We had expected to post every Wednesday, but unfortunately a two-day hospital stint waylaid our plans. More on that later. Now it's Friday and here we are!
Our flights into Mumbai last week went smoothly, and after a mad dash around the city we made it to our hotel around 4am. We stayed at the YWCA Hotel in Fort, which was about 3200 rupees a night (about £32--expensive, but Mumbai is expensive), but that included wifi, tasty breakfast and dinner, and a daily copy of the Times of India. Not bad! One member of the staff even brought us tea and biscuits at like 5am. We had a balcony overlooking the leafy street and the big old colonial buildings, and there was even a friendly green parrot who hung out in a tree outside our window.
It poured our first day, which we were totally unprepared for, and had to take shelter under the tarp of an outdoor restaurant.
We huddled under the tarp for awhile, consuming about 10 cups of masala chai.
One of the coolest things we saw in Mumbai was the cricket going on in Oval Maidan (basically a huge rectangular park in the middle of the city). They are mad about cricket! Whenever we walked by we'd see games happening, but the biggest day was Sunday, when thousands of men and boys were out playing. It was impossible to see where one game ended and the next began. Some games were more formal and the players had matching uniforms, while others seemed more pick-up. No women around-- Lauren felt somewhat conspicuous.
At the request of a friend in LA, we also went to the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue to pass on a stack of cards that read "Keep Smiling" in Hebrew. It was one of the only quiet moments of our time in Mumbai, with the heavy police presence outside the doors stopping any riffraff coming in. It was interesting to have a peek into Mumbai's small Jewish community.
But the most fascinating part of our time in Mumbai was our visit to the Dharavi slum, which is the largest slum in Asia and one of the largest in the world. People started settling in the area around 1840, and now over one million people live and work there, in the space of slightly more than a square mile. It's an extremely productive place, with an annual GDP of at least $665 million (probably much more, since many transactions go unreported).
We took a tour through the organization Be The Local, ( http://bethelocaltoursandtravels.com/ ) founded a few years ago by students from Dharavi. Most kids in Dharavi are able to attend the local primary and secondary schools, but the fees for university present a problem. One of the organization's founders, Tauseef, said that he felt there was a need for part-time jobs for students, so that they could both attend school and work. He also felt there was some need to dispel the stereotype that Slumdog Millionaire (which was inspired by Dharavi, and in part filmed there) produced. It's a far more inspiring place than Danny Boyle portrayed it.
Our guide, Razak, is working two part-time jobs (as a guide, and at a Dell call center) to support his mother and two brothers, and his college education (he's studying business). He was funny, informative, and really proud of where he grew up.
Officially you're not supposed to take pictures on the tour, but certain people let us sneak some in. We took a bunch more that we're excited about, but we want to save some for the book!
Dharavi is divided into industrial areas and a residential areas. The industrial area is diverse, and the people we saw were working so hard at their trade, be it welding, cloth dying, sorting through metal or plastic, recycling paint cans, melting down aluminum, dissembling old toys or computers or ACs. We also saw people throwing pots, baking flaky pastries and making soap. All of the machinery was handmade in Dharavi (except for one embroidery machine from China), and a couple were even invented in Dharavi.
It was a fantastic tour and look into Dharavi, and we went back to the hotel exhausted but excited. But in the night, disaster struck! Lauren got really sick, really fast--she became too dehydrated and by the next afternoon, we found ourselves in the Pophale Nursing Home a few doors down. Turns out nursing homes aren't only for old people, and the fact that Pophale is in fact run by a husband and wife pair of gynecologists didn't stop them from seemingly treating every kind of ailment. Lauren's doctor was an expert in test-tube babies! Not what we were looking for, but
Lauren was hooked up to a saline and antibiotic drip, and hung out under a painting of Ganesh for two days.
Yesterday we left the hospital and took the train to Pune, which is about three and a half hours from Mumbai. We came here mainly to visit the hospital, because Hamish's grandpa was sent there when he was badly injured in Burma in WWII. He always spoke highly of his time there and credited the doctors with saving his life. But unfortunately this morning, Hamish woke up with Lauren's sickness! We're hoping it passes soon and that we only make a short visit to the hospital here and don't have to be admitted.
Our flights into Mumbai last week went smoothly, and after a mad dash around the city we made it to our hotel around 4am. We stayed at the YWCA Hotel in Fort, which was about 3200 rupees a night (about £32--expensive, but Mumbai is expensive), but that included wifi, tasty breakfast and dinner, and a daily copy of the Times of India. Not bad! One member of the staff even brought us tea and biscuits at like 5am. We had a balcony overlooking the leafy street and the big old colonial buildings, and there was even a friendly green parrot who hung out in a tree outside our window.
