gutfeel.com

Different places are characterized by different languages and it amuses me very much to when I notice these differences when it pertains to a single language. For example, English is spoken differently at different places around the world. Similarly, in India, the way hindi is spoken in the north will be very distinct from that in the west. Here I am not only referring to the accent but the usage of words also. Different words are spoken in the same context. So the shades of language may vary from one place to another.

Since we have come to Mumbai, we have witnessed numerous festivals, more so because it was such time of the year. At first, it was Ganesh puja, then Durga puja, Dushara, and lastly Diwali. Ganeshotsav is celebrated with great enthusiasm here. Almost every household will bring an idol of Ganesha, either big or small and will worship and celebrate for a certain number of days before it is immersed in the sea. One day, I happened to see the dances that people perform during that time on the streets, be it Bandra or Andheri. Ladies all decked up, matching step with step, with colourful costumes dancing merrily and the men folks also taking part alongside. One thing they take care of is the traffic, which does slow down but is not disrupted altogether. In North India, you might notice that even a small wedding procession will result in traffic jam. In this civic sense, Maharashtra scores over north India.

When we planned to shift base to Mumbai from Gurgaon, we thought we might not like the hustle and bustle of the city, the life is too mechanical they say, the bigger the metropolis, the more mechanical your life is, the wise men point it out. In Mumbai, you can’t escape the distances and the crowds. Gurgaon was a quieter place in comparison, a big concrete jungle I can say, with the Mall mania growing leaps and bounds. Mumbai has a different soul to it.