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Showing posts from January, 2012

Mumbai: A Man’s Domain

So we’ve all written, read, seen or been a part of Mumbai. We know Mumbai for Dhobi Ghaat, for Gateway of India, for Taj and Trident and for Nariman Point. We also identify it with commerce, trade and money. But how many times do we reflect upon the masculinity of Mumbai? Yes, Mumbai is a man and its fast, strong and sturdy life makes all of its inhabitants masculine. So here I am, technically a female Mumbaikar but emotionally a very boisterous individual. My encounters with the Man have been ever since childhood. I grew up brushing against men and women in the buses of Mumbai. I got nudged and pushed in the crowd at major markets. I ran on the railway platform to get to my compartment before the train left. But besides all this, there have been a lot of individual experiences which shaped me into my male self. As a child, I accompanied my dad to a lot of places he went to. He was speed walker. So as much as I hated it, I had to walk super fast to keep pace with him; a