Mumbai vs Delhi

The first rivalry I noticed after getting into college was Mumbai vs. Delhi. Immediately we find students segregating themselves into their respective regional group. The truculent Delhiites and the mellow Mumbaikars. I who I presume have seen both (even though it was Gurgaon and Navi Mumbai), know there exist

very sharp differences.

The first day itself you would see a Delhiite introduce himself differently. There is more confidence and as I said before, more belligerence. One can very easily identify a Delhi girl. Good looking with loads of attitude on their noses. And maybe because of this general attitude they are always left alone.

City wise, well when I was to come to Mumbai, it was declared the 7^th dirtiest city in the world. My first look at it- Delhi squeezed to its one fourth. Yes it was dirty, it still is. You can see people doing their morning jobs on the roads of Chembur. It is later you realise how differently the city works. It is interdependence at its best. The rains effectuate

almost everything in the city. The houses, the transport, work, vacations and even minds. I had assumed that persistent rains would be rather depressing. But people here get very used to it.

The city values time a lot. The transport thus is a lot better than any other places. You can travel door to door in just 50 rupees!! One thing you would notice in the local is the people who are quite complacent. They would get down start moving as if they know their way by heart. They are very particular about time. There are understood rules for everything in the city.

People in Delhi are rather laid back. They are comparatively lazier, and have the ‘chill’ factor to their work. One major difference is humility. While in Delhi you would know when a guy owns a Honda City, but in Bombay you can befriend a guy and never realise there was a BMW parked in his garage. The parties!!! Well no competition to Delhi. The ‘life’ and ‘fun’ element is always more in Delhi. There is a style which you just can’t get anywhere else.

But where Mumbai wins, is its spirit. I remember an incident in the locals. There was this old blind man selling stuff. As soon as he finished 2 guys got up to give him and his grandson a seat. He held the money in his hand asked his grandson what note it was, and thus calculated the total. 2-3 days after the 26/11 the trains were already full, call it complacency but I call it a spirit that never dies…..