Why I feel safer in Mumbai

I have always wondered why I’ve felt safer in Mumbai than in Delhi, my home for over 15 years. I have spent about five years in this city and I still cannot pinpoint why.

Delhi is universally known to be a difficult city for women. After living a relatively sheltered life in school, my peaceful view of the world was shattered when I started using Delhi’s infamous public transport system to get to college at the other end of the city.

Those torturous years on packed DTC and Blueline buses forced me to evolve a personal survival code that I wrote an article about later.

Mumbai was refreshingly different. By this, I don’t mean there is no harassment in public places. It happens, as we know only too well. But it’s not like Delhi’s relentless, audacious and overt harassment — the proverbial thousands cuts.

After a year in Mumbai, I stopped carrying a can of pepper spray that was a constant presence in my bag in Delhi. I never used it even there, but it gave me a great sense of security. Each time I felt threatened, even slightly — while walking on an unlit road at night, while crossing a badly lit and deserted underground subway, while in an auto or cab from whose driver I picked up strange vibes — I held it in my hand, unlocked.

I carried the battered can in my bag in Mumbai for a few months after which I abandoned it in my drawer.

So why do I perceive Mumbai to be safer than Delhi?

One reason, perhaps, is that Mumbai, at least the island city, is very well lit. It has a luminosity that Delhi, despite its now superior infrastructure, still cannot match. Large stretches of major Delhi roads are often shrouded in darkness, thanks to weak and badly placed lights, dense foliage, or power cuts. Well-lit spaces make me feel secure.

Second is population density. Provisional figures of the 2011 census show there are a little over 20,000 people packed into each square kilometre of Mumbai. Compare this with Delhi’s density of 11,297. I don’t think I’ve ever felt physically alone in Mumbai because of the number of people around, even if they are those sleeping on the pavement at night. Thus, I usually don’t feel vulnerable while on the streets at night.

The third factor is a decent public transport system. Despite crowded trains and the usual auto and cab refusals to take on a fare, I have never had a major problem getting from point A to B here. And while doing so, I have never felt threatened. Before affordable radio cabs came to Delhi, on days I didn’t have a car of my own, I hated the sinking feeling I got when I couldn’t find any way of getting myself home. Even when I managed to get transport, there was never a guarantee that I would reach my destination safely.

A few months ago, I realised that I cannot let my guard down completely even in Mumbai. This came after two men in a car followed me as I walked the short way home from my brother’s house a little after midnight. I made the mistake of walking down a leafy and deserted side road where they met me. Fortunately, my Delhi instincts came into play and I reached home with nothing more than a scare. That day onwards, I’m on my guard again, this time without the pepper spray.