Mumbai Darshan in NYC.

It has been two years since I landed in the US. I must confess that the two years I spent pursuing my masters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison were arguably the best years of my life. Madison has given me some extra-ordinary moments and friends that I will always cherish. As a matter of fact , while I am working in the DC area, my heart still longs for Madison and I am hopeful that I can visit the city at the end of the year.

I have never ever felt home-sick when I was in Madison and while I would brag about the city to my friends, family and acquaintances, one thing they always told me was that I should visit New York city, particularly since I was ( still am) a Mumbai-ite. Yes, the two cities are clones of each other and I will discuss about it a little later in my post.

Most of my trips work best when they are not planned perfectly. I actually relish unpredictability and a certain king of edginess when I am traveling to a new place.
Keeping up with the trend, I decided to visit NYC to see the US open without having any concrete accomodation plans.Work was extremely hectic on Friday and it was no surprise that I slept peacefully in the bus from DC to NY. At 12.30 am on Saturday, while I was still fast asleep, my eyes were exposed to bright flashing lights followed by ecstatic crowds and I knew that I was in NYC - the city that never sleeps. As I stepped out of the bus and walked down the street along with my buddies, I was transported into a different kind of world which I had left a couple of years back ( Mumbai). Initially, this world seemed very alien to me but after a few minutes and for the rest of my trip, everything seemed extremely familiar.

I boarded a train to NJ at 2.30 a.m and to my bewilderment, I could not find a seat in the train. The very next day ,I decided to walk in and around the Manhattan area. Little did I know that I would end up walking down the memory lanes of Mumbai in NYC. Here are a few incidents that gave me the feeling of being at home.

I was confident that I had transformed from an undisciplined pedestrian to a careful law-abiding one after coming to the US. In NYC,while I patiently waited for the pedestrian sign to turn on, I observed that everyone was in a hurry and preferred to pay no heed to the signs .Even car and cab drivers did not think twice before honking and were not hesitant to step on the gas when pedestrians were crossing the road. While the pedestrian sign was on, I was yelled at by a car driver for not moving quickly enough. I looked at the sign once again to reassure myself that I was right, much to my chagrin,. I was all set to yell back at him but instead chose to laugh over the driver's audacious irreverent gestures .In cities like NYC and Mumbai, time is money and if you cannot keep up with the pace of the city, then you better pull up your socks or relocate to a calmer place suited to your needs.

Next,just a few blocks down the road, I saw the famous ' I love NYC t-shirts' being sold at extremely cheap prices. And not surprisingly, the store was operated by an Indian. My first impression of him was that he was an astute businessman and my assessment was vindicated. He started showing me t-shirts of different colors and tried to convince me that gaudy colors such as bright yellow and green would suit me. We started bargaining over the price of the t-shirt as his quoted price did not match the price displayed on the poster outside his store. He started giving me preposterous reasons for the discrepancy and had an answer for every question I posed. All of a sudden, I realized that my bargaining skills had gone up for a toss. I finally decided to leave without purchasing the t-shirts. In response to my unceremonious exit, the shopkeeper resorted to emotional blackmail. It reminded me of fashion street in Mumbai. He told me that he was fasting ( Ramzan) and it was extremely discourteous on my part to leave those t-shirts lying around (he was the one who removed all of them and scattered them on the table). In a wave of sympathy, I budged and gave in to his demands while realizing that I had been fooled ( popat ban gaya mera). So, my point is that if you are not street-smart and choose to be naive/ overtly sympathetic in cities like Mumbai and NYC, be certain that you are going to be taken for a ride.

Next on my day's schedule was to have lunch at Sarvana Bhavan (the popular South Indian chain of restaurants). I had been craving for some south Indian food and they did full justice in satiating my appetite. That aside, I happened to meet this Pakistani family in the restaurant. They spoke chaste Urdu ( which thankfully I understand) and were understandably not very knowledgeable about Indian delicacies. I decided to break the ice and they happened to ask me of my origin. When I asked them the same question , they took a few seconds and finally uttered the word ' Pakistan'. I could sense that they were wanting to gauge my reaction. Once the ice was completely broken at their end, we continued to chat as if we were living in the 1800's. On my way out, I happened to interact with a Swedish and Moroccan couple too. I was so amazed by the ethnic diversity in NYC. While Mumbai may not have an internationally diverse populace, it is home to people of every Indian region,language, religion, caste,and status. Interacting with a diverse pool of people makes one socially adept and also a good conversationalist.

As I continued walking, the hot-dog stalls reminded me of the vadapav/samosa/tea stalls in Mumbai. There was a long line outside a shop selling Frankies ( Indian rolls). Incessant traffic and umpteen number of cabs on the street seemed normal and familiar. It is such a pleasant aberration to see a car be rendered useless and public transportation being the order of the day.

Next on my to-do-list was to visit Wall street. You may supplicate to differ, but according to me walking down either Wall street or Dalal street makes you think of stocks and question your business acumen. A glimpse of the raging bull leads to an adrenaline rush and your mind becomes like one of an enthusiastic investor.

And then ,just to give the requisite filmi masala angle to this story, I happened to meet and exchange pleasantries with Mira Mair, the acclaimed Indian diaspora director.I truly had some Mumbai darshan in NYC.

A city like NYC or Mumbai has that rare ability to inject enthusiasm and confidence into you. This thought might sound a little abstract or far-fetched but the truth of the matter is that it can only be experienced. Confidence, enthusiasm, desire to succeed,social skills, living life to the fullest, optimism are very infectious concepts - meaning that they get inculcated or internalized within you only if you are amongst like minded people.No doubt that life is ruthlessly super-competitive and there is no room for complacency. But hey, then success is for those who are willing to burn the mid-night oil rather than for those who wish to run away from the grim realities of life.


Only if I could write this article while I was in NYC, I would be able to share with you some more striking resemblances between my favorite two cities.

But yes, I do hope that I can visit NYC more frequently, experience the feeling of being at home and recharge my batteries if the need ever arises.

P.S Also, as I write this article, Mumbai is all set to welcome its favorite deity and graciously host Lord Ganesha for 11 days. I miss being a part of the festival which is celebrated with utmost pomp and gaiety.