The spirit of Mumbai?

My city is known for its spirit in the face of disasters, calamities and unfortunate incidents. My city is known for getting back on foot no matter what. My city is known for the unity it has displayed during days that tried its patience. I love my city Mumbai.

My city is known for its love for the legends of the city - in Bollywood, Politics, Business and every other field. My city is known for the way it feels sad unanimously, not compulsorily, every time we lose a legend. I love my city Mumbai.

The way tears rolled down our eyes when terrorists shot our innocent brothers and sisters and the way our hears skipped a few beats can't be explained in words. The way the social media was abuzz with our straight-from-the-heart condolences when our famous few left us this year is brilliant. The way we constantly wrote and talked about "How great that person was..." whenever someone famous and loved by the city passed away is indescribable. I love my city and its people.

It's only human to be sad when someone dear leaves us. And some people definitely deserve the city-wide mourning. The current loss is huge, I agree. The man has many followers because of the way he has helped them and supported them. The man is an inspiration for some I understand. And it's understandable when a huge population decides to grieve and express the way they feel. It's perfectly fine when someone decides to shut his shop / restaurant because he lost a loved one. It's perfectly fine when a rickshawallah decides not to operate because he's mourning the loss of the person he admired.

But when you do so not because of the grief but due to the fear of the consequence of staying functional at this hour is beyond my understanding. Because at school I remember being taught that India is a democratic country. We have freedom of speech, expression, right to life and liberty, and what not as our fundamental rights (since we have forgotten most, this is a quick reference). And we do perform our fundamental duties.


The man deserves respect from the ones that admire him, from the ones who consider him their idol. And the man deserves straight-from-the-heart mourning by those who genuinely feel the loss. At the same time I wonder how he would have felt to know that many people are disappointed more by the restrictions imposed in the city rather than the demise. Restaurants shut, taxis and ricks off roads, shops closed and TV channels only airing news channels!

Tomorrow, as people resume work, I wonder what the major discussion would be - Would it be how sad it is that such a legend passed away or would it be how they were affected due to the shut down? And if it would be the latter, we need to do some thinking.