Mumbai.

The lady graced this city by her presence, and made me think.

For a change that is.

Now, while I am not 'politically-inclined', I do have an upper storey that ticks, and chugs along, and thinks about issues that are in no way connected to me. Or at least directly. And yes, when one speaks about Mumbai, getting graced by a lady, and politics in the same breath, it is all too evident that I am alluding to Mayawati's trip to the land of dreams.

The land that is going to the dogs. The land which is bursting at it's seam. The land which was once a heaven to live in (yes, it was, not so long ago), but now, with the invasion of some 'aliens', it has ceased to be one.

And natives of this city would know what I mean. Probably people who haven't seen this city earlier would shrug off the claims of making it a Shanghai, which I quite laugh at as well. This city has no longer remained what it was, and the reasons are quite aplenty, none more than political.

Vote banks have led these guys - read politicians - to 'invest' heavily in them, and in absence of any 'regulatory' body, the innocent have suffered. And it was all too evident in Mayawati's rally, or the idea behind it. You can, for that matter, substitute her with anyone else, it does not matter. There are people by the hordes that join such rallies, most of them, if not all, frm the not-so-affluent class. Get swayed by the talks, by the promises, by the assurances and by the rest of the inspirational talk. And to add to this, i.e. to the vote bank, there are more such people who get encouraged to join the brigade, from the different parts of the country. And they make it their home.

Now while it is alrite for people to enjoy their slice of pie from this city - after all there are no visa norms to shift cities - the demand is far outstripping the supply, and at a rapid pace. Uninteruppted Power, Clean, potable water and last but not the least, something that resembles a faint definition of pure air is all dwindling. And no, I wont talk about roads or the traffic, because it has been spoken about far too often. But yes, with passing years, I can barely think of something good about the city, something that I cherish and can boast of. To my friends from the different parts of the country. And that is sad. The times that I try not to be indifferent to this, my heart bleeds.

In the end, an anecdote that keeps repeating so often, that it's often become a joke. When asked what Mumbai has to offer it's tourists, a sightseeing location, most of us answer, 'have you tried the local trains during the peak hours?'. Probably people are just being funny. Or sarcastic. But one rendezvous with the trains could be enough to last the life time, it is definitely not for the faint hearted.

I feel for the city. I really do. And the only thing I could probably do is take it (the shit) or leave it (the city). Something tells me that the second option could very soon become reality.

Well.