When this writer first moved to Mumbai four years ago, wide-eyed and ready to take on the world, we moved to DN Nagar, Andheri West. It was the first time we lived in apartment complexes and took the Metro to go to college. Before this, in our much smaller town, we were used to knowing our neighbours, playing gully cricket, and grabbing pani puri from the same neighbourhood stall every other day. DN Nagar was different. Tall buildings, quick commerce deliveries, and travelling to Bandra to catch a cup of coffee with friends. 

In the last four years, as DN Nagar has become even more connected with two new Metro lines and a post-pandemic influx of students to the nearby SVKM colleges, we have seen this neighbourhood completely transform. Although the tall buildings still exist, we’ve made a little home in one of them; gully cricket has turned into playing badminton with friends in the local park; and as for the pani puri, we’ve seen a slew of eateries open here in just the last year.