Bombay

There's just something about the city which captivates my imagination. Maybe its because its the city of my birth, and my first friends. Or maybe its a city which somehow calls you across the distance. Its something very difficult for me to understand, let alone put in words...
For someone who's never seen Bombay, my best advice would be to watch Batman Begins. The picturisation of Gotham City is exactly like the first view of Bombay through an airplane. The shanties with a spire of smoke coming through and the hint of millions of bustling humans and their myriad activities, not all of them legit, is common to both.
The activities of the city is an oft repeated tale, what with Bollywood and Dalal Street and Shiv Sena. But what is more commendable about the city is its spirit. Through its life, its been pockmarked with so many (for lack of a better word) events, that it just picks itself up and walks right along. In the recent past, the rains of July 31st, the local train blasts, the recent activities of the Mumbai Navanirman Samiti, or whatever...Assal Mumbaikars (Marathi for True Bombayites) just go on. Some call it not caring for thy neighbor, but i defend them through and through. These poor chaps dont have the time to meet their own family, leave alone the neighbor!
My favorite memories of Bombay are quite a few. In the seven years i stayed there, there are a large number of fragments which linger on. Out of that treasure trove, I'd recommend a walk through Fort. Its pretty simple, actually. Catch a local train, and get off at Churchgate. Then walk in the general direction of the Gateway of India. Make sure you check out Jehangir Art Gallery, Modern Art Gallery and Rhythm House. All haunts of mine when i was a little kid, just 2 " 2 '. Then walk past the Prince of New South Wales Museum (now officially renamed Shivaji something or Tilak something else. By the way, this area is all British, or atleast was, when they were around. The architecture is very characteristic of the period, and do keep an eye on it.) and see the upmarket crowd of Bombay at Regal Cinema (one of the oldest theaters in the city). Cut across the ground, and take a small walk through the Bombay University Campus. Don't miss the watch tower! After a trip to Gateway, its time for a little refreshment. If you've got the cash, please go to Taj hotel. Take me along too, cos I've never been there. If you have more modest means, proceed to Cafe Mondegar. Good liqour and Italian food availabe for very reasonable rates. Add to that a very old worldly experiance, surrounded by Mario Miranda's cartoons on the walls, and a grand old jukebox make for an excellent evening, after all the walking! After this, a leisurely walk to Chruchgate, and then back home...with your mind still savouring the evening gone by!