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Mumbai's bustle, traffic jams and Marine Drive remind Consul General of Israel Dov Segev-Steinberg of life back home in Tel Aviv
Finally I'm here in this huge and mysterious country called India. Sitting in my luxurious official car, I absorb all the sights, smells, colours and sounds of urbs prima indis, Bombay, and feel like a five-year-old boy eagerly taking in everything that comes within sight.
When I was a five-year-old growing up in Ramat-Gam, a quiet suburb of Tel Aviv, my mother used to send me and my elder brother twice a week to see matinee movies screened in a nearby theatre. Many of the movies screened there were brought from India. So I was early exposed to the languages, music, magic sceneries and love stories of India. Only, at that time, India appeared beyond the horizon, as if unreachable.
I remember Raj Kapoor and the marvellous quick and jumpy dances I had the privilege of seeing in the Indian films then. They appeared quite strange and different and greatly awakened mycuriosity for this country. I also remember that once, during our Purim festival -- where we put on fancy costumes -- I put on the dress of a Maharaja and felt mighty happy.
Later on, during my high school and university years, I was exposed to more aspects of India. I eagerly read a lot about India's religions, her culture, mysticism and a subject close to my heart -- India's political developments. The political situation in the sub-continent aroused great interest in Israel, because we were after all talking about the backyard of the Middle East. Even if we were far off geographically, we felt a strong attraction to this area. Then came Western movies on India like Gandhi and TV serials like Jewel in the Crown and A Passage to India, which further fed my interest. Coming to India became all the more enticing a dream -- and when I joined the foreign service in Israel, I resolved to transform my dream into a reality. For many years I was stationed in faraway countries like the US,China and Egypt, but the desire to visit India stayed within. Many good things in life come about unexpectedly. So did the offer to be stationed in Bombay made by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs one fine morning.
Before leaving Israel, I met many officials who had earlier been posted here and also members of the Indian Embassy, who opened for me a window to India. I was given a good idea of Indian hospitality and openness.
What I was told turned out to be true to the smallest detail. Hospitality and openness were truly the defining qualities of India, I discovered from the moment I landed in Bombay on a day that's important to all of India -- August 15, 1999. Soon as I got off the plane, I entered straight into the hustle and bustle of the airport. There was frenetic activity, with people running around in various directions, a picture of liveliness and vitality. I was warmly received by members of the Maharashtra government's protocol department, who garlanded me, performed aarti and put thetraditional tilak on my forehead, making me feel great.
The first ride from airport to town -- which exposed me to the huge crowds, coconut trees, traffic jams, the heat and humidity of the city gave me a feeling of deja vu. I felt as if I were in Tel Aviv, my hometown. No time was needed to acclimatise myself to the city. The journey along Marine Drive made this sentiment of deja vu stronger, because Tel Aviv too has a promenade identical in its beauty to Marine Drive. The very first day on Bombay's terra firma had proved eminently satisfying. I spent my first few days in the city meeting various people and attempting to learn more about this bustling place and its amazing secrets. Right from the outset, my driver More -- whose name in Hebrew means guide -- has been a real guide for me. He introduced his beloved city to me and graciously imparted his tremendous knowledge of the metropolis. Now, after five weeks of going around different places in Mumbai, smiling at people on the streets and eatingMasala Dosa, Palak Paneer and Pav Bhaji, I can truly claim to be a Bombaywallah.
Bombay is a vibrant and energetic city, full of action. It has splendid architectural structures from different eras and it also has its lavish green pockets which give rise to my sense of wonderment, coming as I do from a desert country. I've also observed Mumbai's monsoon admiringly as we Israelites are not that fortunate to have good rains. Besides, it is great to see so many Jewish families live happily in the city and exhibit a tremendous feeling of pride for this land while at the same time retaining their sense of identity. Here it is pertinent to note that Jews have never suffered persecution in India, unlike in other parts of the world. That is why I find Jews so easily woven into Indian and Bombay.
And that is why I too find myself easily absorbed by the spirit of this city. It is said about Tel Aviv that it is a city that never sleeps. Mumbai, again has its similarity with my hometown and is a city that neversleeps. That is its greatness.
(As told to Vaibhav Purandare)
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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