The Dirty City

Recently someone commented on Facebook how Mumbai was ranked as one of the Dirtiest Cities and how true this fact was. This got one my friend totally upset as this person was a so called out-of-townee who was earning his keep in the city. According to him this person was totally ungrateful for what the city was providing him with.

One thing I will agree is that Mumbai sure is dirty. But I have seen places that are more filthier than this city. Secondly, this city is dirty because we let it be dirtied, and dirty it too. How many of us haven't used the city's roads and streets as our own personal garbage bins and spit bowls and open-air toilets (of course not this one). We ourselves dirty the city and then we ourselves scoff our noses up at the smell and grime that we see all over. The city maybe polluted but I know of many other cities that are more polluted. A recent trip to Juhu beach left me shocked to see the amount of garbage and litter lying all over the beach. The people there were from all walks of life, Mumbaikars, non-Mumbaikars, residents and tourists, rich and poor. The beach was polluted because people just threw things everywhere, except in the garbage bins, and there were no one to clean the mess. Think about whats going to happen with the fast approaching Ganesh festival.

Mumbai provides over 40% of the country's income in the form of taxes and receives a very meager amount of benefits in returns. It provides job, shelter and education, bread and butter to people not only from Maharashtra but from all over the country and possibly the world. But still gets back very little in return. I know of a very famous actor who along with his family lives in the city and earns his living here but goes ahead and promotes a state where he hasn't lived in at all.

For me Mumbai is always the best city in the world. It's my origin, the place where I was born, where I learned so many valuable lessons, made friends, formed bonds, found love and discovered myself. Mumbai will always be a part of me. And I will try and do my best to make this city a better place to live in.