“You’re So Bombay”

You know what they say is true; the more you love something the harder it is to write about it. I used to call myself a copywriter, then it became lifestyle writer, now it’s blogger – these are just different terms but the point remains that I write. I like words. And I love Bombay. I find that the vibe of this city is a recurring theme in many of my posts. Yet, when I take to the blog to write specifically about Bombay, I’m at a loss. I take a long, hard look at the pictures I’ve clicked. Apart from the fact that I tend to be a typical girl and cringe at that ‘fat-angle’ or that hair that looks like it belongs to a sparrow’s nest – I come to a sudden realization. I can’t put this in words. How on earth do I tell you about the setting sun at Jogger’s Park? Would you understand that it makes me super philosophical every-single-time? How do I describe the mad nostalgia I feel when I stroll down Colaba Causeway? Even my favourite pit stop Cafe Leopold won’t quench the thirst I have for those beautiful, carefree times. You can’t smell Aunty Julie’s food being cooked in Ranwar Village. Nor can you feel the excitement I do when a play at Prithvi Theatre is about to begin. I can try to explain that the bun maska from Churchgate Station is the best comfort food in the world but my words don’t do justice to that melting butter. Perhaps I should describe cycle coffee at Bandstand and how it is an almost stale-smokey taste and yet I wouldn’t exchange it for anything. But I wonder what you’ll make of that. I sound cheap, don’t I? I talk of all things easily available and perhaps even free. But that’s who I am. My city has made me this way. I can’t be who you want me to be. I don’t do simple and I don’t do fancy. I don’t do Indian and I don’t do Western. I do what makes my heart happy. I do what I please. I don’t judge others. I don’t stand for them judging me. I could care less about adhering. I don’t fit into slots. My favourite compliment in the world is…”You’re so Bombay”. “Why thank you”, I gush! And in that moment I realize, that’s the best part of my city…it’s bursting through every fibre of my being. It helps that there’s a visual icon to explain this feeling now, but I live it every single day: I love Bombay.

Photo Courtesy: Niharika Gupta