Monday, February 13, 2012

Mumbai v/s Delhi

Had I written this post two years ago, I would have attracted at least 100 bashing comments on this space. But these days, even the most controversial topic gets a mere 100 page views, which means 5 comments which are from people I know very well. Some time back, I used to nag them and force them to read my post and leave a comment. But these days I have stopped that too. When I get a new comment notification which is once or twice a day, I remember it then that I had written something one two days ago.

Earlier, my routine was - switch on laptop, log in to gmail, open blogger, moderate comments, check dashboard, read the new posts, comment there and then start the daily work. But these days I open blogger once in two three days. Comments can be directly moderated through gmail. This means the workaholic lazy me doesn't bother to check the blogger dashboard at all.

Anyway, this post is not at all about how pathetic you think I am or how awesome I know I am; but it's about a war.

Now, whenever I think of a clash between two rivals, the first few things come to my mind are- India and Pakistan cricket match, Australia-England cricket match (though it's not as popular as India-Pakistan, but observe Tony Greig closely when they clash and you will know what I mean), Nadal-Federer clash, Manchester United-Chelsea chash, SRK-Aamir clash - the list is entertainingly superb. One such rivalry is between Mumbai and Delhi too. Worse than some of the encounters mentioned here.

It so happens that Mumbai and Delhi are two of the biggest cities of India. I have no idea how the war started between the two, but it doesn't take long for any of them to make fun of the other. Some of the things are hilarious, some claims are superb. Delhi is called as the hub of rapes, while Mumbai is supposed to be one of the safest cities.

Now I have not lived in Delhi for more than a week, thus I cannot really comment on it, nor am I gonna speak high of Mumbai just to make this post controversial, but all I am going to write about is whatever funny, amusing and insulting things about the cities written at different places.

This year around, Mumbai saw winters. Real winters. The temperature dipped down to 8.5 degrees. And it has been too windy because of which it becomes impossible to commute by an auto without a jacket. Many people posted about how cold it was in Mumbai. Of course Delhi people thought that Mumbai guys were exaggerating and they couldn't take the little cold. It has been around 3 degrees in Delhi. But what they failed to see was that we have NEVER ever seen the winters. We sweat 24x7, 365 days. It's impossible for us to survive without fans/air conditioners. For us, this WAS cold, damn cold. Sitting in your house in Delhi wouldn't have given you any idea, nor visiting this place after staying in 3 degrees.

One funny remark I read on this was - Mumbai people, what you call cold is "let me go out in full pants instead of shorts" for us. To which someone replied - yeah, your floods are drizzle for us, big deal. I was laughing my heads off after reading this remark. How funny it is when people want to prove how superior their city is.

Another one was about summers - when someone said that Delhi people are so unlucky. They can neither come out during day in winters due to extreme cold, not in summers due to heat strokes. A night, only men can move out as ladies get raped. The counter attack for this was the murders and underworld of Mumbai and how pathetic the crowd and eve teasing was in Mumbai too.

But what took the cake was the Metallica concert which got cancelled. How people attacked one another at that time. Mumbai people calling Delhi guys irresponsible while Delhi guys calling them unfortunate not to even have had a concert there.

And the clothes - Delhi people are more brand conscious than Mumbai people. Mumbai people are more helpful and friendly than Delhiites. Who is more cool, who spends more, amazing Delhi weddings, paani puri vs golgappa, batata vada vs bonda, kanda vs pyaaz and what not. Phew.

But it's still always amusing for me. I really don't care about how superior or inferior my city is. The only thing I don't like is that people overreact most of the times. They can't take a joke on themselves. And if I was as popular now as I used to be, then you would have known what I exactly meant.

So people, peace. This is just an observation. I do not intend to hurt anyone. I love my city as much as you love yours. Read the post neutrally and you may, just may like it in spite of my awful style.

44 comments:

  1. We dont get to get into such fights here down south :)

    One thing for sure is the weather. A friend from Delhi once laughed off when I said it was cold here. I mean, its relatively cold for what it should have been HERE, not THERE.

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    1. Exactly. Since bangalore has pleasant climate all the time, slight dip in the climate feels cold for you. We sweat all the time, for us this is quite cold. From 30 to 10 degrees. :)

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  2. And yeah present ma'am. One of your 5 comments :P

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  3. ;) the never ending battle this. india-pakistan settle for a cricket match only

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  4. Both the cities have a different flavor.The metallica saga was a sorry affair.

