The 4 hearts of india

           

“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
― Anais Nin

Imagine India, the nation, to be a "supercreature" of huge proportions. An organism with 4 hearts. The special thing about these hearts are, that all of them are independent from each other. Each have a separate heart rate, a separate pulse, each of the hearts are of a different size. Yes, I am talking about the four metropolitan cities of India. Namely: New  Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

I have had the pleasure and good fortune of visiting all the four cities and will try and capture their essence in this essay. I like to think of them as individual hearts. Hearts  or hubs of power, of the being known as “India”.

Let us begin with the capital, the heart known as “New Delhi”. It is the most powerful heart in the entire anatomy of the organism. It has the strongest cardiac muscles and the pulse of this heart can be felt throughout the body of the nation. The blood of this heart is turbulent and fast flowing. It is literally pulsating with power and is itself doused in it. We can see that in the blood cells(the people) here. No one has time to spare. Everyone will do anything and everything to get the job done. It is a heart enriched in history and there are symbols of ancient history all across the different chambers of this heart. The heart is not biased to its blood it welcomes every kind of blood no matter from where the blood has originated from. Surviving and successfully being pumped from this heart is a feat on its own as all blood cells do not have what it takes to survive the power of this heart. Blood will flow over itself to reach the desired arteries. It has a decently fast pulse rate. Second In speed among the four “Hearts”.

Next, we shall move onto the slowest beating heart. The heart known as “ Chennai”. This heart beats the slowest. Deeply immersed in culture and tradition, it sometimes behaves as if it belongs to a totally different organism altogether. The blood(people) here is biased to its heart. No matter where it gets circulated to, it always comes back to its own heart. The heart welcomes blood of different origin, but it tries to pump it out as soon as possible. Unlike “New Delhi”, it will never take external blood as its own. The beat of this heart is pretty much constant and periodic, as in people live set lives and there is not much change in their routine. It is a big heart, with its own share of history and past glories. These once again, can be seen in the blood here. It is peppered with monuments and temples throughout. Surviving within the confines of this heart is difficult if your origin is not from the blood here. All in all, this heart too, is steeped in ancient history and cultural integrity.

Now, we shall discuss the fastest beating “heart” among them all. The “heart” known as “Mumbai”. This is the “heart” with the highest pulse. The blood here flows the fastest. People lead the fastest life in all of India here. It too, pulsates with power, but the power here is of a different kind, much more different from the power we experience in “New Delhi”. Blood is not biased although it is moody. The heart itself is not choosy and welcomes all kinds of blood in it. It has its own history and past and like the other “hearts” also has symbols to prove its lineage. Surviving the fast flow of this heart will either reward you greatly or destroy you mercilessly. ‘flow with caution’.

Last but not the least, we come to the heart known simply as,”Kolkata”. It is a heart with an average pulse and although the blood is biased to the heart, the heart is not biased to the blood. The heart welcomes all kinds of blood in it, even if the blood of origin does not. In the context of modern history this “heart” has a lot more to say than the others as it was the British capital of India. We can find symbols of their rule and also, it has strong cultural values and traditions. The flow of blood through this heart is unpredictable. Sometimes it is slow other times it is agitated and fast. At an average, among all the four “hearts” , people lead decently paced lives, not as slow as “Chennai” nor as fast as “Mumbai” although it is on the slower side. Third , from fastest to slowest.

Hope the reader had fun while reading this unusual take on the metro cities of our country. I chose to symbolize the four cities as hearts, as within these cities live the top and the bottom rung of the social ladders. The “Superclass” of the area and also the “Subclass”. Just like in a heart both oxygenated and deoxygenated blood travels. Also, by heart rates I did not make any qualitative assessment, just a simile to the pace of the lives led there by the people(just my own personal opinion).

                  

“If we're always guided by other people's thoughts, what's the point in having our own?”

― Oscar Wilde