Life in Suburbs (Akansha Khanna)

Talking from an outsider’s perspective, Mumbai is a city of dreams. It is a city, where, on an everyday basis, large numbers of people migrate from their respective native places, with a hope of achieving their goals. This city is in many ways similar to an all year round fun fair, a ‘mela’. Entry is free, but to play its games, you have to ‘cough up’. You pay ten to try your hand at a game that gives its winners a hundred, you come to have a good time, thinking you will make a quick buck and then get out of here, but it does not always turn out quite like that. You are soon battling for survival, convincing yourself that you will have some luck at the next game you play.

       It is no wonder then that, Mumbai is a Mayanagri. I used to come to Mumbai every year in my summer vacations and did every possible thing to stay here but luck never favoured me for this. Despite struggling almost every day to reach my college on time I feel good, I wait for the next morning to be up and going, again through the turmoil .But why? I was never like this in Delhi. This is because this city gives me and so many other people a zest for living, working hard, pulling up our socks and starting to work, no matter what may be the obstacle. The most beautiful part of this city lies where there is Haji Ali, Siddhivinayak and Mahim Church, the three signifying the mixed culture of this city.

Mumbai has been demarcated as north Mumbai and south Mumbai. The north Mumbai known as the suburban district and south Mumbai as the town area. According to Wikipedia, “The Mumbai suburban district is a district state, of the state of Maharashtra in western India.  Its headquarters are in Bandra. It has three administrative divisions Kurla, Andheri and Borivali. This district occupies an area of 369km. The jurisdiction of Mumbai suburban district is from bandra to bhayandar , from kurla to mulund and from kurla to trombay creek. The current population of Mumbai suburban district is 8,587,561 according to 2001 census,”

Bandra known as the queen of Suburbs is best known for its linking road where street shopping is done. Simi Parekh says, “Bandra is the best place for shopping I really love street shopping also we are able to bargain so well”. Janak Arora says, “Andheri is a very good place since there has been a metro construction going on, soon it will have the property rates shooting up”. The life in suburb is so much fun also because of all the new joints that have been opening here such as theatres. Here the movies are most watched in these theatres rather than those in town since it is expensive in town than the suburbs. Life in here is much more cheap and fun instead of town that seems far more unaffordable and boring. However there have been a large chunk of population that has to travel from suburb to town and vice versa.  Rekha Kamdar, a daily traveller via locals, says, “I have a car but it takes hell lot of time to travel from suburb to town therefore I have to travel by locals”. Preethi Rait, another traveller, says, “The traffic in Mumbai is terrible, especially because of the metro construction, it has become really impossible to travel by road”. There have been many such people who really felt it to be impossible to reach on time by road from suburb to town or vice versa for which sea link has come up as a boon. Sea link has been one of the greatest achievements of Mumbai also one of the greatest developments of this city. Because of this link so much time is saved while travelling.

Talking about the streets of Mumbai suburb though is not as clean and wide as that of the town but it has its own charm. The streets out here are narrow, dirty, messy and always full with traffic even then the life the sense of amchi Mumbai can only be felt here. The street food of Mumbai suburbs is absolutely to die for. Having talked about street food requires a must mention of the food stalls opposite to the Mithibai college in Vile Parle . There are around twenty stalls in a row selling vada pav, masala dosa, grilled sandwich, pizza, cold drinks, sev puri etc. And what not is available there. And the most important thing to know about these street foods is that these are much more expensive than the food that we get in the restaurants. Places like Juhu beach have added to the beauty of suburbs and has been one of the most visited places of Mumbai. Another place called Lokhandwala complex is a popular shopping destination, among the people of Mumbai and outside Mumbai. It is an extremely posh area and mostly celebrities prefer residing here than the town. One more thing about suburbs is that the actual essence of Mumbai lies in the auto rickshaws , which are in here and are often used for representing Mumbai.