Publication

Abstract : The city of Mumbai, India, has always been represented in fictional narratives and mainstream Bollywood cinema as the land of endless opportunities, unfathomable surprises, and awe-inspiring success stories. The most educated migrants who come to the city from elsewhere fortified by language and hope aspire for a permanent address or a living space to call their own or to belong. And in fact, many of them do succeed in their aspirations and enterprises. However, the focus of this paper is on the scamper for space amongst the migrant middle class and particularly the process of appropriation and contestation for common spaces like corridor, terrace, and compound in the apartments. The paper argues as to how these acts of the migrants are orchestrated to inform and re-evoke their sense of being and identity. And this happens in cities such as Mumbai, as newer identities are being configured each day, resulting in complexities and threats of erasure. The argument is substantiated by the first author’s own experiences and memories of the city. In addition, the paper also borrows from the narratives of Chandrima Pal, Gregory David Roberts, Vapu, and Rohinton Mistry.