SHOPPING
& COST OF LIVING, INFRASTRUCTURE
Mumbai is a big city and everything runs like clockwork. Every street has shops stocking items of daily use. Most of the suburbs, even the distant ones have areas where upmarket goods are available. Usually the roads leading to the suburban railway station are mini commercial towns in themselves. While the central business district of Fort has the most number of shops for upmarket items, many of the consumer items are actually sold by pavement vendors as well. Gucci and Cardin look alikes are made in Dharavi ( you can't tell the difference). Tourist shopping is quite different from that done by residents. Word of mouth testimonial is more effective than any advertising as far as residents are concerned.
Shopping for items of daily use: Absolutely no problem in Mumbai. While there are thousands of shops, people prefer to buy from hawkers outside railway stations on their way home. There is very little bargaining here unlike for instance Delhi. The prices are more or less fixed and reasonable (competition even among the humblest hawkers is intense. Besides the sheer number of buyers is immense) There are several large vegetable markets for those who wish to browse before selecting.
It is noticed people in Mumbai prefer NOT to stock up for a week or month ---they prefer ( and get) fresh stuff. Unless you live closeby , consumers dont travel all the way to vegetable markets like Dadar, Bycula, Phule market. But a group of people living in flats might make an outing of it and do weekly shopping. Actually the friendly neighbourhood bania in Mumbai can give the large supermarkets very tough competition. And they too are getting web savvy and cellphone savvy.
Typical
costs for some everyday necessities (per Kg) are :
Rice Rs. 15/-
Sugar Rs. 16/-
Wheat Rs. 15/-
Tuvar Dal Rs. 25/-
Masur Dal Rs. 30/-
Tomatoes Rs. 20/- to Rs. 25/-
Onions Rs. 6/- (fluctuates wildly)
Potatoes Rs. 6/- to Rs. 8/-
Mutton Rs. 110/ -
Chicken Rs. Rs. 90/-
Haircut Rs. 25/-
Stitching a Shirt Rs. 100/- to Rs. 120/-
Stitching a Pant Rs. 200/- to Rs. 350/-
Ironing a Shirt Rs. 3/-
Ironing a Pant Rs. 4/-
Food
Most of the imaginable cuisines are available in Mumbai. There are several regional restaurants serving snacks, meals, etc. For example, Irani (serving Mughlai), Udupi (south Kanara vegetarian), North Kanara, Kerala, Goan, Tamil, Punjabi, and so on.
Fast food: Many joints serve various fast foods a la McDonalds. Snacks like pizzas and hamburgers come in various varieties, including vegetarian and those catering to strict jain "kosher" tenets - no garlic or onions, even. Outside railway stations like Dadar, local specialities "fast foods" are hugely popular, especially at night. Push-cart vendors serve memorable and delicious spicy snacks.
Dabba wallahs: This is another Mumbai institution. Hordes of sturdy hill men undertake to deliver lunches (a lunch pail) from people's homes to their offices. How they keep track of what lunch pail goes where is still a mystery. Stainless steel lunch pails are not recommended, as they have a mysterious tendency to get "lost". Some dabba wallahs help in locating good home cooked meals from little unknown restaurants too.
A typical Udupi meal (thali) costs an average of Rs. 25, with the menu consisting of 2 vegetables, rice, roti/puri, dal, rasam, curds, papad, pickle, sweet, etc. A cup of tea in a small place is available at a cost of Rs. 3.
Push cart vendors serve memorable and delicious typically Mumbai spicy snacks like bhel puri, zunka bhakar, pav bhaji and Mumbai Chinese (no chinese would probably recognize it anyway).
In fact, some of the best food is available in the crowded by-lanes of south Mumbai in areas like Null bazar, Bhendi bazar, Bhuleshwar, etc. These places are popularly known as Khao Gallis, literally translated as eating lanes.
Most of the ethnic Indian regional cuisine is available, too, not just in large restaurants, but near places of work . Fast food mobile vans are also popular and are generally parked near skyscrapers in business districts during lunch times.
As can be expected Mumbai is a large city where everything runs like digital clockwork. Barring rare system crashes ( politician sponsored) uptime is superb among Indian cities. Which means Electricity, water, cooking gas, and all the other day to day stuff etc are available without much difficulty.
Air: In spite of many polluting agents like traffic and industry, surprisingly the Mumbai air is not so bad. This is due to the sea breeze which blows across the city constantly. Trees and vegetation have made a comeback in Mumbai in the last decade.
Temperature: Mumbai has an equable and humid climate. The average temperature throughout the year hovers around 28 degree celsius. Being a coastal area, Mumbai has high humidity levels of upto 98 %, which makes it a sticky and sweaty place to live in.
Water: Water supply is piped from reservoirs far away. Although treated and filtered, during heavy rains or dry summers contamination from backflow through corroded pipes is quite possible in some areas.
Law and order : For such a large city Mumbai is surprisingly very peaceful. Mainly because people are employed and preoccupied with their work or getting home. Property crimes are reported regularly, but violent incidents of robbery are few. Petty crime like picking pockets, pilfering are fairly common. It is generally a good idea to keep track of one's bags at railway stations and airports. The crowded train compartments naturally attract pickpockets.
Politicians have increased communal tension in recent years.
With overcrowding, exploitation , business rivalry and far off political events like Babri Masjid there has been a deterioration in the overall law and order scene in Mumbai. There were a series of blasts, said to be set off by the underworld and shadowy political figures, which caused momentary panic.
Real estate prices being what they are, (a small flat in posh localities costs over two crore) a major part of the underworld is active in this field. They strictly do not interfere with the public in any case. Politician sponsored rioting does take place now and then, usually sparked off by local problems. When large groups are very agitated about some issue, they stage a "morcha" (noisy demonstration-parade) and a "bandh" or general strike where the city is supposed to grind to a halt. However many people usually take this as a challenge and try their utmost to slip past the strikers. The students take a day off and play cricket on the deserted roads. (Unofficially, bandhs last till 4 in the evening)
Telephones and Post : Telephones are well managed in Mumbai, but there is a waiting list of about three months in easy areas. Partly for this reason cell phones are popular.
Post: - The long suffering postmen in Mumbai have to trudge up skyscrapers, yet manage a weary smile. They work very hard. Courier services charge more and are popular too. Traditional courier services called Angadia, which existed for centuries, routinely transport diamonds worth crores. Domestic help is easily available in every area. A domestic helper would cost around Rs. 400-500, while a live-in maid would cost anything from Rs. 1500-2000 depending on the duties. A trend seen nowadays is people tend to prefer gadgets rather than depend on domestic help. In the well heeled areas domestic helpers are very savvy about using vacuums and washing machines and dishwashers, too.
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