Coronavirus brings ‘Maximum City’ Mumbai to a halt

Mumbai, India’s financial capital, also known as the City of Dreams, thanks to its flourishing Hindi film industry, never stops to sleep. Even the horrendous 26/11 attacks failed to put the brakes on the city. But what terror strikes or communal disturbances couldn’t do, a virus has done. Covid 19 seems to have brought the city to a halt, and on its knees. With Mumbai having the highest number of Corona-infected victims, it has become the epicentre of the deadly virus with which the entire world is struggling to survive.
Born in Mumbai, I have lived all my life here. But I have never seen so much panic among people, not even during the 1993 Mumbai riots after the demolition of the BabriMasjid. The city saw curfew being imposed after 25 years and the streets never looked so deserted. Mumbai’s local trains,the city’s lifeline, have stopped running; markets, schoolsand colleges have closed and people are told to stay indoors.
Commercial flights have been stopped. And there’s nothing on the roads except a few commercial vehicles like TukTuk and Mumbai›s legendary Kaali-Pili (yellow black) taxis. The ever-crowded Juhu Beach and the Gateway of India are closed. Even the city-based newspapers have stopped printing their editions as vendors are not ready to distribute the papers fearing corona threats. AashuPatel, a city-based author,reminded how for first time ever newspaper printing press has been closed in the city.“Even during the Mumbai riots, newspaper printing press was open,” he said.
Corona has not only stopped Mumbai’s fast life, but also reminded how we have pushed the environment on the margins. So,with this deadly virus, nature has given us a signal to stop. It has told us to make amends.
During this critical time, I met a police officer at the Vileparle grocery market, standing there since 7am, requesting people to wear a mask and not stop at the public place for more than 15 minutes.  I also saw him requesting an auto driver to take passengers to their destinationas the Juhu Beach was closed. The BMC’s contract labour, however, could be seen cleaning the beach.
As a journalist, my role was to keep the Mumbaikars well-informed so that they didn’t fall prey to fake news. While reporting I came across a young doctor from the KEM Hospital at Churchgate, the business hub of Mumbai. She had been working day and night and after 36 hours of incessant work she was returning home.
With public transports not operating, the government has decided to seal district borders to control the virus from spreading to other cities of Maharashtra. Inter-state transportation is also not allowed to ply. People are working from home.children are busy watching television or playing video games. The virus has also affected how people pray as temples, mosques, gurdwaras and churches are closed.Even the city’s pubs and discotheque are closed. And Mumbai’s favourite vada pav and misal pav joints have pulled their shutters down.
But as the maddening crowd of the city has disappeared, Mumbai has never looked so beautiful. In my 25 years of journalistic career, I have never seen the city so beautiful, serene and peaceful, with no pollutionin the air and no honking on the streets. Mumbai has gone silent with only birds chirping. Yes, one can also clearly hear the sound of waves. One wonders if we take lessons from corona and start preserving our environs.This silver lining in the otherwise tragic tale should not be missed.