Although a self-annointed “denizen of the world” who is equally at home in Rome, Paris, Athens, Lisbon, New York or Vancouver, Bombay (or Mumbai as it is called today), occupies a special place in my heart. I was raised and spent over 20 of my formative years in this “Ville-Magnifique de L’Inde” - India’s quintessential melting pot that is accepting, progressive, happening, and conditions you to appreciate the “beauty in diversity” across India and the World. In Bombay, you shed all other identities based on your state of origin in India (Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu et al) and become first and foremost, a "Bombayite" (or its politically correct analog of today – the “Mumbaikar”) – every other identity, tag or cultural baggage pales into utter oblivion and insignificance!
