I don’t know if I should start this article with the times when I first came to Mumbai or how Ayushmann Khurrana isn’t just an actor but a Sufi poet in disguise.
It’s been two years since I first came to Mumbai and much like everyone else, I was scared too. Scared of will I be able to get in this city of Dreams known as Bombay or Mumbai? Scared because of the way, Bollywood and people talk about it. Scared of the crowd. Scared of… what if I change?
But let me just stop there!
This isn’t about my struggle nor about how did I fit in, but it’s about how Ayushmann’s poem made me go through all of that 2-years-ago first-time Mumbai visit feels again. Kaali-Peeli, CST, Marine Drive pe walk, Mumbai ki baarish, Vada Pao aur kya kuch nahi! I flashbacked all of it.
Let’s just dive into Khurrana’s poem and here it goes:
Jab pehli dafaa aaya tha Mumbai
tab bhi ho rahi thi baarish.
Aaj bhi barkha bahaar hai.Yahaan ki bheed ki tarah sapne thhe
aankhn mein hazaar,
Aaj bhi umangein tez taraat hai.Maa baap ne nam aankhon
se di thi mujhe parvaaz,
Aaj bhi unki fikr barqaraar hai.Second class sleeper pe aaya tha is
sheher mein doston ke saath,
Aaj bhi usi safar ka khumaar hai.Uth kar gira, gir kar utha. Chala. Udaa.
Aaj unhi thokaron ki khaatir mere haq
mein rashtriya puraskaar hai.
Here is his original Instagram post:
View this post on Instagram
Isn’t Khurrana is just wow? Like first Andhadhun, then Badhaai ho and then tons of poems by him that have been getting viral on social media for a really long time.
Tell me about you in the comments below. Have you ever been to Mumbai? and if yes, then did you find the poem relatable and nostalgic?
