The peanut vendor
Bombay(sue me!! That's the city I know) is where home is and it is probably one place I miss the most today. I guess you realize the significance of something only when you don't have it for too long. Everything that used to disgust me about the city; the noise, the crowd, the smells, the fast pace reminds me back of the time I spent there. There were days when I\you felt Bombay probably wasn't safe anymore but when you see a 16 year old girl waiting at the bus stop, after a bomb blast, to catch the next bus to college, you are forced to reconsider.
Bombay, where millions of people come each day to chase their dreams, has today gained a character very different from the Maratha culture it was born with. To me the Bombay I know is as addictive as love, the waves smashing against the curb at Marine Drive in monsoons, the Indo-Saracenic buildings all over, the hordes of pigeons at KabutarKhaana, the Dabawallahs shoving their huge trays of tiffin-cans into the local trains, the quintessential old sardar taxi driver with his thought provoking anecdotes, the leather market at Dharavi, the shouting vendors at Bandra Linking road and the peanut vendor who stands next to every tourist spot in town.
Talking about the peanut vendor, reminds me that I had taken this picture at Gateway of India. The Gateway, is a huge basalt arch which an era ago was probably the first thing that people travelling to Bombay by boat used to see as they entered the harbor, I guess its holds the same value for Mumbai as Statue of Liberty does for New York. Come to think of it this very spot has seen more violence in Bombay than anyone else. Bomb blasts, random killing sprees, the siege of the Taj hotel and what not but even today you see this peanut vendor there trying to etch out a living. Is it the human need or is it the spirit of Bombay that wants him to be back on that spot after something so violent happens there? He stands there day in day out selling peanuts and being as vigilant as a cop could be so that he is the one to spot something and avoid it. I think he probably represents the spirit of Mumbai more than anybody else, he stands guard at beaches, at stations, at places we love the most, he stands there to keep us safe a while longer.
Sure, the whole city has been barricaded and the whole place is swarmed with policemen carrying semi-automatic rifles at night but I think its not really them who make Bombay safer. Its the people of Bombay who do, they care more for each other now, they care more for the city now, the stands guard as vigilantes to take down any one who thinks of messing with us anymore. Let's do our bit and thank the peanut vendor today, because he has become invisible to us. Go out buy something from him and say thank you, and I am sure he'll paint the town blue with your love.
Bombay, where millions of people come each day to chase their dreams, has today gained a character very different from the Maratha culture it was born with. To me the Bombay I know is as addictive as love, the waves smashing against the curb at Marine Drive in monsoons, the Indo-Saracenic buildings all over, the hordes of pigeons at KabutarKhaana, the Dabawallahs shoving their huge trays of tiffin-cans into the local trains, the quintessential old sardar taxi driver with his thought provoking anecdotes, the leather market at Dharavi, the shouting vendors at Bandra Linking road and the peanut vendor who stands next to every tourist spot in town.
Talking about the peanut vendor, reminds me that I had taken this picture at Gateway of India. The Gateway, is a huge basalt arch which an era ago was probably the first thing that people travelling to Bombay by boat used to see as they entered the harbor, I guess its holds the same value for Mumbai as Statue of Liberty does for New York. Come to think of it this very spot has seen more violence in Bombay than anyone else. Bomb blasts, random killing sprees, the siege of the Taj hotel and what not but even today you see this peanut vendor there trying to etch out a living. Is it the human need or is it the spirit of Bombay that wants him to be back on that spot after something so violent happens there? He stands there day in day out selling peanuts and being as vigilant as a cop could be so that he is the one to spot something and avoid it. I think he probably represents the spirit of Mumbai more than anybody else, he stands guard at beaches, at stations, at places we love the most, he stands there to keep us safe a while longer.
Sure, the whole city has been barricaded and the whole place is swarmed with policemen carrying semi-automatic rifles at night but I think its not really them who make Bombay safer. Its the people of Bombay who do, they care more for each other now, they care more for the city now, the stands guard as vigilantes to take down any one who thinks of messing with us anymore. Let's do our bit and thank the peanut vendor today, because he has become invisible to us. Go out buy something from him and say thank you, and I am sure he'll paint the town blue with your love.
Nice article dude...keep it up
ReplyDeleteits funny how you miss some really small things in life :) nice post!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful portrait of peanut vendor. A nearly true representation of the spirit of Bombay. Keep it up.
ReplyDelete