I recently made a trip to Mumbai, the city where I spent more than a decade of my life, and realised that there are certain areas which I miss about the city, and others where Goa scores over this place.
Public transport: In Mumbai, you simply cannot get stranded anywhere. There are buses and trains that run late into the night and early in the morning. There are cabs who will refuse you and rickshaws who will give you a mild stroke. You will get to your destination, dead or alive.
In Goa, well, we have buses that are around till sunset. The likelihood of you spotting Bigfoot is much higher than finding a rickshaw. And of course there are the cabs, who are looking to send their kids to the US by the funding they get through one customer.
Traffic: I’ve heard stories of people in Mumbai who’ve been stuck in traffic so bad, their family members don’t recognise them when they get back, because they’ve aged so much. Then there’s the honking. Drivers honk when they’re happy and when they’re sad. They honk at red signals and green ones. They honk when they want to turn left or even if they’re going right. Or straight. They honk to tell the other drivers that they don’t agree with their political views. Or even, just to test their horn. Every 3 minutes.
Goa’s got it right there. People are less high-strung on the road. Traffic in Goa is really nothing compared to the chaos of Mumbai. Sure, one of the bridges will be jammed once in a while, but people don’t go trigger happy with their horns. We just curse the government under our breaths like normal people.
People: People smile at strangers in Goa. I’m not sure if it’s because we’re that friendly, or we just assume we know everybody. “I think that’s Savio’s brother-in-law.” Everywhere you go, there’s somebody’s son, daughter, brother-in-law, cousin, or fiancée. In Mumbai, if somebody smiled at me, I’d look at my zipper first to see if it was down. Then I’d reach for my wallet to see if it was still there. If all was good, then I’d think, hey… “didn’t I see her at Savio’s place in Goa?”
Smells: There’s a fun game that everyone can play in Mumbai. It’s called ‘Guess that smell’. Trust me, there are no winners to this game. Even if you guess right. In Goa, the smell of fresh air is heavenly. And I’ve learned to stop, take a deep breath and appreciate it. The smell of the salty air around the coastal areas gives me a high. The aroma of something that’s frying in recheado masala gives me a kick, every time. I have played ‘Guess that smell’ in Goa as well, with my brothers. I wouldn’t strongly advise anyone to join in.
Service: There is a level of professionalism amongst service providers in Mumbai that I appreciate. Brands are vying for your business and things get done. Quickly, in a lot of cases. Calls are made. Maintenance men arrive on time. The internet works. Grievances are heard. Let me give you two examples of what it’s like in Goa. I have a constant red light on my modem that keeps blinking. On a good day, there are only supposed to be green lights. I called up the company and asked them what the red blinking light was. They said it was Morse code for “Haha… sucker”. Then there was this one time when we went to a restaurant and placed an order. We asked the waiter if he’d take time and he said “Sure, no problem”.
Sure, both places have they’re pros and cons. But after sampling both, I’d take Goa with its faults, any day. It gives me time for myself. It gives me people who I love. It gives me the colour green. It lets me live.
