Yay, Metropolis syndrome!

The bog to big, and lovin’ it?

(Part 1 of a 2-part post)

In India, as it is for people everywhere, life is hectic. The big city life is busy with organizer schedules in bursting filo faxes, scribbled in or digital calendars filled with endless agendas, meetings, and plans. Some gravely important dates, like the appointment with a therapist on a Wednesday afternoon and some are terribly meticulous, like the book reading that you had to sign up for out of obligation, and then some rare time- outs like meeting a grand parent across town for an early evening. Aah, life in the big city. It is grand, is it not?

I don’t know about anywhere else, but typically in India, people flock from rural parts to urban jungles like Bombay.

Yes, I know it is now “Mumbai” on the map, but I still call it “Bombay.” I like it that way. The name evokes an old- world charm, character and style. The city is a mysterious, historic, artistic, cultural hot spot for me by just calling it “Bombay.” Each to their own; this to me.

So coming back to the grand Indian reverie. People escape infrastructural troubles or economic stagnation and arrive at the big city, in their youth, to make it big! They slog it out. It is a typical situation, which starts out with living in matchbox size home, the type they show you in Oscar winning movies. The ideal next phase is to realise a crazy Cinderella dream and fulfill some big destiny. The journey culminates in all desires being fulfilled—an enormous house, a car to stroke the ego, and countless gimmicks and gadgets. A life of luxury compared to where they grew up. Most of life is spent chasing “THE” dream.

There are also people who head to other metros to fulfill their student goals, and head to earn a good life in a fast paced city. Delhi sounds good? The Capital is an attractive place to look for success. Then, friends and family from back home visit the great city. These visitors witness the historic majestic appeal of the nation’s capital juxtaposed with crazy traffic and chaos with sprinkles of the political arena mixed with a hoard of self- claimed “important” personalities. Your guests marvel at your achievement. Life is about living, and keeping up, while keeping it together.

And, there are many such stories of other growing parts…tier one, tier two cities. You get the picture.

But you see the similarity? It is where the daily life merges into the weekly routine to create a month’s events and a year gone by in a blink of an eye.

So what does that make you? A self proclaimed runner. A rat race junkie. Urban or rural don’t separate you. You were a rat there; you are a rat (hopefully, with an air-conditioned house, and a car) here.

But now what?…what happens next? When the last glass of champagne is drunk, the happiest (hic!) guest leaves, and the music tempo mellows. Now what?

There. This is scenario one…what’s my point? Wait for the next post! (Tomorrow, I promise!!)