I haven’t written a blog post
since a long time now, however, the hullabaloo over the word “Bombay” and
initiation of the age old debate of “Bombay Versus Mumbai” has prompted me to
write this post. I do not favor a political party nor do I stand in favor of
High court’s decisions. It is simply a Mumbaikar in me that takes this stand!
So let’s go back in history…….
How the word Bombay come into
being? Some godforsaken Britisher came down to the coastal city, relished a sumptuous
meal of “Bombil”, well-known duck fish and he liked this cuisine so much that
he decided to name this province after it. Much too fishy, in my opinion!
Moving on….
There has been series of vague, disturbing,
sarcastic posts, comments, blogs by many celebrities mocking at my city and
more so, on my people! They gaily hail themselves as liberal minded intellectuals
who love to call this city Bombay and not Mumbai because Bombay stands for
sophistication and Mumbai sounds way to Ghatti.
Sir/ Ma’am or whoever the fuck
you are, this city has 90% of Ghattis
leaving in it who still are absolutely clueless who the fuck you are and what
the fuck do you do. Well, they totally know who is Govinda or who is Amitabh
Bachchan. But those of you who are regular at NCPA, Prithvis, PVRs, Palladium
etc have no clue what true Mumbai is, and neither do the other 90%, I earlier
spoke about, know who you are! You, who
come from some foreign land, perhaps because no one gave a fuck about you there,
dare to speak of my city with highbrow sarcasm? What are you?
For you this city may not be
Mumbai but for every middleclass householder who wakes up in the wee hours and
travels in jam packed Mumbai local, this city is Mumbai. And this city is
Mumbai not for the elites who know not what travelling in trains is or what
BEST buses are. You may You may have
shot some of your film sequences there but travel each day in this local to get
a better taste of what Mumbai is. And I don’t mean Bombay.
While the rest of the world
supports you in your pseudo-intellectual debate of how cool Bombay is, I and
many others, differ. For we know that the sophistication and elitism hasn’t yet
reached the gaons and nukkads of Mumbai which perhaps you have never visited.
You, who wince at the thought of Dharavi and think esteemed to perform at plush
places, do not have an ounce of knowledge that true Mumbai rests in such places
where you have never been to! You, who get applauded by those insipid fans for
being so funny with your posts, forget that it is the common man of Mumbai who
buys your film tickets every Friday. And if you haven’t yet calculated, most
revenue gets generated by the single screens that are still functional in this
city. It is in their whistles and their claps that true Mumbai filmy spirit is
and it is because of their money that you THRIVE in this city. You SURVIVE on
our money!
Respect that…
To add more to this, have you
heard of the dabbawalas? They are the “ghattis” of Mumbai who make sure to
provide you with your lunch every day on the same time. They carry the burden
on their head in the scorching heat while you are busy typing out and tallying
a 100 crore deal in your air-conditioned offices. He is the man of MUMBAI and
BOMBAY means NOTHING to him!
Mumbai isn’t a catchphrase minted
by a political party. This word is a spirit which has been around giving life to
the lifeless, boneless like you even before Britishers christened this island
city. Madras can be changed to Chennai and Bangalore can be Bengaluru but call
Bombay as Mumbai and these pseudo-intellectuals who call us Ghattis give us
their Gyaan on how sophisticated Bombay sounds. To hell with your cold blooded
sophistication, Mumbai is Mumbai and will forever be Mumbai!
Bombay reeks of your shameless classiness
while Mumbai represents us! You are not Mumbai and Mumbai can never be you. You
are Bombay which means nothing to us…. Mumbai is its common man, Mumbai is
every middleclass family on whom you depend for your income. Mumbai is the one
who makes you and you are nothing without it!
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