From Marine drive to Marina beach
By Vrinda Sharma
‘You can take a Mumbaikar out of Mumbai but you cannot take Mumbai out of a Mumbaikar.’ While Raj Thackeray is suggesting that all north Indians should move out and leave Mumbai just for Mumbaikars, many of them have found new homes down south in Chennai.
When asked to compare Chennai to Mumbai, some of these migrants longed for the familiarity of Mumbai streets. While many found solace in the slower pace of Chennai life, few still preferred Marine drive over Marina beach.
Shruti Ambawat, a 22 year old Mumbaikar who is pursuing journalism in Chennai said Mumbai was like bhelpuri- each ingredient gave it a unique taste.” The crowd in Chennai is more uniform. Everyone in Mumbai wants to own the city but Chennaiites have different aspirations,” she said.
Running her manicured fingers through her straight hair, Yukti Ahuja, a Management Associate with Citi Bank looks every inch of a Mumbaikar. Remarking on the city’s ‘never say die’ spirit she thought the spirit of Mumbai was nothing more than a struggle for bread. “Life is a lot more relaxed in Chennai, no doubt people here are spirit deprived but they are not sleep deprived,” she pointed out.
Sleep is the last thing on Radhika Mohan’s mind when she clambers into the local bus from Adyar. Mohan, a research assistant in the Psychology department, Madras University, saidChennai is similar to Mumbai. “I travel the same distance and see the same kind of traffic as I did in Mumbai,” said Mohan who is a research assistant in the Psychology department at Madras University.
Sipping a latte in a café, Anubhav Bhatt a branch Manager at Citi Bank said cafés in Chennai were like Udipi restaurants in Colaba-completely unauthentic. “The very feel of Mumbai is different, it’s dynamic, and it certainly does not slouch like Chennai,” he stated.
While Bhatt dislikes the laid back pace of Chennai, some ex-Mumbaikars like Aruna Rai, a floor manger at e-serve, find the Chennai pace the most appealing aspect of the city. “Compared to Mumbai this is nothing, Chennai added three hours each day to my life which the Mumbai traffic took earlier,” she remarked, looking at the traffic out of the window of her office at Spencer Plaza.
Despite the differences in language and culture, the migrants find the two cities no different. , “All banks look alike and all big cities have traffic problem. So the occasional interaction with an auto driver is the only reminder that it’s a different city,” said Ahuja.
According to Mohan, the similarities between the cities outweigh the dissimilarities as both cities are metros and are safe for women. “Mumbai is a bit more expensive than Chennai. There are cleaner beaches here but the food is better on Mumbai beaches,” she however stated.
Bhatt, a self proclaimed Mumbai fan who lived in the city for 20 years, was shocked to find drastic changes in Chennai’s nightlife. , “Other than discos, Chennai sleeps after office hours. In Mumbai I used to go out for snacks at 2 am, but Chennai hotels stop taking orders at 11 pm!” he exclaimed. Although many Mumbaikars try to look for Mumbai in Chennai, some of them accept that both the cities are different and have separate issues and challenges. “It’s not like I don’t like appreciate Mumbai but the city supports too many people. It has grown beyond its potential and the resource crunch makes life troublesome,” stated Rai.
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