembered our real aim at IIT, to make a respectable career.

Abhang was quiet mature and patient in all these things. He said ‘NO’ but in a very polite manner.

Akanksh drank alcohol more and more as the days passed by. He smoked ‘hashish’ daily knowing that it is illegal. We didn’t understand that, was it his habit or something else than that? AIR-01 had changed, completely as compare to the 1^st day. Now he travelled a life of thorns, which pinched us too. But, everything changed on the day of our results…A bad change…

                                  

PART- V

The results were put up on the main bulletin board. Blossoms bloomed again for us. I scored 96.32% and Abhang had scored 97.86%. Indeed he was more intelligent, he joined IIT without coaching! Among those success stories there were failures when we found Akanksh sitting on the floor and stamped by other students with tears dripping down his eyes like that alcohol from the glass did on the very first day. He sat empty like an empty bottle of alcohol. We understood that he failed… His present was black and past was beauty; he was for me a black beauty. “I’ve failed in a semester. Next time I would certainly make it, next time, next time…” He broke into tears. We tried to console him, but it was useless.

That evening, he wanted to give us a treat on OUR success at a bar! We wanted to avoid it. “We have some assignments to be completed; we’ll join you later some day.” I told Akanksh which was a lie which I and Abhang knew. He murmured- “No one left to call mine and no one left to be with.” We didn’t care. He shut the door which he never opened again…

PART- VI

We were busy cleaning the room until I encountered with a diary. A name with a shaky writing was written- Akanksh Chaudhari, year- 1995. “Abhang, this would tell the story of Akanksh.” I said to Abhang. “Open it.” Said Abhang. The rapid beats of heart became more rapid. We opened the diary knowing that we shouldn’t. The date opened was- 23^rd March, 1995. 11:35 p.m, Thursday.

Dear diary,

Today is my birthday. I still pity on myself after I got an AIR-01 in IIT-JEE. Why? Let me tell you the history. My mother had died minutes after I was born. My father blamed me. He said that because of me, my mom had died! From 16yrs I’m under torture. My father wants me out of his home! He did not even congratulate me on my success. Today when I was packing my things for Kharagpur, he came to my room and said, “Wherever you are going, remember not to land up again at this home. Your time has come now to leave.” Diary, I felt very sad, but I would fulfil his promise and I would never come back…never…

Yours truly,

Akanksh

The pages were now closed. The doubt which disturbed us from so many days now stood crystal clear. The doubt arose at IIT, and it also got cleared at IIT. I find this place now more than a prestigious institution. We decided not to interfere. We decided to leave Akanksh on his own. For now, we are not needed here.

PART- VII

A crying noise shattered our silence. We rushed below, only to see a body arriving with our principal. Students pondered. We asked who it was? Who? There was nothing now except silence. We went near only to discover that it was Akanksh’s body…The white blossoms now were suitable to his body. He committed suicide by coming below the train. Akanksh was now no more between us…He was gone…gone forever…

The Mumbai Metaphor

“Where the broken arteries join to form a magnificent city;

Where there is no existence of the word-‘good bye’;

It is that city of joy,

Which we today call as Mumbai…..”

Mumbai is my metaphor for India. Living in its central suburbs for over a decade, I don’t get a bored feeling. There is always a moment of happiness, exhilaration and enthusiasm of starting something new. It is more than being the capital city of Maharashtra. For the golden India it is the financial and economical capital. Keeping a stone on her heart on 26^th November’08, she survived being the 3^rd largest city in the world. If it can be the centre of the Adarsh society scam, it can also be the centre for a world heritage UNESCO site - The VT station (now known as CSTM).

As a Mumbaikar, my life in Mumbai has proved to be more than the famous Vada Pavs. After a meeting with Mr. Ashis Nandy on children’s day (14-Nov’10) during the Literature Live event at NCPA, who is an Indian political psychologist, a social theorist, and a contemporary cultural and political critic. Mr. Ashis Nandy who is also a trained sociologist and clinical psychologist; I learnt from him that cities like Lucknow, Dhaka, Lahore and Hyderabad are lost cities. They are not lost physically like Hampi, Mahabalipuram or Troy, but, the culture, the tradition, the unity, the cities of the minds within each of its citizen is lost. In this case, Mumbai still survives.

As the seven Islands-namely Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman's Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion make up one Mumbai; we can say that those lakhs of Mumbaikars are also one. The islands were given to the English King Charles II in dowry on his marriage to Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza in 1662. In the year 1668 the islands were acquired by the English East India Company on lease from the crown for an annual sum of 10 pounds in gold (in today’s rate it is- approximately Rs. 750); so little did the British value these islands at that time. Today you cannot buy a 1000sq.ft home below 2 crores or maybe a Nano a square foot !

Mumbai has 60-80% slums! We feel that New York, New Jersey, Houston and Los Angeles are very interesting cities, but what about our neighboring city, the city which gave us the oxygen to breathe and love to share? The fate of all villages is a city.

-2-

Basically, a village is a prospective city, whether it is San Francisco or Mumbai. All were villages at the pre-Britishers time and Ambarnath was a flourishing empire – the more than 1,000-year old Shiv temple at Ambernath , an architectural marvel bears testimony to the fact !

Slums and ghettos may represent poverty in Mumbai, but within the heart of every Mumbaikar no one can be compared, because each one is the richest in love, care and unity, which you cannot see within a family, living even in America.

We can say that Mumbai is-‘Ancient yet modern, fabulously rich yet achingly poor’. The values of tradition, culture has not vanished, but it has just got suppressed. It needs to come out. Whether you live at a luxurious home at Cuffe parade or a rag-picker’s life at the Dharavi Slums, Mumbai will still respect you. The world is one, so are we.

Mumbai will still remain my metaphor for India. Mumbai will move on and still moves on……and, I have faith in it……Hope you have it too…..