Mumbai - An Outsider's Perspective

 After living in Mumbai for 14 years from 2001-2014, I have lived both outside the city and the country for the last 7 years with a few visits here and there. It's safe to say I am now considered an NRI and as an outsider I am more looking into the city rather than living and breathing the city air on a daily basis. As such, I reminisce about the old days and the manner in which the city is functioning right now. I wanted to put down my thoughts and some things that have changed in the city and also about how the city differs from other cities in the world that I have seen.

• Mumbai is still one of the most rapid cities I have ever seen probably only next to New York. People are always in a rush here trying to get done with whatever's next on that plate. That could be getting from Point A to Point B, talking on the phone and wrapping up work or even having a meal. There are a few places in the city where life truly slows down but those places are few and far between.
• It wouldn't be prudent to write an article on Mumbai without talking about its trains and traffic.
  • With the advent of Metro, people hope that some of the traffic snarls would reduce. While the Eastern Express Highway is much quicker and efficient, traffic on the Western Express Highway is improving and people hope that the Metro will help reduce some of that traffic.
  • I often wonder if adding 4-way stop signs at intersections would help reduce some of the traffic snarls. However it would also involve educating people about lane driving. Outside of the city, I have seen people following lane driving but within the city traffic is an organized chaos.
  • Re lane driving outside the cities, why do Trucks drive on the fastest lane of the road?
• Why does everyone love spitting? I would have thought that COVID would have reduced the number of people spitting everywhere, but people love spitting here. I think Mumbai is one of the only cities I have seen where people spit almost everywhere.
• Toilets are finally clean. I remember 10-15 years ago, I would dread using the restrooms anywhere because they would be smelly and equally dirty. However, while the smell may not have reduced as much as the cleanliness, but the restrooms I have visited in public places are amazingly clean.
• The improvements in the financial systems are stupendous. It is almost possible to go out and not spend cash anywhere. All the banks are linked together and having a centralized system to track all money will prove to be beneficial in the long term.
• One thing I still see missing is the lack of healthy food options. People seem to be piling on to butter/cheese/sugar. I suspect Diabetes and High Cholesterol is and will continue to be a raging problem in the coming few years. But with that, there is an opportunity for a market for healthy food - non fried snacks, alternatives to high cholesterol food such as chickpea puffs, salads, high quality eggs/meat, etc.
• People in Mumbai in general are helpful. Obviously there are people looking to take advantage of you everywhere, but the general notion that I have seen is people willing to help wherever possible.

These are random ramblings for an outsider and I would welcome any questions or if folks want any additional perspectives from myself on any other things I noticed during my limited time here. While I still love this city to the bits, I always wonder if I would ever come back and live here again.