bombay

bombay! after kashmir, bombay was a shock. a familiar city, a city i know well, but a shock nevertheless. crowds of heads and clothes become a smear of color in this city- everything is moving and streaky. it swallows you whole, this city. even if it's your first time here, you are not kept apart or outside. you are taken in immediately, involved from the beginning. you can access bombay, you can mix right in.

in some other cities, you visit and you feel as though life is going on around you, but you cannot break in. in bombay, you cannot avoid breaking in. you are in. the dirt gets under your fingernails, the genius beggars surround you, the shopkeepers look you right in the eye. there is no protective bubble around this city, keeping the outsiders out. there are no outsiders. this very thing is the reason bombay is one of my favorite cities in the world.

chicago, my favorite, my home, is not this way. people come here to visit and remain visitors; they leave chicago having seen the sights but not really having become part of the city. i see this happen time and again. in bombay, however, you are in the city for a day and you are already wearing a kurta shirt, with colorful glass bangles tinkling on your arm and the bombay sun darkening your skin. you have already begun to feel ownership of the ocean and discovered your favorite hangout. you have internalized the city. it has internalized you.

if you know bombay, you know why i love it. everything has a story. everyone has a story. even in the slums, there are precious stories and precious lives being carried out. you cannot disregard anyone; it would be stupid to do so. reach out to it instead. so much is going on, and the city has space for all of it. and only one tiny portion of that was the four of us, my parents, taher and i, hanging out and having dinner with family and friends. stopping in a familiar place before setting out again for jalgoan, burhanpur and ujjain.