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Now,
city's heart no longer beats in south Mumbai
In
the past if anybody had asked me to describe Mumbai I would probably
have depicted it as a long finger with a magnet at one end. As someone
who has lived all her life in the suburbs I can remember a time
when one travelled southward inevitably and for all sorts of reasons:
to study, to work, to shop, to visit relatives, to eat, to drink,
to dance, to watch a play or a movie or a game, to meet friends,
to visit art galleries, to pass the time....Whether one travelled
by road or train the stops and sights along the route were familiar
markers all indicating the distance to the bright lights of the
city.
Where
are you going? Going to Bombay we used to say as children indicating
the clear divide between the mother city and its dependant suburbs,
the place one lived and the place one went for sustenance, excitement
and activity.
Sometimes,
when I hear about Mumbai's various problems and discussions on the
schemes proposed particularly for its traffic crisis though I am
surprised by how much that old mindset still dictates the way both
problems and solutions are phrased. Surprised because to my mind
Mumbai is no longer the city it used to be. And if one goes by current
trends it is going to evolve even further.
The
first time I realised things were changing was about ten years ago
when I found myself travelling, not southwards as one predictably
did to meet interviewees for stories but in various directions -
Mahim, Chembur, Andheri, Mahalaxmi. The next thing one noticed were
the jewellery shops. Brassy palaces of marble and chrome that sprang
up in lowly suburbs indicating that money was moving in a new direction.
People were suddenly looking for apartments outside South Mumbai
- retired company executives, newly married couples. And kids were
discovering the convenience of a neighbourhood school and college.
To some extent South Mumbai retained its edge both in terms of snob
value and for practical reasons since people still had to perforce,
travel there for work.
Today
however, the scenario is completely different. To illustrate at
random I listed ten friends who used to work at or around Nariman
Point; six had moved offices northwards in the last two years and
a couple more were on the verge of doing so. The `What's Happening'
sections in the newspapers list art galleries and theatres all over
the city. Snazzy cinema halls have opened in previously downmarket
localities such as Dadar and Andheri.
Nightlife
options for the young are neatly divided into uptown and downtown
joints and a series of leisure centres have opened or are about
to open in distant suburbs.
Chor
Bazar has a rival in Oshiwara, there are Shyam Ahuja outlets in
places as far flung as Thane and the major banks have established
their presence all over the city. Mumbai has become huge and sprawling
and I for one, don't see it any longer as a tentacle with a magnet
at its tip but as an expanding organism with places like Pune, Navi
Mumbai and Thane at its extremities.
The
direction of movement is no longer as predictable as it used to
be and, as more and more facilities evolve the city seems to be
returning to what it was: a series of islands each with its own
distinct ethos and life.
Much
of this has been due to planned decentralisation and the emergence
of new business districts such as the Bandra-Kurla complex and Lower
Parel but consider also the impact of current and emerging work
trends. With more and more companies farming out areas of operations
there has been a mushrooming of small agencies in cheaper localities.
With e mail and fax machines more and more people are working from
home, visiting offices only occasionally. Some don't even need an
office many sales teams hold daily meetings in Udipi restaurants.
The city is changing its shape.
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