Monsoon Is Here and so Is the Famous ‘Mumbai Spirit’

Is ‘Mumbai spirit’ the side-effect of institutional failure? 

(Photo: Twitter/ Altered by The Quint)

Call it silly, but there is one thing that makes news every year without fail when the monsoon hits Mumbai.

It’s the ‘Mumbai spirit!’

Governments, administration, municipalities may fail, but the ‘spirit’ of Mumbai lives on.

But what is the spirit of Mumbai, you ask? It’s the people who live here. 

It’s what makes you believe that there’s hope, there’s brotherhood and when all else fails the Mumbaikars will be out there to help you. And why exactly am I talking about it now? Because monsoon is almost here.

Man Who Stood for Over an Hour to Get a Manhole Covered

We have heard of unfortunate incidents when people met with an accident because of an open drain or a manhole. In 2017, a 59-year-old gastroenterologist died after he got washed away when he fell into an open manhole. The incident shocked many and brought to light the negligence by the civic authorities.

But this man, Ravi Patil, made sure that an open manhole was covered and stood right next to it till BMC came and fixed it.

Don’t Forget Those Rain Hosts...

In August 2017, Mumbai experienced torrential rainfall that left people stranded in the streets. Twitter was flooded with Mumbaikars opening their homes for those stranded. Not just humans, people also took stray dogs and cats in to make sure they didn’t suffer and perish.

Or these samaritans, who decided to share a ride and make lives easier when Mumbai local was stuck.

Traffic Cop Who Stood Without a Raincoat When It Was Pouring

This image of a traffic police official went viral last year. He stood for over two hours managing traffic, without a raincoat. You’ll say he’s just doing his job. But really how many of us can actually brave two hours of constant heavy rains at work?

Mumbai cop managing traffic without a raincoat. (Photo: Twitter)

Mumbaikars are used to the blame game that goes around during monsoon. Authorities blame governments and vice versa, and amidst all this the disgruntled average person has made peace with the fact that they have to help themselves.

But this monsoon will the ‘spirit’ live on or will the administration be better prepared?