Mumbai is no longer the safest city in India. No arguments there. The latest figures rank Mumbai third as far as thefts go, after Delhi and Bangalore. A friend put up a post on Facebook about how he had a chain snatched from him on St Cyril Road, Bandra, a charming leafy lane, if you know it. A young woman got kidnapped and assaulted by autorickshaw drivers from the Kurla Terminus and escaped without further injury because she jumped out of the vehicle.

Human interaction runs on trust and Mumbai is heading towards that Delhi equation where you’re always alert and never feel safe. In today’s Mumbai you have to be careful about everyone from your electricians and plumbers to your security guards. Couriers became suspect a little before the rest. There was a time when you could take a taxi home from work at 2 am without any problems. Now you cannot take a rickshaw from a railway station at 4 am.