Dil se boloon.. jaan se boloon.. main hoon mumbaiya – Lucky Ali

On June 20, 2006, there were articles on the internet calling Mumbai as the rudest city in the world. Here are few quotes from the article as it read on rediff.com

“The survey on common courtesy conducted by popular monthly Readers Digest has found the culture of extending help, expressing gratitude when helped and talking politely are not part of everyday life in Mumbai.”

“The survey used three tests to take stock of the politeness factor -- dropping papers in a busy street to see if anyone would help, checking how often shop assistants said "thank you", and counting how often someone held a door open.”

I don’t know how something like this can even be considered as a legit survey. Does saying “Thank You” all it takes to be polite? Sorry can’t make a dead man alive. However, saying it would be so polite… duh!!!!!

I cannot understand how a reputed magazine like readers digest can perform such a dumb survey and to add to it, most of the online newspapers can publish it. I do not want to compare Mumbai with any other city. However, I have lived in the city for about 25 years and I can confidently say that Mumbai is by no means the rudest city in Maharashtra… forget about being the rudest in India or even the world. It is one of the few cities where people will be ready to help you in trouble. No only is the city ready to help you, but it is also one of the safest cities that I have seen.

Few incidences where I have seen the people from Mumbai go out of the way to help others.

1. Power outage in 1995: At about 4:30, most of the city had lost power due to some transformer issue. This is the beginning of the peak hours for the city and the power outage had hit the railways that services millions each day. Millions had to now find alternatives to reach home to their loved ones. The word “Thank you” was NOT going to help these people. The kindness in the heart and the understanding of others problem helped thousands that day. People with their private cars opened the doors to strangers for a ride back home. Cabs, Rickshaws, Buses and even trucks stepped up to help many. People from road side buildings came down with food, water and basic amenities for the people who were stranded. Some even offered others to stay for the night until the power was back.
2. Deadly rain in 2005: A cloud burst had brought the city to a stand still in a matter of few hours. Again the people were caught unaware of a disaster that ruined the whole infrastructure of the city. Even the government and law were under prepared for such an event. People were sitting in trains, buses, cars for hours and hours without any hopes. And during this time of need, the general junta (public) had to go out of their way to help their fellow Mumbaites. Food, water, shelter, medical support, etc. are just few things that were overflowing along with the great flood in the city. The city with the BIG HEART had once again showed the world that “action speaks louder than words”.
3. Bomb blasts in 2006: People in Mumbai are not scared of death. Even under life threatening circumstances when the city was under attack, the people of Mumbai were not hiding in their houses. The whole city understood the importance of the calamity and was ready to help the affected. Bottles of water, food packets were supplied to the people in need. Thousands that live near the rail tracks came down to help the wounded. None of these were relatives of the wounded or friends of the dead. However, in the time of crisis, they all were siblings of Mumbai.

I can write pages of incidences that have been experienced or heard which can show the human side of Mumbai.

Again, I do not want to compare Mumbai with any other city. I just want the readers as well as survey makers to understand that there is a lot more than being verbally polite. I might agree that Mumbai is not the most polite city; however, please bear in mind the various instances that I have mentioned before calling it the rudest.

My Mumbai has a Big Heart, is kind and is truthful. There is no fake hospitality in the city. What you see is what you get!! In Mumbai, people live in harmony; they trust others and are willing to go out of their way to help others. In Mumbai, you are safe and you will not be cheated. In Mumbai, people will address your concerns and help you to their fullest. In Mumbai, people will have a kind heart that is ready to act for others when required.

Finally, I would ask any survey company that conducts stupid surveys like “dropping a paper” or “opening a door”, to go back to their drawing boards and come up with a better survey. Also, these companies should rethink over their assessment and

“NEVER EVER CALL MUMBAI AS WORLD’S RUDEST CITY”

And, for all those who are unsure about what Mumbai is… I can just say that

“You can’t just visit Mumbai, you have to live it to understand it”