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  5. Oh , I have experienced and seen many live wars between Delhites and Mumbaikars(many relatives living on both the cities) ...heeee .Fun they are .

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  6. I have lived in both the cities for over two decades each.
    Both are unique, both are civil,both are corrupt,both have billioners.
    In Mumbai, what matters is WHO you are.In Delhi,what matters is WHO you know.
    And yes, Mumbai has more Punjabis than Delhi has Gujratis/Maharashtrians.
    Both cities are good

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    1. hah, so true. but even to an extent in Mumbai too, it matters who you know :)

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  7. didnt realize people fight for these reasons. well, maybe that's cos i live in south india. okay, have i just inadvertently opened the doors for a south india vs north india fight?

    err..might as well leave the place quietly.
    ;)

    and hey, if you ever find the climate tiresome in delhi and mumbai, you can always come over to kerala. perfect weather, most of the year round. better than the places u mentioned! lol..just kidding,kidding. if anything, i've been dreaming of living in delhi or bombay since ages. still dreaming! =(

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    1. Well yeah, people fight for any damn reason. Kerala is indeed a beautiful place.

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  8. I have lived in so many cities that I can easily call 10 cities my own..and loved all of them for some different things...

    Even in Chennai.I feel amused when people take out woollens, even caps very easily, whereas I sweat all the time.

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    1. hah yeah, most of the cities of India have the sweating tale :)

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  9. I am born and brought up in Delhi, and working in Mumbai from last five Years..I like the feel of Mumbai. This city is much safe and lively. From art festivals, Theaters, Art Exhibitions, Social Dancing, Shopping..Mumbai surely scores a Edge over Delhi any time..

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    1. I find mumbai more lively too. Not because I live here, but even a neutral opinion about the city would be the same.

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    2. i also live in mumbai since 7 years.But i miss that dilli wala feel.The cleanliness,food,weather,infrastructure,pollution free environment,lesser cost of living and yes the open hearted punjabi attitude.I am sorry to say but i find mumbaikars a lil narror hearted than delhites.

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    3. My friend, mumbai is only 437 sq.km while delhi is 1483 sq.km, population density of mumbai is 28,834 sq/km while for delhi is it 9294 sq/km.
      how one could feel living in the house along with 20-25 people jammed inside 100 sq.ft of house.For many years mumbai has been broad minded but everything have some limit.

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  10. Fruitless fight. Calcutta is the best ;)

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  11. Interesting exchange of words but too silly! Saw the war of words between Delhi and Mumbai on Twitter too!

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  12. I guess we all can relate easily to such wars... for us its been between keralites and tamilians. And I, being brought up in Palakkad, the border district of Kerala, always remain in a dilemma as to support whom...Whatever...but its fun to see all these verbal attacks...

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  13. Quite an interesting post. My husband has been a delhite since childhood and has worked in mumbai for over 4 years . And he can talk non stop and extempore on delhi-mumbai debate. But its sad that this divide is everywhere, and amongst any two cities. Even north and south indians have their own divide. But that's how our country is and despite the differences, phir bhi dil hai hindustani.

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  14. Between Mumbai and Delhi, Mumbai is better as the safety and friendliness counts a lot. The city is resilient to terrorist attack, the night life is awesome, anyone can travel at 3 AM without any fear and finally Mumbai never sleeps.

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  15. Kerala's climate is the best,except for the too long rainy season. I think every city has something to boast for itself. And the variety is what makes our India wonderful.

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  16. mumbai is the best anytime even the facilities provided here ike electricity , commuting facilities like local train,best buses,cabs and etc.delhi fails t provide all these things.and even climate in mumbai is very good.its much liveable and safer too.i think mumbai is better than delhi anytime....

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    1. You really wish that... Delhi has better amenities anytime than mumbai even if you compare the past stats as well.

      Water, Electricity, Metro, Cabs, Auto

      Delhi never sleeps either and mumbai sleeps every now and then, either due to rain or terrorist attack or someone die

      or someone start a civil unrest or racist war.

      and if global warming goes on this rate..... i guess mumbaikar would be searching places to stay in Delhi by next 10-15 years

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    2. Listen.. Its the biggest lie and mis-conception that Mumbai never sleeps.. It sleeps and HOW!!! and people who still wanna be awake are beaten by a hockey stick by the cops (read dhoble) .. Seriously dude, its not 90's anymore when u could say that this city never sleeps.. There're hardly any places to chill or go clubbing or catch a quick drink after work in Mumbai, while delhi has these awesome clubs, lounges, little neighbourhood pubs etc.