It poured our first day, which we were totally unprepared for, and had to take shelter under the tarp of an outdoor restaurant.
 |
| An ominous sky above Mumbai Harbor, just before rain started. |
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| So wonderful! |
One of the coolest things we saw in Mumbai was the cricket going on in Oval Maidan (basically a huge rectangular park in the middle of the city). They are mad about cricket! Whenever we walked by we'd see games happening, but the biggest day was Sunday, when thousands of men and boys were out playing. It was impossible to see where one game ended and the next began. Some games were more formal and the players had matching uniforms, while others seemed more pick-up. No women around-- Lauren felt somewhat conspicuous.
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| A team... good luck! |
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| The ball flies off into the crowd! |
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| Sign in Churchgate Station for a cricket tournament for train employees |
At the request of a friend in LA, we also went to the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue to pass on a stack of cards that read "Keep Smiling" in Hebrew. It was one of the only quiet moments of our time in Mumbai, with the heavy police presence outside the doors stopping any riffraff coming in. It was interesting to have a peek into Mumbai's small Jewish community.
 |
| The caretaker of the synagogue and the cards. |
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| Then look who we found on the street. Ahh! |
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| Snack-buying at Churchgate Station. |
But the most fascinating part of our time in Mumbai was our visit to the Dharavi slum, which is the largest slum in Asia and one of the largest in the world. People started settling in the area around 1840, and now over one million people live and work there, in the space of slightly more than a square mile. It's an extremely productive place, with an annual GDP of at least $665 million (probably much more, since many transactions go unreported).
We took a tour through the organization Be The Local, ( http://bethelocaltoursandtravels.com/ ) founded a few years ago by students from Dharavi. Most kids in Dharavi are able to attend the local primary and secondary schools, but the fees for university present a problem. One of the organization's founders, Tauseef, said that he felt there was a need for part-time jobs for students, so that they could both attend school and work. He also felt there was some need to dispel the stereotype that Slumdog Millionaire (which was inspired by Dharavi, and in part filmed there) produced. It's a far more inspiring place than Danny Boyle portrayed it.
Our guide, Razak, is working two part-time jobs (as a guide, and at a Dell call center) to support his mother and two brothers, and his college education (he's studying business). He was funny, informative, and really proud of where he grew up.
 |
| Welcome! The sign you see as you cross the big blue bridge into Dharavi. It's a really colorful, bustling place. |
Officially you're not supposed to take pictures on the tour, but certain people let us sneak some in. We took a bunch more that we're excited about, but we want to save some for the book!
Dharavi is divided into industrial areas and a residential areas. The industrial area is diverse, and the people we saw were working so hard at their trade, be it welding, cloth dying, sorting through metal or plastic, recycling paint cans, melting down aluminum, dissembling old toys or computers or ACs. We also saw people throwing pots, baking flaky pastries and making soap. All of the machinery was handmade in Dharavi (except for one embroidery machine from China), and a couple were even invented in Dharavi.
 |
| In the aluminum sorting/melting area. These men take used soda cans and other aluminum products, cut them up and melt them down, all to be recycled and sold on. |
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| Blocks of aluminum after they've solidified. |
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| A nice man we met who sorts pieces of plastic. |
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| Paint in the fabric dyeing area. |
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| Don't worry, be happy: Dharavi is full of color and light, and great walls. We saw this one on our way out. |
It was a fantastic tour and look into Dharavi, and we went back to the hotel exhausted but excited. But in the night, disaster struck! Lauren got really sick, really fast--she became too dehydrated and by the next afternoon, we found ourselves in the Pophale Nursing Home a few doors down. Turns out nursing homes aren't only for old people, and the fact that Pophale is in fact run by a husband and wife pair of gynecologists didn't stop them from seemingly treating every kind of ailment. Lauren's doctor was an expert in test-tube babies! Not what we were looking for, but
Lauren was hooked up to a saline and antibiotic drip, and hung out under a painting of Ganesh for two days.
 |
| Having so much fun. |
 |
| Here's Ganesh. Hamish got a string of decorative flowers to cheer the place up a bit. |
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| One of the lovely and hilarious nurses at Pophale, bringing in a kettle of hot water for Lauren's bucket-bath. She was the only one who spoke no English, but she tried hard to communicate with us anyway. (We also sometimes caught her staring at us through a crack in the door...) |
Yesterday we left the hospital and took the train to Pune, which is about three and a half hours from Mumbai. We came here mainly to visit the hospital, because Hamish's grandpa was sent there when he was badly injured in Burma in WWII. He always spoke highly of his time there and credited the doctors with saving his life. But unfortunately this morning, Hamish woke up with Lauren's sickness! We're hoping it passes soon and that we only make a short visit to the hospital here and don't have to be admitted.
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