They say that understanding Mumbai is such a herculean task that no person can truly understand it or write about it in its entirety. However, there are instances, which in some way surely give a glimpse of what Mumbai is. Also, there are places that give you a certain degree of idea about the varying differences that the Islandish city of Mumbai embeds. You might have visited various monuments to get the aura of Mumbai. Some of them could be Gateway of India, Marine Drive, National Park, Essel World, Nehru Planetorium, or one of the posh malls. However, most of these places give you a feeling of a different Mumbai, a city that existed at a different time.
There is a new site in the city that goes quite unnoticed after the initial hooplah that it led to while it was launched. That landmark is the Bandra Skywalk. You might be questioning: What's the big deal about the skywalk? I've been there several times. Nothing major over there except for the fact that I get a respite from walking on a crowded street.
Your thoughts are fair enough. I am not contradicting you. But, I've just put on my tourist, explorer, a lonely planet, or travel & living hat. Let me walk you through the skywalk wearing either one of the above hats.
The skywalk starts from Bandra station and immediately what you'd notice are the slums on your either side. In fact, not only slums where people reside, but also some small businesses related to textile and clothing sector operating through a fairly meagre infrastructural setup. Their manufacturing unit consists of a small enclosure made out of tin or asbestos sheets. So, you will witness enterpreneurship at its smallest level.
Now, you walk a little further and see an open field, which contains huge water pipes. No big deal in it. Just like another open area near slums, even this is utilized in every possible way. They say that in Mumbai a divine arrangement is made to satisfy the basic needs of each of it resident. And true to it, the water deficiency of the slums is made up for by the leaky BMC water pipes. Here you will see every drop being utilized to the fullest. So, you can say that Mumbai has its own way of not letting things being wasted.
Now, if you look on your left, you will see the other side of Mumbai: Big Corporate houses looming over the slums. Ain't this a good point for a tourist? Tourists from developed countries are bound to be moved by this sight. A place where poverty, small businisses and large corporates co-exist at a distance of few feets. Where else would you see this? In India ofcourse, and specifically in Mumbai.
If you are not overwhelmed by this site, walk a little ahead and it's time to peek over the empty spaces on your right. Guess what, you will now see a major-upcoming landmark of Mumbai: the Bandra-Worli Sealkink, provided the Mumbai-traffic smog doesn't degrade the clarity. Whew!!!
Now it's time to move a forward and you might have reached the headquarters of the Oil Corporation of India. And is a PSU company's premise complete without the hoardings promoting any political-party supported union? No, it isn't. So, to complete the sight, you might be lucky enough to find a hoarding or two over here. More or less, you are now through with your walk on the skywalk. It's time to get down and you are welcomed by the ominous site of the Bandra-Kurla Complex.
So, in your journey you've seen the Bandra station (crowded by the overtly unhappy middle class of Mumbai), the slums (an integral part of Mumbai, which I think represent a place of hope for each of its resident), the corporate houses (the source of survival for most of middle class), an architectural masterpiece, the sealink (a site to boast of for Mumbai residents and ofcourse the politicians craving to get the credit for building it), and one of the first corporate park in Mumbai (BKC).
Not many places of the world would give such a large variation in such a short journey. It's nothing to be proud of. It just shows that we have a long way to go before the hopes of everyone are turned into realities. A place of consistent appearance. A place called Mumbai of which we all could be really proud of. Slums are no tourist destination, and not every slum child can turn into a millionaire. That happens only in movies.
