Aamchi Mumbai-- The Scarred Side

As I write this article, there is total media frenzy about the film “Slumdog Millionaire”. I originally suspected it as yet another Britisher trying to cash on the Indian Poverty with which the westerners love to sympathize with. So as to check whether it deserved its 10 Oscar nominations I saw the movie but with quite a prejudiced attitude.

Yet I was moved with how Danny Boyle, the director, has portrayed the conditions and circumstances in which a poor human being in Mumbai survives. The 1993 communal riots, child labour, prostitution, gang-wars, etc. depicted the plight of human rights in Mumbai. Finally it took a westerner to make a movie on the life of a person who represents the majority of the population which is striving to earn money and live a decent life.

Mumbai is totally different from the other cities in India. A Mumbaikar is a unique breed and yes, we are expanding because any person who settles here becomes one. He travels from his home in outskirts to his workplace in the city in trains which remind me of the Nazi train wagons. Survival is the key. The people in Mumbai are industrious but their abilities must be channelised. The growing unemployment has resulted in an increase in crimes. The authorities and the anti-social elements are hands-in-glove with each other. The underbelly exists and something must be done to sort it out.

The infrastructure is a major issue. I still wonder if the British wouldn’t have started railways here we still wouldn’t have had them. The latest news of demolishing the Lalbaug flyover shocked me. Why build a flyover if it has to be brought down to appease a certain section of people? The politicians are pumping out the money from Mumbai to other places. What do we get in return for the heavy taxes that we pay? Pollution, filth, traffic, slums…….

The population is booming what with 14 million living in here. Every migrant has his “Bombay” dream. Of course it’s the city of dreams, hopes but how much can Mumbai accommodate. The politicians who are keen to increase their vote bank reportedly bring heaps of migrants and build these slums themselves. These politicians have brought in a communal divide amongst the citizens through their tantalizing tactics.

My Dad always says when you take a tourist to show Mumbai, first take him through the western sea-coast side and show him the tall skyscrapers and the opulent villas of the rich and the famous. However while getting him back do show him the eastern coastal side where there are docks, yards, etc. where people sweat out to earn their livelihoods because howsoever we may deny it, this is the real Mumbai. Mumbai’s economy relies on their hard work.

All our problems can be solved only if we the citizens of Mumbai take such matters in our hands. Awareness of our rights is not enough but that of our duties is essential. The State Government vows to convert Mumbai into Shanghai. This is ridiculous considering that every city has its own unique facets and thus we would be rather thankful if they worked on improving these instead!!!

P.S:- I'M a new entrant to the world of blogging.Do post ur comments!!!