Muggy Mumbai.

( A note written while spending a weekend in Mumbai )

Illustrated collage by Sheehij Kaul

Muggy air surrounds me and somehow soothes me. I can smell salt in the air. I’ve claimed to hate humidity and yet somehow, today it comforts me. It’s a relief from the dry heat of Pune. My bones feel lubricated and alive, and the stiffness I was trapped in steadily slips away. I’m grateful to this city. For its aliveness, for hosting my friends, for its bustle and its steady energy. My sluggish movements have melted away in this humid heat, and the odour of fish in the air has heightened my sense of smell. I feel human after a long time. 

I travel by rickshaw, admiring the honesty of the drivers with whom I don’t have to bargain. They’ve all been kind so far, and I decide that rickshaw rides are the best way to move around the city, so that I can continue to breathe and live with it. With earphones plugged in, I’m in a music video that’s all about Mumbai. I see herds of people stuck together like glue, unbothered by the sharing of sweat. I hear alleydogs forming packs and fighting with the crows that are conspiring to take their food away. I soak in the chunnis flying in the wind and I admire the sense of drama that they create in this city, which seems to be all about dreams anyway. Amidst all this, there are people in tight jeans and I wonder how their legs move through the thick air of the summer season. With sunglasses on, I can’t gauge or imagine their thoughts. 

I realise in that moment that Mumbai speaks to me through its generosity. It has room for everyone. I feel an ironic hint of belonging in a city I’ve always claimed to loathe for its lack of spaciousness. Somehow today, all I’m feeling is its love, its inclusiveness. I tilt my head; surrendered, grateful.

mohini