The past few months have been quite the romantic affair with the City of Dreams for this writer. On late night drives, early morning commutes and mid-day errands, the city has leaned in and softly whispered in our ears, ‘Inconvenience is regretted’. The BMC’s audacious self-declared May 31 deadline to get the roads monsoon-ready has come and gone. And while the unpunctuality is no laughing matter, here’s how Mumbaikars are finding a silver lining.

JCB jugalbandi
Mayur Jumani, multi-instrumentalist, Andheri

As a musician and a recording artiste, the auditory aspect of the ongoing construction has been the most maddening. Even though I live on the 21st floor of a high-rise, the constant humming of the mega machines would still leak into my recording. I finally stepped out one day to record live sounds of the drills, excavators and cranes. I came back to the studio, and penned an ode to the city titled JCB Hai, Meri Hai Mumbai. The drills and hammers form the percussive foundation of the track. To end it on a high note, I actually headed to a construction site to shoot my music video. I was able to hop on a stationary JCB for a bit. Sitting on the other side now, watching the city from the JCB’s point of view — I felt like the king of the city.
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