Rendezvous With Mumbai

There was too much done and achieved on the Sunday of 14-Dec-2008 and it is now difficult to put all that experience in words. Challenges were faced, inhibitions were shed, friends were made, peace was felt and the freedom to change things around you was realized.

Random Acts of Kindness is an idea which is still trying to find its feet in Mumbai. Vinod Sreedhar is the hub for the RAK in Mumbai and has done a brilliant job in making people aware of its thought and rationale. A few emails were circulated amongst the group and almost 12-15 people turned up on the Sunday of 14-Dec-2008 at 5:00 pm on Marine Drive. The sun was setting and people were walking and Vinod was addressing the assembled members about the collective act of kindness that the group was supposed to do on that evening. It was a simple challenge that each one in the group was supposed to do- invite the people around you for a cup of chai and while sipping on the chai, you talk to them and get to know them. To sum up the activity in better words, it was: you meet strangers but after the meeting ensure that you leave as friends.

The RAK group collected on that evening consisted of Vinod, Sanjiv, Rahul, Dhvani, Urvi, Mithi, Puja, Deepa, Abhishek, Sandhya, Ajay, Sachi, Vishvajeet, Karen and me ( I hope I got all the names correct…I apologize if the names are incorrectly spelt or if I missed out somebody!) . The making of the placards was contributed by Dhvani and Sachi. The placards were really attractive and very well made. The chai was provided by a nice gentleman called Vikram Singh Gupta. He really did some good business on that evening!

The placards, the chai and the RAK group- everything was in place so what next?? “Hi Uncle, Hello aunty…..would you want to talk to us over a cup of chai…..namastey...kya aap hamare saath chai piyoge…..” and many more of these vocal invitations were sent across to the people around the Marine Drive promenade. We received strange glances which were as nonchalant as the attitude of the silent on-lookers. As time went by, our earnest endeavors to connect with strangers began to get their due notice. The right chords were struck and soon Mumbai started talking. The Mumbai that I am highlighting here is the stretched spectrum of people that one could possibly come across on an evening at Marine Drive. The friends that were made on that day comprised of people including Nandan from Tripura (a fantastic person…spoke to him for 90 minutes…psychology and philosophy and all…), Samir from Ratnagiri ( works at a BPO and is in love with Mumbai), a Parsi couple from Matunga (W) ( we have a common family friend!!), Anaida from Walkeshwar, Aditi ( a fellow dentist) and Grunum from Colaba, Tapas from Kolkata ( he was a on a look out for new friends for the past three months…and he bumped into us :)) , Mahesh and Sarang ( MBA students in Bandra) from Nagpur, Jijo ( we had a common friend!) from Nasik, a few Gujju aunties (who were completely angry and hurt about the events that shook Mumbai), Dhiraj from Church gate ( he was relieved after talking about the legal hassles he is currently facing over some land trouble in MP)………..these were the people that I interacted with. I believe the rest of the group also had an interesting time in knowing some of the other people they interacted with. I believe Deepa bumped into all the people who were out there to take their dogs out on a walk!

From the out of “towners” to the snooty South Mumbai residents, from the foreign nationals (who call Mumbai their home) to the Mumbai police who were on their duty on Marine Drive, from the corporate heads to the BMC sweepers, you and me…and lots more make Mumbai the city it has evolved into. We, from RAK, on that evening spoke to this Mumbai. We realized that this Mumbai has a different tune of its own.

Mumbai has a heart. Mumbai is not the ugly “make money, no matter what” monster. We had to go out there and talk to people over a cup of chai to make ourselves acquainted with this compassionate Mumbai. Were we successful? The answer is as positive as the new energy that has grasped our spirits after making friends with complete strangers. Mumbai is open to talk and make new friends so that they feel connected with each other. This human instinct of being connected with the society is the need of the hour in the difficult times that “terrorism” has brought on each one of us. We experimented with it and it was successful and the only task remains is to carry forward the small flame of humanity that was ignited on that evening. RAK is based on this concept of spreading random acts of kindness…it all boils to one thing…connect with the fellow humans around you…that is the only thing that is going to save the society and the world at large…..cheers to RAK and I am glad that I am now a part of this….