Mother of cities to me,
For I was born in her gate,
Between the palms and the sea,
Where the world-end steamers wait.
These are the words used by Kipling to describe his birth-place, the city of Bombay (now known as Mumbai). A city which has been my, well, can't really describe it as my "home", but my place of residence for over four years now. I am no Kipling (or anything even remotely close), but reading these lines today, made me think.
- How do you get attached to a place?
- Is it because you have lived there?
- You have friends there?
- You have fond memories of the place?
- Do you associate it with some of the best events in your life (maybe without having actually lived there)?
- And does the attachment actually take place after you have left the place (Kipling left Bombay at the age of five)?
- Isn't this more a kind of longing than any actual sense of belonging?
Pretty philosophical questions. And I don't know if I should even try answering them. All I know is all these four years of staying in this city , I haven't yet been able to consider Bombay as "home".
Maybe time will bring some change.
2 comments:
Now when you're married... soon you would start considering this city home!
My personal opinion-- Mumbai is an overrated place in terms of sprit or belonging or whatever intangible things people claim about on social network.
I stayed there for 2 years, and yes, couldn't call that home too. It is because we come here for work and struggle so much in and for doing that, that we don't get time to live. I noticed that even when we "set out to have fun" on weekends, to reach to the fun places was itself a struggle :). Moreover, whatever we say, it lacks the feelings of a smaller town/city where everyone connects with others in a much better manner. All others are going through the same survival struggle (even after earning lacs).
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