Monday, July 28, 2014

A beginners' guide to Navi Mumbai

  • No, New Bombay is not THAT far away from where you are.
  • Yes, the railway stations are architectural wonders. At least they were when they were built. Maintenance is an altogether different ballgame though.
  • In Navi Mumbai, local trains don't take sides. And there’s no such a thing as fast local.
  • Seawoods pretends to be Navi Mumbai's SoBo.
  • If having really bad roads a part of the plan, then yes, Navi Mumbai deserves the title of world's largest planned city.
  • Vashi: what Kashi is to the rest of the country; holy with all the places of worship out there.
  • Few decades later, somebody will come up with a film titled New Bombay Velvet (about the city that never was) and Gangs of New Bombay (about the city that once was).
  • That rumoured airport has been in the making for quite a long time now. Perhaps the realtors came up with it.
  • Did you know Belapur experiences 2 degree Celsius less than what Mumbai does? Nobody cares.
  • There’s a park within a distance of 500 meters. In other words, chain-snatchers’ open sky office.
  • Everybody goes to the nearest mall to have a good time. Everybody.
  • Bollywood used to shoot a lot in Navi Mumbai. This was before people found out about “the city across the creek” and started moving in.
  • Traffic-wise, you’re closer to Pune than Andheri.
  • Enough of trash talk. Unlike in Mumbai, water doesn’t log on the streets of New Bombay. Reclamation land and too many construction sites, you see?