Adventures Of A Neurospicy City Boy: 2

Life in the Aamchi. (Aamchi Mumbai = Our Mumbai)

Living in Mumbai, the city that never sleeps, is something you have to experience firsthand

to understand. This place literally never sleeps. And trust me I’ve tried looking for times it

does. Living here is not for people who want a quiet, easy life, adrenaline junkies are the

only ones who flourish here. 

The majority of people who live here are in a constant state of stress, excitement, anger,

enjoyment, confusion, focus, every emotion you can think of. People will swing through a

minimum of 6 emotions a day. It’s like the roads that have 6 intersections. How that works

is beyond me but everyone seems to find their place and life moves on.

The mentality of Mumbai residents is also something no other place has. It is best described

as that of a rickshaw driver. When trying to get a rickshaw you stand on the road and stick

your hand out. If the rickshaw driver sees you and isn’t too distracted by his earphones,

then he sizes you up.

If you are young, especially a well-dressed girl, then he will stop for you as he knows you

plan on going to some event where you will spend money so he knows there is a high

chance you will just give him the rounded off money instead of asking for change. A

normally dressed, middle aged person is usually just ignored as they know you have time

and a budget and will insist on the quickest route and exact change.

When you ask for a rickshaw you should know it is not that you wanted a ride and it is their

job to take you. In fact it's the opposite. It is them who decide if you are worthy of sitting in

their rick and if they do think you’re worthy they will come speeding at you and will stop

exactly where you stand. If you don't move back quickly, they will hit you and just keep

driving. I think it's their way of checking if you are aware and not drunk or high and likely to

mess up their rick or argue.

On the plus side, rickshaw drivers always run by meter, tend to have a soft spot for old

people or mothers hanging onto a bunch of kids and are usually honest enough to track you

down and return your bags or phones if you leave something with identification behind.

Most Mumbai residents follow the same pattern. They check if you’re worth the effort and

if so, will be fair and honest with you.

The people here are very job focused. Everyone wants and needs to work especially with

the rising cost of living but night is when people have their fun.

From around 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. when everyone is done with their work and ready to enjoy,

that is when Mumbai really comes alive. All the restaurants are packed with businessmen

who have just finished work or families going out for dinner. As most restaurants close

between 10 p.m. and midnight due to the laws, the scene then moves to the mobile street

vendors who sell some of the tastiest vada-pav, pani-puri, frankies, chilli chicken etc. Young

adults, heading home from a pub eat side by side with security guards and factory workers

who have just finished their shifts.

Certain streets are filled with teens and their bikes and cars, revving their engines, trying to

show off to the girls how cool they are. Of course this tends to attract more guys rather than

girls. The boys are more interested in the feel, look, speed, specs, etc of the car itself. The

girls usually just want to know if the car is functional enough to get them home and the guy

driving it isn’t going to try getting into a race and caught by the cops.

The sea fronts tend to attract the most visitors. People cooling off from a long day, families

getting a little time together, couples escaping from the tiny homes they share with 10

other family members, a cycle guy going past with his buckets of cutting chai for those who

want a little refreshment.

I often wonder how people can go from a 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. job and then spend 8 p.m. to 4

a.m. partying and hanging out. My understanding is that people take shifts. Some people

party on a Monday night and sleep on Tuesday night and those who sleep on a Monday

night, party on a Tuesday night and so on. That is the only logical way I can think of. If you

have a better answer please do let me know.

You can't talk about Mumbai without talking about the traffic. From 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. there

is traffic because of school children going to school along with office workers heading to

work. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. are the people who have jobs that start later like restaurants that

only serve lunch and dinner or afternoon shifts at shops. 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. are for children

who have finished school and are on their way back home or are going for tuitions and

those heading home from early shifts or to late shifts. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. is when young

children go to parks or sports classes, when teens go for part time work after college and all

the office workers head home. 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. is for people who work late and for spending

time with family and friends. 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. is for the cargo trucks, the sleepless, the

bored, the late joggers, the early walkers, the laughter clubs, the street sweepers and the

snores of building watchmen. Construction and road works start between 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.

and go on till 8 p.m. adding diggers, cement trucks and rubble to the traffic.

If you ever wonder what is the best time to leave home and go places when there is no

traffic; that would be never, because there is always traffic. Asking someone a distance in

Mumbai is always replied in terms of time because depending on direction, time of day,

festivities, and the mood of the stars, a 10 km distance could take anywhere from 15

minutes to an hour and 15 minutes.

It may be noisy and chaotic, but it’s home and there’s nothing quite like it.