Where was the party on New Year’s eve? Not in south Mumbai

South Mumbai may have largely kept away from the popular new year's eve hot spots but much of suburban Mumbai partied - at home, on the streets and at the neighbourhood bar - as 2008 rolled into 2009. Both decibel levels and the volume of revellers increased - almost proportionately - with the distance from the epicentre of the 26/11 attacks, drawing out a Circle of Guilt close to the terror spots beyond which partying was not very difficult.
Marine Drive had its share of revellers and so did the other standard hot spots like the Gateway of India and Dadar Chowpatty.But the numbers were not anything like those that usually flock to these places to usher in a new year. And many of those who did come seemed to have a guilty conscience about partying so close to the scene of carnage, explaining why the "more profound'' messages for peace - and against terror - overwhelmed the trite new-year greetings at Ground Zero.
But much of the suburbs, outside the Circle of Guilt, partied hard and loud. As one travelled from the island city to the suburbs, with the clock counting the last few minutes of 2008, the New Year seemed to have finally arrived in Mumbai; even habitually-late-to-wake-up police signposts at busy intersections advised motorists to avoid S V Road and take the Western Express Highway.
That the cops had not misjudged suburban Mumbai's mood was evident a little ahead; traffic along S V Road, from before it turned left to Juhu, was crawling. Juhu and the Marriott, I have learned, are to the suburban what the Gateway and the Taj are to the townie in Mumbai. On new year's eve, despite the economic meltdown and the upshot of terror, I learnt it again.
Beyond Juhu and Andheri, the suburbs melted into one big party. There were fireworks in the sky and - going by the noise that the half-shut windows and balconies could not contain - fireworks inside as well.
But the party was not entirely inside. The spirits overflowed 2BHK homes - on to terraces and courtyards and the road outside - as well as the neighbourhood bars and only-veg joints, with people queueing up to get a foot inside.
But how big was the Circle of Guilt actually? How far did people have to be from the 26/11 spots to party without guilt? Well, you cannot measure these distances in kilometres and miles. But, if you were in Mumbai on the last day of the last year, you would have again found a North-South divide. Just like it happened after 26/7.
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