Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan!


I love the fast pulsating pulse on my chest, the racing cars and slipping dreams. The knock of the running boots and sharp heels make me wild and I laugh. I sigh deeply and with satisfaction run along the pulse. My arms stretch as far as they are pulled, in any directions. I feel elated to see my capacity to shelter many religions, casts and creeds. They don’t need any identification; they can be from any race. Animals, humans, birds anything. All I need from them is they should belong, embrace me and love me the way I love them.

Sleepless by choice, my heart flutters with the sound of Allah ho Akbar, Jai Bajarangbali, Church bells and Ardaas, sometimes it is really tough for me to identify them separately. They create a fusion, new style music to soothe my nerves. That’s my chill out time. After that I have to run with the buses, taxis and local all the times. The floating sea of people feels more vast and colorful than the ocean on my chest. I feel like an emperor, a protector like a father, and loving like a mother. Pain, hatred and jealousy are strange words for me. When I hear these words I wonder to see the change on people’s faces. They suddenly look strangers to me. But why should I care. These emotions stay on their face for very short period. Afterwards they vanish or are drowning into their heart who knows?

WHAT IS THIS???????????????

I feel numb, and deaf. Some strange sounds are erupting from my body. Different and unfamiliar. My learned brain refuses to acknowledge these sounds. But I feel my whole body is cramped. Is this the pain? When I am limping with pain I see some sticky substance spreading on my limbs. It has a color, a dreaded color, which I don’t like a bit. I shudder and for the first time in my whole life I blink, I close my eyes for a moment. I look ugly with that color on my body. I feel ashamed. It’s not mine; it is coming out from some humans limbs scattered on me! I am terrorized. What’s going on? Why I am feeling nauseated? With blank eyes and still heart I look around. Sound kills? Sound causes death? What type of death is it? Human inflicted? To other humans? This is not what I want, this is what I hate. Now I know the meaning of hate and pain suddenly. Oh! I was better when I was naïve. This is not what I want. I see myself shrinking. For the first time my early morning fusion music hurts me. I put fingers in my ears. It’s not fusion any more, it has distinguished familiarity of different notes. It is not music anymore. It is voices of different religions. All stink.

They say it is a blast, made by some other religious group to kill people of some particular group. What I see are people of all religions running on my chest with same fear, agony on their faces. Fear has no religion I guess? And death too? Everyone is running, crying, bleeding the same substance called blood. It tastes same on my tongue; it feels same warm and red on my body. Then who is killing whom? My head never spanned like this before.

I see human forms but not in any shape. It is in pieces. Like unsolved puzzle, waiting for someone to fill all the pieces on their right places. All the rubbish never emitted such stench which was emitting now. Flesh stinks when it’s not attached with body? I crawl slowly under the sky, feeling so alone, afraid and depressed. The knock of another dawn wake me up, I was sleeping or unconscious, I don’t know. But the duty and routine called, so with a shivering body and limping steps I start running again, but now I know many things and oh! I hate it all. I turn back to see again and again cautiously. The fear has gripped me. But I have to run.