Mumbai Versus Delhi

The Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils will meet for their IPL match today. While the fate of this match is yet unknown and odds are in favour of Delhi, there is another front on which Delhi has already beaten Mumbai and that too with a shamefully big margin. The front I am talking about is the voting percentage of the 2 cities. While Mumbai set a target of just a measly 41% even after the huge hoophulla, Delhi managed to beat the target by posting a cool 53%.  This is supposedly Delhi’s highest voting percentage in the past 20 years and ahead of other Indian metros like Mumbai and Bangalore.

Though am a Mumbaikar, I am no stranger to Delhi too. With almost 90% of my relatives residing in Delhi, my yearly trips to Delhi have made me fairly accustomed to the manners of Delhietes. Right from my childhood I was always a part of the Mumbai versus Delhi fight between me and my cousins and vociferously defended Mumbai and launched offensive attacks at Delhi. I took great pride in the independence and opportunities I enjoy in Mumbai, the great public transport and the spiritful Mumbaikars am surrounded with. Though often I had to cut corners while comparing the 2 cities on grounds of cleanliness, good roads etc, I managed to come out triumphantly from the debate by using my trump card of ‘the great Mumbai spirit’.

But no longer can I do that. Like the failing public transportation, increasing crime against women, poor infrastructure hammered every year by the feisty Mumbai rains, the great Mumbai spirit also looks on its way downhill. I often accused Delhiwallas to be arrogant and brash, always picking up a fight and Mumbaikars as ever accommodating always ready to adjust. Sadly, now my interpretation of these behavioural aspects has started to change. The Mumbai spirit has made us complacent, live with this chalta hai attitude, not striving to bring changes in our crumpling society while the brash Delhietes have gone ahead and raised their voices and brought about changes like the meticulous Delhi Metro, clean and wide Delhi roads. It may have its share of vices like the high crime rate against women, bad traffic sense among people, non systematic way of doing things in almost everything but still it has managed to bring about a change for the better.

And though am still a proud Mumbaikar and can write down a 100 things in which we fare better than the Delhiwallas , I admit that we have lagged behind in that killer instinct of changing things for better. As far as the improvement parameter, am ashamed that Delhi has managed to beat us.

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