A tale of two cities

This would probably be my last post from Delhi as I would be moving to Mumbai this week. Before coming to Delhi, 4 years back, I had spent most of my life at Mumbai. So, throughout the 4 years one question that people kept asking me was to do a comparison of the two cities and maybe give them my choice amongst the two. The answer kept on varying with time spent in Delhi but the conclusion has remained the same till now.

I will enlist the points I had been stressing in my answers.

The public transportation system in Mumbai is better (at least the part I had been in contact). You have local trains in Mumbai plying at the frequency of 3 minutes. I did not had the opportunity to take the benefits of the new Delhi Metro, so I cannot comment much; but I feel that its utility is being overestimated and making the decision (of who is better) solely on the basis of it is rather presumptuous.

Also, though the crime rate may be comparable in both cities or maybe higher in Mumbai, yet the crime in Mumbai is of the “larger” kind. So, there are more murders in Mumbai but less of pick pocketing etc. (the part which generally affects the common man, like me). The fact that Delhi is more unsafe for women is pretty widely known.

Delhi, or in general the north of India, has a lot of variety when it comes to foodstuffs of practically all kinds.

Mumbai has the added advantage that my immediate family has chosen it for their stay. But it is not that Delhi does not have anything on that front. Most of my relatives are in Delhi or in the NCR region.

So, I have been concluding ever since, that my choice would be Mumbai. However, after having lived in Delhi for some time, the gap between the cities has lessened (in my heart). I learned and developed so many things here. I developed my habit of reading; got acquainted with the better of my friends; did my engineering; got closer to my relatives (whom before I could meet only once a year). Finally, the city witnessed my personal growth and it had a major role to play in it.

Disclaimer: You may not find much relation between the picture and the text that follows.

P.S: One other not-so-related stuff. The city of Calcutta or Kolkata has gone from riches to rags. The communists, who in theory are the well wishers of the labour class, have (in their 30+ years rule) exploited this very class in West Bengal. However, this is still not apparent to most of them. They have become poorer due to the government policies but are made to believe that only the communist government is their last hope. To me, the irony is unbelievable. Bengal, which was the most happening place in the British time, has become a place where almost nobody likes to start a new venture.

Recently, we were in the middle of our campus placements. So, we had people from outside the country visiting. There was one chap, who was visiting India for the first time. On his trip, he went to Kolkata and then came to our campus in Delhi. He wanted to setup his base in India. In the middle of his presentation, he asked the audience regarding the place they would like to work at within India. He gave us options and asked us to raise our hands if we would like to work at that place. When the option of Kolkata was given, no one seemed to raise their hand. At this, he said that even he would not like to set his base there. At this, I pitied the state of the city. Even a stranger, on his first visit to the country, decides on not dealing with the city in the future.