mY DreAm MUmbAi

I took a deep breath , taking in the pleasant atmosphere. Jewels were sparkling all around me and, no, I was not in a jewellery shop, I was enjoying the sight of the jewels of happiness on people's faces, the sparkle of the water and the emerald of the tree.

I took a step further and saw the roads. I couldn't believe it! There were so many cars , yet there was no noise of irritated drivers honking at each other. The cars moved smoothly and everyone was following the signals though a policeman was not in sight.

The air was fresh and pure and the cars seemed to cause no pollution! And, crossing the road was so easy, I just walked across at a red signal and no one tried to break the signal and bump into me. I spotted a young buy, about my age, he was eating potato chips and suddenly he dropped one, There was no argument of sort, but a boy, perhaps stranger to the one with the potato chips , just picked up the fallen edible and put it into a bin. He didn't have to walk a mile to reach a bin, there were dustbins placed at regular intervals.

A man with a broom was walking around, struggling to find a dirty speck to clean up. The gutter were covered and there were no garbage piles anywhere.There seemed to be no fear of contagious diseases, as the surroundings were spotlessly clean.

I followed a boy and found myself facing a clump of trees. I was, so it seemed, in a public garden. I heard the birds chirp, I heard the happy cries of children. Their happy faces gave me a sense of satisfaction. The greenery overwhelmed me. I walked on, I was really excited in this new city! I wondered if all the stray animals had been done away with, as I couldn't spot any. I enquired and got mostly surprised looks, no answers. Then I was finally told that the animals were in a shelter built for the purpose.

I began walking towards the shelter, but I stopped on the way, caught by the sight of a crystal clear lake. I splashed water on my face, but it felt like a slap!

I looked up and saw my teacher. She looked angry. But, from where did she appear? Then I was drawn back to reality. I was in school, and my teacher asked me why I was day-dreaming when she was trying to teach us something so important. Just to make sure that the new Mumbai I had walked through was all just a dream, I looked out of the window.

And, what do you think I saw? I saw the pot hole covered road and heard the endless honking. Well, maybe my dream of Mumbai hadn't come true as yet, but I knew that it wasn't impossible.

I knew that if everyone worked hard with co-operation, then our DREAM MUMBAI was not far away.