Thursday, July 12, 2007

NYC vs Mumbai

Its uncanny. The two cities can be so culturally similar. Honestly, I'm not a very well traveled person. I have seen very few megapolis but last week when I hit nyc I felt a dejavu I guess mostly because its so similar to Mumbai.

Things that are similar
A melting pot- NYC is global melting pot while Mumbai is the most cosmopolitan city in desh. So may diff kinds of ppl living together harmoniously
Energy - The moment I stepped into NYC I felt as if I had entered an energy field. I get the same feeling in Mumbai. Everyone has an aggressive schedule to keep. Every twitch of a muscle is for a purpose, to achieve some goal. I step out at a busy station in Mumbai I get carried away by the crowd even if I was a reluctant walker.
The Subway - NYC Subway appeared old and tethering on brink of collapse. Mumbai feels the same yet its the lifeline of the city. I think in US there is New york and then there is rest of US. Very different pulse. Very different ppl.
Direct Talk - If they are pissed it'll come out, if they are happy it'll show. No apologies, don't come in my way if you dont want to get hurt. I have no time to explain, if you didn't get what I said, too bad.
Out doors- hawkers on the street, streets overflowing with ppl. I want to get across the road. Whats signal got to do with it? There is 2 and a quarter inch of space between two cars, can I squeeze in and pass through. Hey, the other lane is empty, lemme rush and fill up the vacuum. How dare you try get into my lane, ok get in after I've passed. 1 mile = 45 min
Night life - City never sleeps.
So much indifference, and yet, every now and then you'll find some one who would find time to help you, touch your life in a soothing way.

I loved NYC. I'm home!

6 comments:

Shalini said...

Yes, I definitely agree about the energy in the city and its people. It's a palpable thing, something that becomes contagious. I also love the fact that people in NYC are so direct.

Even though NYC and Mumbai are similar, my favorite cities in India are Bangalore and Chandigarh.

Adorable Bad Guy said...

I hated Blr and loved Chandigarh. If ever I was to retire with a millon dollars in bank, I'll choose Chandigarh.

Unknown said...

adorable bad guy !! can u explain ur reasons for hatred for bangalore ? becos the city sleeps early?

Adorable Bad Guy said...

Trishikh,
My apologies if I hurt your sensibilities.Honestly, I had a very limited experience of B'lore. From what I could experience, its the lack of infrastructure and public transport. I have nothing against sleeping early. C'garh sleeps even earlier.

Mumbai, for all its faults, runs like a well oiled machine. Bangalore, is like a loss of a dream. Its brings sadness and anger to think, "what might have been". It had so much going for it and yet its faltered so badly.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

to Mr adorable : if u know the statistics right BMTC (the public bus transport) is the considered the only transport company running in profit in whole of India. Now its the people from outside who doesn't choose to board them and want to make their purses light by paying the auto. Thats not the the fault of BMTC right?
And more thing if u go with the figure Bangalore is the fastest growing city in the world !!!! (only with numbers i accept) .....now with this kind of increase in number do u think any city in India can cope up with the Infrastructure problems? Its just been 8 years that the population has increased beyond the capability of this beautiful small town. It takes time to recover and thats exactly what it is going through now. Please think twice b4 u comment becos u need to be in the system to understand its problem. I guess people who come from outside should take the initiative to make Bangalore better rather than comparing with any city in India becos this is the City which has put India on the World map and it certainly deserves co-operation from people whom it feeds.
please check this :
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/bangaloremetropolitantransportcorporationbmtc/bloremetropolitantransportcorpgoingpublic/market/stocks/article/298772