Of three cities I love

 The Trivandrum that I came to live in four decades back was more like a big village, I felt. It was very hard to find a decent vegetarian restaurant. Of course mess, where homely food was available, were aplenty. You only would have to rely on word of mouth advice from friends to pick one that is apt for you. If tasty sevai and rasavadai were good in one such mess, karavadai was the masterpiece in another. But a person from Madurai, where paper thin delicious dosa followed by strong aromatic filter coffee were available in every nook and corner, was sure to miss both. But things are improving fast. (Especially if you are a foodie, in the present day terms, you have umpteen choices. There are atleast a dozen eateries in less than a kilometer from our house.) In those days in weddings also breakfast would not match that in Tamilnadu. But lunch served in Trivandrum was definitely a treat. What with aromatic aviyal, tongue liquoring olan, tangy ingikkari and to top it all the palpayasam, unmatched in taste.

Eventhough a big village, Trivandrum nevertheless is the state capital. That fact brings with it its own advantages. All the govt offices are at a stone's throw. The medical facility is admirable. Govt Medical College Hospital is among the best in the country. It is being improved and developed periodically. And due to its presence the private hospitals, in order to make themselves competable, provide good service at reasonable fees.

 
There are more reasons for my missing Madurai. Madurai was and is a தூங்கா நகரம். A city that is not only awake but lively throughout day and night. I am not talking about night clubs. That is beyond my scope or interest. I am talking about a normal citizen's life. I could land in the city at any time of the night and reach my parent's place without any fear or being alone enroute. That has never been the case in Trivandrum. While returning from work after seven in the evening, I could count the number of women in a bus with the fingers in a single hand. Roads would look deserted too. This has slightly improved of late. Still you would be an odd woman out in the roads after dusk.

The situation in Mumbai is totally different in this respect. Women can travel at any hour without feeling being alone. It is a relatively woman friendly metro. When you land in Mumbai for the first time from quiet southern states you would be awestruck by the maddening crowd moving in a fast pace. Rain or shine Mumbai moves on, literally. It would appear anyone you meet either on the road or in the jam-packed local trains just don't care a hoot for you or even blissfully unaware of your existence. But if you are humble enough to ask them something, say direction to a place, they would respond in detail and correctly as if you were friends from school days. This way Mumbai wins your heart quickly. And get used to the maddening crowd and practice to negotiate through it and you are sure to simply love the city. 

It takes only a little time to realise that though it is vast in size and metro in looks it is just an assembly of friendly villages put together. Whichever part of the city you are in you can easily integrate and see a miniature India around you. Availabilty of abundant fresh vegetables and fruits specific to any part of the country at affordable price is a magic wand to make you feel at home.

Another thing you find fascinating in Mumbai is the crowd discipline. Be it in traffic jams or before drinking water taps or waiting in a bus station, if there are more than four people waiting for something, a queue would be formed so things could be managed smoothly. Traffic jams may appear chaotic but even auto drivers would follow some unwritten discipline, even in breaking traffic rules, however crude that might be. A new dimension of survival of the fittest, not the strongest.

Every city has its own characteristics. If you have the willingness to see through the same we can enjoy the beauty of life anywhere.