Mumbai Life Series-The North South divide

The North South divide has polarized and divided the world and then it has been extended to life in Mumbai too!!Surprised, this North- South divide is the real and imagined difference between the suburban Northern part of Mumbai and the more elitist South Mumbai area …A suburban Mumbaikar might probably travel for all the good things of life including earning for living to South Mumbai. For most South Mumbaikars all those good things are at a stone’s throw distance .Then there are many South Mumbai residents who have not traveled beyond the boundaries of Bandra( almost the area where South Mumbai ends -bordering on the Centre ) and keep on wondering how people can travel such long distances for everything ranging from education , shopping , working etc . The North Mumbai residents on the other hand keep on wondering about the astonishingly high rate of property prices and how their South Mumbai counterparts were literally born lucky ….

The divide is further accentuated by the fact that the orientation and moorings of many residents differ according to their geographical locality . The residents of the Southern part of the city might hold an opinion that their counterparts in the Northern part do not exactly keep up with their Joneses. On the contrary the South Mumbaikars are supposed to be a more trendy and “in “. Of course that perception is changing with the advent of the ‘mall culture’ and all residents of Mumbai getting access to a whole lot of luxury and contemporary lifestyle products .But many old residents(on both sides of the border!) just love to hold discussions about the divide – well the difference in the landscape ,the eating joints , travel patterns , lifestyle…and the divide continues....