The past fourteen days I’ve spend my time in one of the craziest cities on the planet. India is a mesmerising country with beautiful traditions that I wanted to visit for long time, and with Mumbai modernising rather rapidly I thought now was a good time.
The city carries a huge enigma with the ability to inspire, delight, frustrate, disgust, thrill, amaze and confound – all at once. If you’re looking for a jovial and laid back holiday, Mumbai is not for you. But the city does great in bringing you world perspective. Travel here, and you will have your mind dazzled and your stomach stirred.
Rich and poor coexist – as poor shelters are increasingly being dwarfed by skyscrapers and grotesque shopping malls. It epitomises the city’s contrast, which is too noticeable to escape from. With disbelief, guilt and discomfort, I walked the streets and ate at restaurants, overlooking the beggars, who often are just children.
The traffic is anarchy, as stray animals roam the streets and trains carry more passengers than they really should. Smog and noise drape the city, day and night. And those are just a few of Mumbai’s peculiarities.
While Bombay was build on tradition, Mumbai is being built on a hyped-up frantic kind of energy. As a city, it’s a work in progress, although many may want you to think otherwise.
Over twenty million people live in the metropolis, as fortune-seekers all over India travel here. Delhi may the official capital of the nation, Mumbai is without a doubt the epicentre of its economy. The recent surge has raised a new middleclass with money to spend, however – for now – that only applies to a happy few; there is only one bus for every 1,300 people; 17 public toilets for every million; and just one civic hospital catering to 7,2 million.
Yet, somehow the city continues to sustain itself, perhaps because at heart, Mumbai is an ingenious place.
During my trip, I visited five advertising agencies, to learn more about the traits of the Indian market. Culture is paramount in India, and seems to be based on three themes, namely religion, cricket and Bollywood. For advertising there is no way to endorse religion, so money gladly finds its way to celebrities of sports and movies. The audiences are colossal, as for instance, the Dainik Jagran newspaper alone has over 54 million readers each day. Furthermore, sixteen major languages of India are spoken in Mumbai, most common being Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English. There’s also an illiteracy rate of around 15%. Combine all that, and the best solution to message is often visually; the rupee coins being a prime example.
In Mumbai I made trips to the Banganga Tank, the Jain Temple, the Elephanta Caves and the Haji Ali Dargah which I can all recommend. After two weeks of sleepless nights, and constant noise in my ears, I looked forward to go back to the comfort of home, although while writing this I already thoroughly miss the madness of Mumbai.
