...I always have, in fact. Bombay, now that used to be a different story.

Can I just say that I hate Bombay. I had hoped it'd feel better after getting that out straight. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

This is why.

(I would've loved to compose heartfelt - and perhaps entertaining - prose on the reasons, but dang, these bullet points will work just as well)

  1. I hate the fact that everything, everywhere is dug up. Every time. I can't believe that arterial roads have their guts ripped out, with traffic moving through one lane instead of three.
  2. I don't mind suffering the pain of traveling by road, if I am convinced that things are going to get better. They don't get better. Because of the sheer number of agencies staking their claim on prime real estate under the tarmac.
  3. I hate it when men are made to pour hot tar on a perfectly smooth road and surface it with their hands. Wearing miserable gloves. Using a sad excuse for a wooden plank.
  4. I hate the fact that we don't think about the environment when we build our roads and our buildings and our malls.
  5. I hate it when we litter shamelessly, spit around endlessly and generally spread filth as if that was the only thing we were born to do.
  6. I hate it that our road dividers change every few meters. Because every Corporator and every MLA wants to make money putting them up, ripping them up, putting them up again, adding a few plants here and there, ripping them apart...
  7. I hate the frustration that hangs in the air. That weird mix of helplessness and callousness that turns the city into a simmering pot of rage that is waiting to explode. I hate it when we can't be courteous to people around us. I hate it that pushing, shoving, shouting and abusing have become innate parts of our existence.
  8. I hate the noise. And I hate it when I have to honk incessantly to get my vehicle home without any major damage.
  9. I hate the fact that a measly 500 sq foot apartment in the filthiest, noisiest and shittiest part of the city will cost me upwards of Rs 50 lac. And that the parking slot will cost me more than the car itself.
  10. I hate the fact that when I want to eat out, I can't think of a single decent place that will serve good, affordable food cheerfully.
  11. I hate the fact that all that money will still not buy me a standard of living that will let me live a safe, healthy and peaceful life. I will still be traveling 4 hours a day, battling other road users every minute for every inch of the road, breathing smoke every living minute and wondering if there's a bomb under my seat in the train.
  12. I hate it that our infrastructure is so overloaded that even if we want to, we cannot devise any way of combating a potential terrorist threat and making this place safe.
  13. I hate it when I feel like going out for a drive at 12 in the night. And I can't.
  14. I hate it when (some) people say that the city has got character. And energy. And a never-say-die spirit. I think that's a lot of ball talk. There's no electricity, no water, no sense of courtesy; the character, energy and spirit can take a hike.
Most of those things are petty. Things that can be put in place. There are some things that go deeper than that, things that can't be fixed easily, if at all.

The way I feel about Bombay is like the way one would feel about an estranged relative, or a broken relationship. Agitating and hurtful.

For all my attachment and blind fanaticism for Bombay, I feel cheated.

And with nowhere to belong to, I feel a little lost. And a little homeless.