The Suburbs.

You know the glow of movies on the big screen? Mumbai suburbia basks in that glow. The glow pervades the rickety roadways and ritzy neighborhoods.

People here are stages of fame; from the anonymous, to the struggler, to the seen-somewhere, to the almost-famous to the has-been. Everyone is beautiful here, every single person. Not to everyone's eyes, not even to their own sometimes. But they see themselves as beautiful, glorified, air-brushed movie stars one day. Turquoise hair color, skin-whitening creams, tattoo and piercing parlors all find their core consumers here. Here, everyone is standing out while blending in. 

Cartographers say Mumbai is one straight line of a city. Maps have absolutely nothing to do with direction and everything with where one wants to go. In the suburbs, the answer to where people want to go is a resounding 'up'. You would be hard-pressed to find a more ambitious bunch of people. 

That's what makes it different from every other part of the city. In Colaba, people are comfortable with their street style and world view. In Chembur, people are comfortable with their daily discomfort.

Here, people give in to the vanity of living in a city as unforgiving as Mumbai. And no one scoffs at them here.