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  17. Neha, great site you've got out here :-)

    Well yes, the Mumbai VS Delhi comparison is never ending and I would root for Mumbai all the way. Its just an awesome city to live in.

    You might want to read the 8 reasons why Mumbai is better than Delhi

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  18. http://profundaenmi.blogspot.in/2012/11/city-analysis-delhi-vs-mumbai.html

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  19. MUMBAI STILL IS THE BEST COSMO CITY IN INDIA!!!
    I HAVE BEEN IN BOTH CITIES & CAN CLEARLY SAY THIS THAT "THE CITY OF DELHI LACKS THE VIBE,THE CHARM, THE GLAZE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE(HUGE SKYSCRAPERS), THE MASSIVENESS(not in size),THE SPEED, THE NIGHTLIFE.....WHICH MUMBAI HAS SINCE THE BEGINNING...!!!
    OFFCOURSE DELHI HAS MORE OPEN SPACES, BCOZ IT ISN'T YET FULLY DEVELOPED!!!!
    DELHI HAS STARTED DEVELOPING AFTER THE 'METRO' HAS COME......
    ALSO WORLD OVER 'MUMBAI' IS MORE FAMOUS THAN 'DELHI'...

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  20. guys there no use of comparing both cities because delhi is some what 1400sq km while mumbai with 400sq km. And the most imp thing is that delhiwallas are comparing mumbai with new delhi which a planned city why dnt u compare NAVI MUMBAI WITH NEW DELHI, NO DOUBT DELHI GOT BETTER ROADS, METRO AND MANY MORE.

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  21. i dont want to fight, bt why every one speaks about mumbai bad sides like slum, begger, road blah blah ,than to mumbai works better in shabby condition and is the city of rich and poors working hard and respecting time. Name in mumbai are like (not every where) marine drive, colaba, juhu, antophil, churchgate, bandra reclamanation, santacruz, versova, dockyard road , reay rd, cotton green, malabar hil, perry cross rd, flora fountain and many more sounds so good while delhi sabji mandi, lajpatnagar, sakurbasti, and many more delhi has also got good names like south x etc. Bt not good names as MUMBAI.

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  22. story is sad for mumbai in terms of revenue generation and gov spending compated to delhi, i feel that's unfair, just because delhi is political capital, gov spends more on delhi though revenue generation from delhi is less compared to mumbai. Too much open spaces make me feel unsafe in delhi. My friend from delhi when came to our college , he was astonished gow less often mumbai people use cuss words, in mumbai kids have more parental control comparerd to delhi, my delhite friend told uss in delhi college vigin boy is consider either gay or impotent, its a prestige issue there, in our college no mumbai boy or girl ever boosted they had sex with 4 of tjeir girlfriends/ boyfriends. These r not imp issues to be discussed or boosted in mumbai, delhite r cool but i find them weird, p.s. This guy is one of my best friend.

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  23. the thing hearted me alot was someone said mumbai has got less train,auto,cab etc. No one in the world can compare the frequency of locals. Half of delhi popu.,. Travel in our local that is 70 lakh.

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  24. ab bolo diliwalo ki delhi, shame less dilwale ek ladki pe char jan chad gaye. Reall shame, just after that in saket mall their was a case of touching wowen and harresment.

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  25. MUMBAI'S FAR MUCH BETTER THEN DELHI BECAUSE ITS MUCH CLEANER THEN DELHI , DELHI IS THE SECOND FILTHIEST CITY IN THE WORLD. WITH ALL GARBAGE AROUND. CITY BORN WITH RAPIST , HORRIBLE SUMMERS AND HARDLY ANY RAINS IN THE MONSOON. PATHETIC CITY

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  26. MUCH IS THE BEST, IN SHORT MUMBAI VS DELHI , DELHI IS DEFINITELY A BIG LOSER.

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  27. DELHI AND MUMBAI HAVE THEIR OWN CHARM

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  28. Get a life u DILLIWALAHS...stop cussing BOMBAY...

    DELHI is just a visit...whereas BOMBAY is an EXPERIENCE..a lesson in cosmopolitanism..

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  29. I believe Mumbai is a place one wants to live in while Delhi is somewhere people go to party. Brilliant article btw....
    Do read my views-
    http://subtlewords.com/2011/06/03/mumbai-vs-delhi/

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