MY OBSESSION WITH MUMBAI – A MIRAGE!

Allapra is just like any other village in Kerala. A beautiful landscape with lush greenery with its paddy fields, rubber estates, coconut and arecanut trees, plantains grown in a vast area, the serenity throughout the day and night, no vehicular rush, no frantic crowd, houses nearby, ponds, two churches, a temple from where devotional songs could be heard in the early morning and in the evening just before the Sun sets for the day and long narrow tarred road passes through the village.

Till the age of twenty I was a rural young man in the village of Pulluvazhy, about two or three kilometers from Allapra, the praises already showered on Allapra could be applied to Pulluvazhy also. The young generation of Allapra and Pulluvazhy leave their villages and near and dear ones after higher studies to the urban areas to secure jobs either in banks, government offices, factories or own business and amass money. Some young men with the help of their parents go abroad to earn and also for sending money to their parents. Most of these young men visit their villages once or twice in five years spend their vacation in their beloved houses spend time with the loving and caring parents, friends and relatives. The new generation men and women are not at all interested in the old profession of agriculture and their parents even though getting old slog it out in the fields and sow the seeds. With the monthly arrival of money from their kids working across India and abroad, the farmers are gradually withdrawing from the farming scene and stop cultivation. With in a few years, in the place of paddy fields sky-high concrete buildings may come up and the present scenario may become a thing of the past. 60 Percent of Indians are farmers, but this profession, instead of bringing them profits and laurels, find themselves in debt-traps due to loans availed of from local money lenders at exorbitant rates for purchasing fertilizers and insecticides. The liberalization policy of our governments resulted in the reduction of import-tariffs, the countries importing rice and paddy and other essential commodities enter the market and sell at cheap rates thus forcing our farmers to be bankrupt and end their life by consuming insecticides, find salvation in suicides, thus making the life of their dependants unbearable. Here I recall an advice to farmers by the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra to join the ‘Art Of Living’ classes to keep away from suicides! These types of fiddling Neros are the bane of our nation.

I have deviated from the main story and beg your pardon. In the interim period, ie between my life as a rural man, till the age of 21 and present life at Allapra, for about five years I was in faraway Mumbai. That also in connection with my job in a bank. A totally different atmosphere compared to my life in the village, I underwent a severe homesickness and thought about resigning the job and to rush back to my village. The homesickness lasted for about one month and later got accustomed with the ‘peculiarities’ of Mumbai life. New friends, a few close relatives hither and thither living in the suburbs and with their presence and help, I finally overcame my homesickness and gradually began to like the city and was overwhelmed with my new found freedom, that is a rare commodity in Pulluvazhy in the presence of my parents and close relatives. I began to love the sky-rocketing buildings, mad rush of crowds, the hustle and bustle, speeding vehicles- trains, buses, cars and autorickshaws everywhere and occasionally some hot drinks in the company of newly got friends and the subsequent feelings of joy and delight and also some ‘adventure sports’. My frequent letters to parents, friends and relatives became rare, but the continuous flow of letters from them didn’t have an interval.

Sometimes in my moments of loneliness, that is also a rare commodity in Mumbai, told myself in a whispering tone- Incredible and unbelievable these evolutions- the young man in me wondered. One who initially had only hatred and anger in store for Mumbai getting converted into a typical city man and began to forget the village and my dear and near ones appeared before me once in a while with unbelievable eyes just like a flash.

Recently, one of my friends in Mumbai, Balachandran , together with his family visited my house and surveyed the surroundings and took a stroll down the roads and spent one day with my family, memorized our past life in Mumbai and recalled some other friends, cracked some jokes, sons of the soil policy of Shivsainiks and occasional terror attacks, yet the city day by day getting to be like a huge dam, about to burst-out anytime due to inflow of young men keeping their life at risk.

Balachandran is at Airoli, in the New Mumbai area, and while myself and my family paid a visit to his flat, it was quite amazing to watch the whole New Mumbai from the terrace of the building, vast areas of New Mumbai with sky-high buildings bathed in bright fluorescent lights and the residents- men, women and children watching the whole city from their balconys’ enjoying the winds blowing from the sea. Even though I didn’t tell him, I really envied the man for turning a Mumbaikar.

But when he visited my house and an entirely different ambience (for him) bewitched him and told me with wonder and curiosity glowing in his eyes- “Lucky chap. What a beautiful area. No noise pollution, no fear psychosis, no faceless crowd, no violence, calm and quiet. Really I like this place. My SIDCO flat is nothing compared with this house and the rural atmosphere.

Another visit also paid by my wife’s intimate friend, Sharadha, who is in Ambernath. She was accompanied by her husband and daughter. While we were in Mumbai, we used to visit her flat once in a while and spent atleast one week.

On a vacation tour to Kerala, Sharadha’s native place is Cherthala, before returning to Ambernath, after our repeated compulsions, she came with her family.

As my friend had already done, she also found our house beautiful and also the premises.

“Lucky you. A marvellous place indeed. Calm and serene. Loving and caring neighbours. No noise pollution. No faceless crowd. After retirement we will certainly dispose off our property and would purchase a plot somewhere here and build a house. That much I am enthralled and excited”.

Mumbaikar Malayalee hate the city and prefer to be away from the city and lead a calm and quiet life in villages.

The man always dreams of returning to Mumbai and be a Mumbaikar- myself- kept mum. Is this a mirage!