mumbai

my overwhelming sentiment, having been in mumbai for two days now, is wonder at the notion that life here exists the way it does while we exist the way we do. this is not a statement on poverty, or on the neglect of the developing world by the developed; my point is that the "entire world of india" seems a discrete dimension from ours. there are so many people, so much dirt, so many sounds and smells - - all packed together. there is no buffer zone between the rich and poor areas - our 4-star hotelin the kemp's corner area of mumbai is next to a construction site where a small family lives, sitting shoeless at all hours of the day. people all over the city lie languidly on public benches, sleep on the sidewalk. there are stray dogs and cats everywhere, and of course the cows (though they seem to prefer the slower pace of side streets to the main roads).

there are lots of three-lane roads in mumbai, but - i kid you not - they might as well not exist. taxis that would certainly not standards elsewhere (in addition to not having seatbelts) straddle street markings and drivers honk at those who drive within the confines of the lanes. meanwhile, islands divide main roads, but pedestrians scurry across between the moving traffic of bicycles, taxis, and the wealthy's cars and scooters to hop up on the dividers, then weave to the other side.

the largest slum in asia is here in mumbai, but i don't see how it is a single slum; we drove through several areas of densely-packed hovels with corrugated tin roofs. the highway from the airport passed by these, and the most indelible image i saw was a little girl of no more than seven, wearing only underwear and her hair in pigtails, barefoot on the highway, holding the hand of a toddler who must have been her sibling as they scanned the traffic looking for an opening in the flow for them to cross.

after our taxi driver (who didn't speak english) drove us to the wrong area of town, we finally made it to our hotel - the shalimar hotel. a lovely woman named doris gave us a special deal and took care of us, sending us a complimentary fruit basket and some cookies, claiming "it is important to take care of the doctors of tomorrow."

after showers and a good rest, we took a taxi to a fabulous restaurant called chetana in colaba where we were served vegetarian thali - - a kind of all-you-can-eat variety platter. it was delicious and filling. we attempted to stroll for a bit, but the streets were deserted at that late hour, save for some sleeping people and street dogs, so we took a taxi back and went to sleep.

today we awoke early and - a few complimentary indian newspapers in hand - made our way downstairs to the breakfast included in our hotel bill. we drank mango juice, ate parsley potatoes, lentil and mushroom balls with tomato-based curry sauces, and dosas with curried onions inside. after sending off some emails at the business center (from where i am currently writing this), we went off to mahatma gandhi road to stare and be stared at (a white girl and two east asians definitely garner a lot of attention). we walked by the campus of bombay university, through clothing stalls and saw the "maidans" - field used for playing cricket. we also walked by the victoria terminus - a vestige of the colonial empire still in use in a bustling area of town. then we went to waht i can only describe as a very first-world store called fabindia where we bought a few items of clothing - two short kurtas (a short-sleeved long dress worn over pants called salwars - the outfit together is called salwar kameez), one salwar, and a stole (worn over the shalwar kameez outfit). then we were off to mahesh lunch home - a mangalorean seafood lunch restaurant that was packed when we got there and had to wait outside. while we were waiting, a cow came barrelling down the SIDEWALK as if she owned the place - - and she did; the mass of people parted, some patted her on the rump, and off she went. i don't think you can prepare for something like that - yes, i knew cows would be everywhere, but in the flesh their presence is absurd - especially when i picture them on the streets in new york city or how well they are taken care of when so many indians are not. once we made it inside to the restaurant, we had delicious house special spicy prawns and vegetables in gravy with garlic naan. utterly fantastic food - heaven. the best thing is that we haven't gotten sick yet (knock on wood).

as we wrapped up our late lunch, we realized that elephanta island - one of the sites we had planned to visit - was no longer open, so we went instead to the gateway of india and to gawk at the beautiful taj mahal palace hotel. by 5 pm, we were pooped from the heat, smells, humidity, dirt and long walk. we came back to our hotel and took a nap in preparation for our next adventure tomorrow: our voyage to pune, then onward to jamkhed.

i must say that i am eager to be in a small town; one day in mumbai is really quite a bit to process. as i sit here, reading over what i've written, i realize that there is so much left out - so much that i'm not sure i can describe. the streets are infused with whiffs of sweet juice being made on the sidewalks, body odor, waste, incense, flavored cigars, herbal body perfume some people seem to wear that smells like cucumber and a mix of herbs, and roasted nuts. there seems to be a haze in which all these hang, or else the scents are bounced up in the air and kept afloat on the sea of people that densely fill each walkway and taxi in the street. deteriorating cobblestones underfoot lead to packed dirt, then to freshly laid bricks and cement paths. winding wide boulevards have tributaries of unpaved roads but feed into grandiose rotaries with central fountains. the city is as close to a jungle as i can imagine. there is no feeling of being unsafe, just being very foreign and pulled along in the sluggish current.

i picture myself as a speck on the map in asia, and think of you all many times each day across the globe at your own various sepcks. take care.