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I AM BOMBAY


The author( Poornima Rathee ) smiling.

I have been meeting a lot of new people recently. Sometimes, conversations are free-flowing and other times, there is simply no connect. Either way, I feel enriched to have met someone so different than who I am.

Recently, a lady asked me to describe myself to her. She did not want a word or two. She wanted to really listen to me describe myself. The question caught me off-guard for a moment. For a lack of something really witty and new to say, I replied, “I am a typical Bombay girl.” Of course, this didn’t quench her curiosity.


She asked me to elaborate and that I did:

  • A girl who speaks her mind and lives by what she speaks.

  • A girl who does not fear calling a spade a spade.

  • A girl who has many friends and more haters.

  • A girl who takes pride in having haters.

  • A girl who has worn her heart on the proverbial sleeve.

  • A girl who could not be bent with any amount of hurt.

  • A girl who believes. Not in a super power, but the power of her own effort.

  • A girl who willingly accepts people in her life and makes them feel special.

  • A girl who doesn’t think twice before discarding those who are unworthy of her time.

  • A girl who suffers from a chronic “foot-in-mouth” syndrome.

  • A girl who is a loyal friend. As long as you are loyal.

  • A girl who doesn’t judge and doesn’t care about being judged.

  • A girl who has more male friends than even a boy can have.

  • A girl who commands the respect that people listen when she speaks.

  • A girl who is wise enough to choose people just like her to be around her.

  • A girl who is perfectly imperfect in her perfections.

  • A girl who is imperfectly perfect in her imperfections.

  • A girl who can hurt you in the nastiest way if you hurt her.

  • A girl who can fight with the world and stand up for those she holds dear.

  • A girl who can apologize when she is wrong.

  • A girl who can be either loved or hated. Not liked. Not disliked. Not ignored.

  • A girl who doesn’t chuckle and giggle, but laughs with the loudest boom.

  • A girl who is everything her city is: Open and unpretentious.

The lady asked me how I attribute these qualities to my city. All I could say was, “You are always the place you have lived in. Your city/town makes you the person you are.”

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