"If there's a colour that defines Mumbai, it's grey. Glimpse it from the air in the daytime and you'll see a grey coastline and a grey ocean. As you touch down, you'll note the concrete and chrome towers, the shanty towns, the creeks and the roads - all grey.
But don't be fooled into believing the grey signifies dullness. On the contrary, the monochrome is the perfect foil to the city's colourful character.
From the delicate pink flamingoes that visit the Sewri mud flats in the first half of the year to the fuchsia of a Bollywood actress's garb. The sandstone colonial buildings to the blazing red flame-of-the-forest blooms. The haphazard, honking traffic to the precision of commuter trains and lunch-delivering dabbawallahs. The plushest of hotels to the most rickety of hovels. From the cosmopolitan cacophony of dialects to the rich notes of a single musical instrument at the National Centre for Performing Arts. The fanfare of the Ganesha festival to the soft prayers in the Parsi fire temples. From hungry leopards spilling out of the Borivali National Park to much-loved stray dogs. From a slow-cooked biryani to a speedily crafted vada pao. From the single bulbs of the tiny fishing boats that go out to sea in the wee hours to the flashing strobelights of the nightclubs.
To savour every part of the city, you'd have to live in Mumbai for many lifetimes. But to get a glimpse into its soul, you only need a few days and an open mind."
But don't be fooled into believing the grey signifies dullness. On the contrary, the monochrome is the perfect foil to the city's colourful character.
From the delicate pink flamingoes that visit the Sewri mud flats in the first half of the year to the fuchsia of a Bollywood actress's garb. The sandstone colonial buildings to the blazing red flame-of-the-forest blooms. The haphazard, honking traffic to the precision of commuter trains and lunch-delivering dabbawallahs. The plushest of hotels to the most rickety of hovels. From the cosmopolitan cacophony of dialects to the rich notes of a single musical instrument at the National Centre for Performing Arts. The fanfare of the Ganesha festival to the soft prayers in the Parsi fire temples. From hungry leopards spilling out of the Borivali National Park to much-loved stray dogs. From a slow-cooked biryani to a speedily crafted vada pao. From the single bulbs of the tiny fishing boats that go out to sea in the wee hours to the flashing strobelights of the nightclubs.
To savour every part of the city, you'd have to live in Mumbai for many lifetimes. But to get a glimpse into its soul, you only need a few days and an open mind."
