Mumbai’s heart

Been in Mumbai for 25 years, yet never felt the need to meet her, no, not even for paying my respects. I have always known her to be a very powerful lady who protected my interests, took care of me and that of fellow Mumbaikars too. Yet……. on the rare occasions in the past when I had decided to pay her a visit, something or the other would crop up, something which I would hypnotize myself to believe, was of a more pressing nature. So……… I had never met her.

Today was a different day —- Balipratipada and the first day of the Vikram Samvat New Year 2076. I had both the inclination and time. Took two instant decisions — 1) I will meet her today, come what may. 2) I will not drive but use Uber. So, off I zoomed away on the WEH, Dadar, Parel and veered off below the JJ Flyover into the old, crumbling part of Mumbai with its narrow roads, tired-looking buildings with the ground floors all round converted to shops of every description. Went past Bhendi Bazaar, Pydhonie, and finally Bhuleshwar, where I was to meet her — Mumba Devi, in the heart of old Mumbai.

I could see a long line ( not very long, was my first impression) of people waiting on the Kalbadevi Road to have darshan of the goddess. Got off and started walking briskly towards the rear to join the queue. It was then that I realised that it was verrrry loooong as it curved into the inner lane called Sheikh Memon Street. I continued walking for nearly a kilometer before I could join the queue. Was worried that I was last in the queue, but not for long, very soon it appeared I was somewhere in the middle of the line, as the crowd swelled.

The line moved at a decent pace. It was in the form of a huge mirror-image of the number ‘6’. Starting from the top of the stem of 6 in Sheikh Memon Street, it wound itself on Kalbadevi Road, then swerving inside Dagina Bazar, finally into Mumbadevi Road and the Goddess’ abode itself. Took a good one hour and thirty minutes to enter the temple precincts.The Sun too decided that ‘ enough was enough’ and blazed down in all his glory, negating any late reverse swing the Monsoon could achieve. It was hot and sultry but the line was orderly without any barricades of temporary railings, I thought, as I looked at the small, medium and large jewelry shops on both sides & wondered how these shops fought off competition and there was no predatory pricing as in telecom & insurance. As we  approached the temple, I saw temporary barricades with ropes, police personnel, jostling crowds and the usual small shops and vendors pushing their ‘puja items’ and offering to take care of your footwear for free.

        Inside the temple premises     

Soon I was before the deity, the Mother Goddess of Mumbai — Mumbadevi. The hall itself is decorated gaily with flowers of every color, something not seen in many temples. One look at the Goddess in the sanctun sanctorum and all I could say was her look was benign, yet majestic, a sense of love and underlying power. To the left is a stone image of Annapurna on a peacock.. Darshan over and I waded my way out of the hall, down the steps and into the temple compound outside. My thought was that for a city like Mumbai, the need was for a patron goddess like Mumbadevi –benign yet powerful. We are blessed, indeed.

Legend has it that Mumbai is named after Her. Mumba, as she was called was Parvati who was asked by Shiva to take the form of a fisherwoman to gain the attributes of perseverance, focus and hard work which would help her when she took the form of Kali to punish evil forces. Parvati led the life of a fisherwoman and lived amongst the Kolis , the traditional fisherfolk of the Mumbai islands. Once she had mastered the required skills, Lord Shiva came down and married her. The local fishermen realising who she was, called her Mumba aai( mother in Marathi) and pleaded with her to stay there as their guardian goddess, which she agreed. The islands transformed into a megalopolis but the name remains MUMBAI.

Another story goes that there was a demon named Mumbaraka who used to terrorise the residents of these islands.. The residents ran to Brahma who created an eight-armed goddess out of his own body. This goddess fought a fierce battle and defeated Mumbaraka, who surrendered to her and requested her to take his name — Mumba, which she did it. He is said to have built a temple in her honour. The age of the temple and its original location continue to be matters of debate. Some say the temple is over 600 years old and was originally built in Boribunder. After it was destroyed, a new temple is said to have been built at this current location.

Though Mumbadevi was originally worshipped by the Kolis, today the place was packed with North Indians, working-class men & brightly dressed ladies chatting away in Hindi, its dialects, Bhojpuri, etc. Marathi was not heard much in the 1 1/2 hours I spent here. Wonder why? As for me, I got the ‘bulava’ after 25 years or so I feel, as otherwise I do not see any reason for my sudden decision to meet Her today.