Mumbai for sure it is a dream city it has always been my dream city. I am sure we all have been brought up with the Bollywood world living within us so, it is the dream city for many India young people living all around the globe. Every day a lot of people just pack their bags and ship to Mumbai in search of jobs, their dream jobs of what they want to become. This city has never returned anybody empty-handed this is what the Mumbaikars has to say. I never thought that I would land up in Mumbai but I always wanted to since I was a child. Growing up watching Bollywood does give you hope in your heart that at least once we all would like to visit this city. That we will get to sit in Marine Drive and to walk around in Colaba. To take a ferry from Gateway of India and look at Taj hotel. To at least stumble upon few movie stars.
Most people dream but I was one of those people who dream came true. This dream became a reality for me on the 16th of June 2018 when for the first time ever I landed up in Mumbai. I got a job and I shift immediately from Hyderabad without any second thought I said yes, packed my bags, booked my tickets and there I was in Mumbai. It was mid monsoon, well we all know how it must have been for me. I was just super excited, irrespective of the fact that the city was drowning. My company provided me with a temporary stay, a house in old Mhada where I was sharing a small Kohli with three young men. It came as a surprise to me that I have to share a house with three men but it felt that it was very normal to others.
They were so humble and open towards the whole idea of sharing their house with me that I was taken back with the different thoughts that were troubling me throughout my journey.
While I stayed with them I had to search for a place to shift as this was a temporary solution. so now the real struggle came into the picture. Here is the list of problems I faced when I had to shift to Mumbai.
To find a place – it is a trouble in itself, you have to go through brokers to find a place for yourself. It is very difficult to find an affordable place to stay in Mumbai. The most expensive part about Mumbai is to find a place. for about a month I was immensely searching for a place to shift. I was rejected several time by different people. first of all, the reject me based on my job that was into the media industry. Then I was rejected because I was single. Etc. to find the house in Mumbai is like looking for dodos, if you can accomplish it then you are sorted. It is not that all the places in Mumbai is very expensive but compared to other cities if you have lived in Mumbai is expensive when it comes to accommodation.
Rush – it is very difficult to keep up with Rush. If you are born and brought up in a small city like me then you will see people are running in Mumbai and you don’t know they are running but they are running and you have to run with them to keep up the pace. or whether it is your work or your personal life you have to keep up, keep moving forward each day…
Day night – because Mumbai doesn’t sleep. You must have heard this a million time and it is so true it was difficult to understand what time it is. I would always have to keep looking at my watch to understand. especially at night Time Flies. When you sit and chill at some please and you must be wondering it is about 7 o’clock by the actual time is about 11 o’clock because of the number of people and cars that is on the road even at odd hours. 11 is a pretty decent time that I mentioned. The availability of transportation is beyond expectation 24 into 7 all season.
Holidays – Mumbai has exceptionally fewer holidays at any other place. people over here work always and expect you to be a workaholic. It is a great place to work, everyone is very professional and takes their work very seriously. It is amazing to see so many people residing together helping one another to grow differently. people over here like to talk straight and there is nothing fancy. they will rather hit you hard with the reality then give you false hope.
Time – this city teaches you the value of time. especially if you have to catch a local train. the connectivity Via Local train is just remarkable. It is so well organised and timed that nothing possibly can go wrong. Every day thousands of people communicate only Via Local train. It is the cheapest mode of transportation in Mumbai and well, of course, the fastest. You can reach nearly anywhere via local train. you have to maintain time when it comes to Mumbai in general. Everyone out here is very punctual and follows the actual time and not the Indian standard time.
House help – Oh it is a hunt in itself to find a proper house help. The major problem you will face is that in a blink they will finish all the work and you would not even understand what did they do for the day. They are very particular about time and they are also very specific about the work they are going to do in your house. and they charge you a bomb. To find a perfect housemaid according to your liking and taste is like finding the right man of your dream. Once you find them you would not want to let them go.
Food – depending on the area that you are in food can be a little challenging. well you will find vada pau in every corner of the street but to have a good meal it cost a fortune. If you find a Dabbawala to come and give you food at your workplace, well then there is nothing better than that. If not then you will at least spend more than 200 rupees each day for one good meal. But once you settle in and find those corners where you find tasty healthy and affordable food you will be sorted for the rest of your stay in Mumbai.
Climate – it can rain at any time at any hour in Mumbai. so you have to be always prepared. It is funny even when it rains possibly the entire day during monsoon nothing stops. you have to get adjusted to the climate you have to get adjust to the rain. You will see a very different Mumbai during the monsoon. Especially if you travel around Maharashtra during monsoon it is one of the most beautiful states you can travel. Monsoons are usually damn and rain the entire day and night. Waterlog is very common all around. So try not to fall sick be safe and enjoy the monsoon because it is one of the most beautiful awaited time of the year especially if you are in Mumbai.
Honestly it has been a life-changing experience since I have shifted to Mumbai and I could not have asked for anything better it took me a good three months to get used to the environment, people, cuisine, transportation and much more but once I got used to them I don’t think that there is any way I would like to leave this behind. Tho I am a traveller and I keep moving from one city to another but Mumbai has been by far the best city that I have lived in. my reason is very simple I called Mumbai the best city to live in because I could still be myself even in the midst of chaos and rush. I could still take small breaks in between and keep my thoughts and sanity in places like Versova beach, Marine Drive etc. I could easily pack my bag and take a trip to places like Lonavla, Khandala, Pune etc
I don’t plan to move out of Mumbai anytime soon but as my heart knows, that it is not for too long. But it will be the hardest goodbye ever.
