Dreaming to the Maximum in Mumbai

As I walked off the plane and towards the bus, I was greeted by the fireworks all around marking the coming of the new year, and by the familiar scent of Mumbai—the scent that seemed to be created by a mixture of smog, dust, and Indian food. The short bus ride—during which the New Year officially came—took us to the new international terminal at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, truly one of the most beautiful airport terminals on the planet. From there, we collected our luggage and began the two-hour car journey through the early morning New Year’s Day traffic to my relatives’ house in one of Mumbai’s many suburbs.

Mumbai, or Bombay, as most locals refer to it, certainly has the numbers to be one of the world’s great cities. With 18.4 million inhabitants as of the 2011 census, it is India’s largest metropolis, and one of the five largest in the world. It is home to the 14th and 16th largest stock exchanges in the world and is the economic capital of the world’s second most-populous country. And yet, it has always seemed to occupy that perch somewhat uncomfortably. Perhaps it lies in the aspirational nature of the city--one of its nicknames is “the City of Dreams,” and Mumbai does indeed dream. It is building a new metro system to ease congestion on its infamously overcrowded local trains, and it is also rolling out a monorail system alongside it. It is embarking on a tremendous skyscraper building boom, and will soon host the world’s tallest residential building. Indeed, Mumbai seems like a rising city, even as it already has a huge population and undisputed economic hegemony in its country.

But part of what makes Mumbai’s position somewhat shaky lies in its tremendous contrasts—particularly its contrasts between wealth and poverty. True, other large cities such as Shanghai, São Paulo, Mexico City, and even New York City have large income disparities within their city limits. But in few places is the disparity as pronounced as in Mumbai, where well-heeled neighborhoods inhabited by the likes of Bollywood stars and business magnates lie within walking distance from large slum areas, which hold roughly half the city’s population, according to the Times of India. Indeed, Bandra, the suburban neighborhood of Central Mumbai that is home to some of Bollywood’s biggest actors, including Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif, lies less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Dharavi, one of the world’s largest slums, which achieved a certain fame as the setting of the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire. A drive through South and Central Mumbai reveals all socioeconomic spectra—from large slum areas such as Dharavi and crowded commercial areas such as Dadar and Churchgate to affluent, manicured districts such as Marine Drive, Nariman Point, Malabar Hill, and Worli, where real estate prices can rival those of Manhattan’s most expensive precincts.

On top of all of this, Mumbai is also an exciting, if confusing, tourist destination. While Delhi, the capital of India, receives far more attention from international tourists as the home of historic sites such as the Red Fort and Qutb Minar, Mumbai still has plenty of tourist attractions, from iconic colonial-era buildings such as the Gateway of India and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (which could very well be the world’s most beautiful train station) to museums such as the Nehru Centre and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya and historic sites such as the Kanheri Caves (a set of Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls dating from 300 BC to 1100 AD), I have found plenty of touristy things to do there in my four visits to the city. The city also has a thriving arts scene, and friends of mine have told me that it has vibrant nightlife. Mumbai is also a very diverse city—home to migrants from all over India, who speak a wide range of languages, and a large array of religious traditions, with large numbers of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Buddhists calling the city home, along with followers of other religions. These all combine to make it one of the most interesting cities not only in India, but also in the world.

Another Mumbai nickname that has come into vogue in recent years is “the Maximum City.” Grammar aside, this nickname reveals quite a bit about this city. It has the maximum when it comes to shopping (there are many malls in the city and its suburbs), when it comes to economic power, when it comes to affluence and poverty, and when it comes to culture (with its range of museums and historic attractions). A book I once read on the world’s cities once said “whatever your heart desires, you can probably find it in Mumbai.” While that may not be exactly true (it can be hard to find quiet and order in this dense city), it is still a profound statement about Mumbai. It is a city where one can find everything to the extreme, and yet Mumbai is still not afraid to dream and aspire to more.

Vimal S. Konduri '17, a Crimson staff writer, is a molecular and cellular biology concentrator in Winthrop House.