Fascinating city called Mumbai

I am a member of a fantastic FB group called Old Bombay to which I contributed the following verse composed by me as a eulogy to this fascinating and great city. The poem reads as under:

This city is historical
This city is mystical
Call it Mumbai or Bombay
This city is really phenomenal.

Folklore says Mumbai never sleeps
Yet it awakes every morning to start a new day
As if there’s no tomorrow
And all tasks need to be completed today.

It may seem unfriendly
Everyone rushing to his destination
Yet once you start knowing the place
You develop deep love for it and no infatuation

Dadar, Bandra, Andheri are not just names
They are places quite unique
With a lot of history and culture
Each place has its own intrigue

The place first scares you
With everything expensive including rentals
Then it grows on you
And you become sentimental

Mills have become malls
And many iconic landmarks have vanished
But change is the only constant
No change can affect its image to be tarnished

Vada pav, misal pav and pav bhaji
May be the street food of commoners
But now these are part of international cuisines
That are served openly without cutting any corners

Red Best buses may not match London’s fleet
But they are reliable and dependable
For Mumbaikars Best is iconic symbol
That makes their journeys pleasurable

And Mumbai local is not a lifeline for nothing
For a city of such magnitude and size
We saw plights of commuters during covid
If there is no local, there’s no life

I may not be a blue blood Mumbaikar
By having been born and brought up here
But I have made this city my abode
Home is where heart is there!