organised chaos

Apparently, Indians are obsessed with chaos. Apparently, nothing ever works unless there is confusion around us - may it be the politics, the public transport system, the bazaar, the family or any other aspect of our life. This might be what has actually worked for us. This might be what has baffled "thinkers" in and around everywhere. This probably isn't a myth once you're in Bombay.
Everyone has his or her experiences in Bombay. It is said that you always carry a piece of the city with you wherever you go. Everyone is baffled by the mere functioning of day-to-day life of the city, leave alone it being the commercial capital and one of the cities with the best growth. It makes you think a lot - about life, about travelling, about survival, about persistence, about organised chaos.

the chaos
To realise the criticality and the extent to which we Indians have been horny, all you have to do is be at the Dadar station at six in the evening on a spring Friday. I, for one, have not seen so many people at a single place (apart from live shows and Reliance stockholder meetings). The entire city seems to be infested by humans. Everyone swarming around in their respective directions without really thinking much about how they affect things around them. This is probably necessary. This is probably required. Probably, the only way you can help being at peace with chaos around you is to stop thinking about it and go in the flow of the direction. But it is all very wierd to people who are not really used to the pace. All that we poor souls can do, is to take advice from whoever remotely credible. But even then it takes conditioning. For instance, you are always told that, at the station, to stand with the exiting crowd and that you would be pushed along with the flow. What they don't tell you, is that the move horribly backfires at you if it is not done right. Having taken the advice a bit too lightly, I stood at the end of the outgoing crowd and thought things would proceed as normal. Alas, I had hardly placed a foot on the station, when I was pushed back into the stupid locomotive by people rushing in. It was only by fighting and suffering a few minor injuries that me and my bag were able to get down at the same station. Probably, it takes getting used to. But then again, that is the last thing that goes on in your mind if you're in that situation.

the civilisation
But a few hours into the city and on the central railway, and you'll start finding logic in it. You might probably even appreciate the entire situation. The system is filled to capacity. It takes a minimum of two hours to travel from one point to the other. But then again, given the expanse of the city, the system is pretty robust. Moreover, people are nice when they have the time. The problem is, most of the times they don't. But whenever they do, they would stop to talk to you and help you out. It doesn't really matter who you are or what you do. On the train and at the office, everyone is pretty polite and nice. I was helped throughout my stay by people at the Pan shop and at the gates of offices. The good folks at Business World helped me out with the other addresses I had to visit in that area (I was there on media work). Having noticed my famished state, the good (and good looking) people at The Times of India offered lunch and tea. Trust me, if you have only two days and loads of travelling to do, all this is a luxury. Moreover, no one is really out there to judge you. Your girlfriend might wear whatever she feels comfortable in and you would not really have to be worried about passing glances - when there are none.

In general, everyone should go there at least once. There is a lot more to it than people write about. You can't really talk much about the experience of catching sight of a Rolls and Porsche showroom side by side when all you are thinking about is water. But then these are the small things that Bombay is all about. Thats what makes it wierd and brilliant at the same time. Much like Buzkashi.