Mumbai Torture - How long?

Mumbai is the most populous city in India. It is the financial capital of India. Mumbai is home to most of the billionaires & millionaires in India. It is home to many Indian celebrities. It is a city of investments, a city of diamonds, a city of Bollywood movies, the largest port city in India. It handles two-thirds of the Indian maritime cargo.

It is the home to most of the Fortune-500 Indian companies. 6 out of 7 Indian Fortune-500 companies are situated in Mumbai. But they can't change the fortune of the city. Be it Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar, Sachin Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani, Azim Premji, Shahrukh, Amir, Tata, Birla, Gulzar or any other celebrity in India, there will be more than 80 percent chance that he/she will be staying in Mumbai. It is the fortune city. People from all over India come to Mumbai, like I did, in the search of a career. Mumbai contributes to 25% of the industrial output of the country. One-third of the income tax in India is paid by Mumbai citizens. 60% of the import duty collected by the govt. of India, is being paid by Mumbai.

20% of the Indian central excise (tax on production of goods) is collected in Mumbai. It also contributes to the 40% of the foreign trade of India. What are we getting back in return? See these photographs.

Mumbai offers many things to many people. People throng Mumbai. The population is about 180 million, (1.8 crores). The banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India, the stock market regulator SEBI, both important stock exchanges of India BSE & NSE are also situated in the city of Mumbai.

There is no other city in India which has such a powerful profile. No other city is as cosmopolitan in its composition & attitude, as Mumbai is.Today Mumbai is sinking. There was a heavy rainfall.

There is water everywhere. It is mid night in Mumbai. Rain is not stopping. Don't know when will it stop. The government has declared holiday tomorrow. They don't want people to come on the road. It is their sense of responsibility. They are thinking about tomorrow. We, the people of Mumbai are worried about today.

People are stuck in offices. They couldn't leave because if they stop work then India will be frozen. My wife is a banker. She started from her office at 3 PM, after receiving a flood warning by the government authorities. At mid night she is still on road. It is more than 10 hrs now, the distance is not even 50 kilometers. But she can't help it.

She is luckier. She has a chauffeur driven car. The average man on the street has a very painful life. Look at these pictures of Mumbai when it rains rather pours in Mumbai. It hardly matters when are these pictures taken because this is the scene every year. I am witnessing them for the last 28 years.

Mumbai has changed a lot in the last 28 years but surprisingly Mumbai is Mumbai during the rainy season. Nothing has changed. The roads go under waters. Cars float on the road like boats. Buses get drowned. Traffic moves a few meters per hour. Put on any TV channel you will hear a lot of praise about people of Mumbai & their spirit.

We, the people of Mumbai get a lot of praise for our hardworking nature, our tolerance & patience. But believe me, we are losing patience now. They told us to change the government. We did that. They have been telling us 'Ache din aane wale hai' (good days are coming).

We believed them. We waited for 'good days' for the last 3 years. India may be shining but look at us. Mumbai is where it is. What can we do if they just helplessly watch us on the television? If the coalition partners, the state & local bodies keep blaming each other, then who is responsible for our situation today?

Who is taking the ownership of our misery today? We were promised that they would turn Mumbai into Shanghai. Forget it. Just construct elevated roads & elevated local trains, so that we can go to work & come back home safely, on time. Today Mumbai had a rainfall of less than 300 mm. On 26th July 2005, Mumbai had an exceptional rainfall of about 930 mm in a day. We can understand that as a natural calamity but 100 to 300 mm is not the natural calamity. It is a political calamity.

Who can rescue us? We tried all political solutions. A major national party ruled us, the strong local party has been ruling Mumbai for many years, we also voted for the 'hope' in the last national elections. Nothing is working for us. We now believe only our beloved 'Mumbai God'. Our lovely, Lord Ganapati Bappa. See the idol of 'Lalbaug cha Raja' in the above picture. We know that as long as he is blessing us, we are fine. Mumbai is surrounded by many Gods. They are our Mumbai Gods. Hindu, Muslim, Sikhs, Christians, & Juses everybody in Mumbai worships them. Siddhivinayak (Lord Ganesha), Haji Ali Dargah in Worli, Mahalaxmi, Mount Meri in Bandra, Lord Shankara in Mumbadevi. They are our rulers. They are our hope. We dare to travel on Mumbai roads because of them.

Wait my door bell has rung..... Ohhh Arti, my wife, is here. It is almost 2 am now. Thank you, Ganapati Bappa. She could make it to bed at least for a few hours. She has to sleep now. She has traveled from office to home in the record time. They say you can reach from London to Mumbai in the same time. Hahaha. This is Mumbai life. Want to know more about us? Put on any Indian TV channel & you can see us there. That is the reason they say....'Salam Mumbai' (Salute to Mumbai).

Please do update your friends and family members via this link : https://www.facebook.com/safetycheck/mumbai-india-flood-aug29-2017/home/?

About Author: Prof Dr. Ajit Patil is a Professor of Marketing & Retailing.

He teaches at ICFAI Business School, Mumbai, India.

He also pursues other careers as a Management Writer, Corporate Trainer, & Business Development Consultant.

He is a visiting professor at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji.