Going boom. Review on Mumbai

I have been to Mumbai a couple of times and I swear this city stinks. Every time I come here I find the following:

· The population of the city is increasing day in and day out. The civic authorities over the years have done nothing to improve the situation. One look at the local trains and you feel as if the entire nation is traveling in them.

· This city is so damn expensive. Everything and anything under the sky and above the earth costs a fortune. Food, lifestyle, housing …. Gasp, gasp …. So %^$#ing expensive.

· The city lacks compassion. People are so busy (or self-centred) that they do not have anytime for others. My husband once told me of an incident: he was about to catch a train at Goregaon station when he spotted a man’s body, left unattended in a corner. It seems that he had suffered a heart attack. All people had done was shove him into a corner so that his lifeless body wouldn’t come in the way of their schedule.

· This city is damn dirty. Garbage is piled on roads as if doing it is the most natural thing to do.

· Mumbai represent the rising disparity between the haves and have-nots in urban India. Just below savvy sky-scrapers one notices non-descript slums, the haven of the poverty ridden. This city is also home to the biggest criminals, lowliest beggars.

· Mumbai is getting increasingly polarized. Hindus and Muslims are no longer staying together amicably. Probably got to do with the rise of a certain Shiv Sena, guided by the “benevolent” Bal Thakrey.

Yet, it does have its plus points:

· It is the most vibrant city of India.

· I just adore the free spirit of the people living here.

· Mumbaiites know how to freak out.

· Mumbai is the land of true-blue professionals.

· The temperate climate of the city is one of the reasons why it has thousands of people coming here every day to seek employment opportunities.

· Mumbai has a true night-life. Being a party animal, I love this trait of the city.

However, given a choice I would never shift to Mumbai.