Rude city? You bet, says Mumbaikar Jerry Pinto in defence of a metropolis too busy to mind its manners but always ready to help when trouble comes
Reader’s Digest, which interests itself in these things, tells us that Mumbai is the rudest city in the world. This is also the magazine that carried a story saying that global warming might be good for us. I swear, they did this in May, when my cousins in Nagpur were reporting that the city was burning up at 52 degrees centigrade. I come not to praise Mumbai, however. I come to ask whether the Reader’s Digest editors really mean it when they say that New York is the politest city in the world? What is it to be polite?
In London , a terribly polite city by my experience, a young woman refused to lend her scarf to be used as a tourniquet when a man was stabbed on the bus. He bled to death. I am sure, the young woman said, “I’m sorry but it’s an expensive scarf.” The person who asked for the scarf probably said, “Right. Cheers.” Meanwhile, the blood pulsed on from the dying man’s neck.
In Mumbai, my mother once was forced to go to a public hospital with a torn-up leg. In front of her, the poor waited in the way that the poor wait, endlessly, patiently, quietly. When she joined the line, they all assessed their need, assessed hers and stepped out of the way wordlessly. She went to the top of the line, protesting quietly all the way. She did not bleed to death. Perhaps, she even forgot to thank all those people. Perhaps, they did not expect to be thanked.
But since no one seems to have bothered about definitions, let’s dump them too. Perhaps it is polite to be a city like New York where all the shop assistants say thank you and please and the doormen are ready to open the door for you but there are 55,000 violent crimes a year. And that represents a 10-year low. Perhaps Mumbai with its 122 murders in six months must be significantly ruder but less lethal.
Sudhir Mishra (Filmmaker)
My dominant image for Mumbai. I’m standing outside Mahalaxmi railway station, it starts to rain. A man comes out with an umbrella and starts to walk away. He notices another man getting wet, he pauses, and in an unspoken way invites him under the umbrella. Then they see me, and I get under as well. That’s Bombay . Three men sharing an umbrella, all getting wet. There’s less space under the umbrella now ? too many people, too little infrastructure, but people are still sharing it
Sarayu Srivastava (Writer) says
I think of Mumbai as a very cold but sensuous woman ? it all depends on how you warm her up. In this city every kindness begets more kindness. Delhi ‘s eyes literally undress you. Mumbai sees you first as a person then a woman. People do tend to keep their distance here, but if you try and do something nice, a sudden sensitive humanness peeps out. It’s hardship city ? it gets by on humour.
Milind Deora (Politician) says
My idea of Bombay ? A waiter serving in the Taj ? during the day he might be serving Bill Gates and he’ll carry himself with aplomb, be as cosmopolitan as anyone. At night he’ll be taking the train to Dharavi, return to his slum, put on his lungi and baniyan, help his old parents, help wash dishes, and watch TV. You can be everything at the same time in Bombay . It’s like that old Sinatra song ? if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
Mumbai in my words:
First time I entered into the Mumbai city bus from the back door and I was amazed to see ,that I was untouched , alots of respect was shown by the mumbaikers to the women traveling in the bus.
And in any south Indian cities,a lady getting into the bus and if it is rush will surely be 90% humiliated.
Even though the first three rows were reserved for ladies in south and gents were not allowed to enter through front door.Only ladies will enter and exit through the front door ,humiliation continues……