The elusive 'spirit of Mumbai'

It isn't often that Mumbai and Cherrapunji are spoken of in the same breath, but 94.4 cm of rainfall certainly is record-breaking. The point is, when it happens in the sleepy hills of the North-East, it is routine, but when it happens in the commercial capital of India, it paralyzes life.

So here is where the famed 'Spirit of Mumbai' shows itself, according to the media. But the number of times I've come across this term in the last couple of days and the context it has been used in makes me wonder......
Volunteer groups wade out into the water with hot tea and snacks, and this supposedly reflects the 'Spirit of Mumbai'........So when the Marina was flooded last Dec 26 and we saw volunteers on the beach just hours after the tsunami, was that the 'Spirit of Chennai' at work?
Workers of the NSE were forced to sleep over at the Exchange but still were gung-ho about getting their work underway the following morning.....So, what other option did they have?

The above examples, to my understanding, reflect the 'Spirit of Community' more than anything else, something you would expect to see in any democratic, high-on-population set-up. The true 'Spirit of Mumbai', on the other hand, is something that is inextricably linked to the city's economy, to the feeling of opportunity that assails any greenhorn trying to make his mark in the city, to the gut-feeling that every Mumbaikaar possesses that the show must go on, no matter what........Unfortunately, the term also happens to be one of the many cliched phrases that the media has in its repository and is always looking to use at the slightest opportunity. Make no mistake, the quintessential 'Spirit of Mumbai' will reveal itself when we see how quickly the Mubaikaars get back to life and business, but till then, let's leave the fancy phrases to the media.

All said and done, seeing folks gallantly struggle back to their feet after being knocked down by Mother Nature, be it in Mumbai or elsewhere, is always an awesome sight,....and my heartfelt condolences to each one affected by this tragedy, and a speedy recovery from it.

Amen to that.