Mumbai meri jaan

Ae dil hai mushkil jeena yaha
Zara hat ke zara bachke yeh hai
Mumbai meri jaan.

Hear it from a Mumbaikar and it will always sound melodious.

9.37 down train from Andheri, I am late for it, but I find that trains are running 3 minutes late. I climb down the staircase avoiding fellow commuters. I reached the platform panting for breath only to find out that the trains are so packed that it had left very little space even for air to move in and out. Just when I thought that I would have to wait for the next train, that office going middle aged man, hanging precariously on the handle of the door made a 4 by 4 inch space for me to stand. I quickly pounced on that space and the train moved on.

Sounds familiar to you isn’t it. Yes that’s Mumbai for you.

What makes Mumbai so unique? To me the answer is that it is truly a city of dreams. It is a place where millions of men and women come in search for a better life. Traveling in a second class compartment of a local train, struggling to grasp that elusive gasp of fresh air - a dream is all that drives them. And why not, every family in Mumbai will have a story which will begin like; when my father came here in Mumbai he had 70 rupees in his pocket. It’s a dream many have lived and it’s a dream that millions think of living.