The other week the group went to Mumbai for a field visit! It was the first time I'd gone to the city since flying in back in August. And that time all I'd seen was the inside of a hotel room. So I was pretty pumped to be going back. Minus a few bumps in the road it was a great trip and I am excited to be going back!
Day 1:
- Arrive via train
- Visit the Gandhi Museum. For some reason this visit was actually hilarious. It wasn't the museum itself, I just haven't seen so many white people in one place since the Newark airport! It was weird. And then the fact that a good majority of the people were older groups who were so touristy was too adorable. Some people were wearing spaghetti straps or short shorts and I would stare at them almost as bad as the Indians would. Our group might have judged them a little too hard. So scandalous. The actual museum wasn't bad at all. Indian museums are usually a little more simplistic and less organized compared to US museums. Highlights include Gandhi's letter to Hitler and silly-looking dolls that depicted scenes of his life.
- Visit the Bombay High Court. The building itself was incredible. It looked like Hogwarts if it was in a highly polluted city. The actual courts we sat in themselves just were not my thing. Cameras weren't allowed, but mental snapshots include absolutely massive stacks of papers all over the court room, a judge sassing a lawyer for not knowing his client's name, books from 2006 that were already crumbling, and a land case from the 1960's being argued.
- By 6:30 we finally had free time, but by that point it was already dark so we couldn't do much. I just went with some people to a famous restaurant, which was once again filled with so many white people. I had my first soup since the US!! It was basically salad with hot water and salt, but at that point it tasted like nectar of the gods.
- I also ran into one of my coworkers for my internship! Small world.
Day 2- Visit to Dharavi (aka Asia's largest slum)
- After seeing so much poverty over the past few months, I had expected it to be much worse than it actually was. The buildings were in general vertically-growing tipsy brick shacks with very little room in between them. Every now and then, a new high-rise housing development would loom over these buildings. Obviously, we had already been aware of the negative aspects of slums from out studies and experiences, but the visit mainly focused on the positives and the specific needs of the area.
- The three main businesses in Dharavi are pottery, leather, and recycling. This is mainly because the rest of the city doesn't want to do these jobs so they push them an area with a large population willing to work for cheap.
- Recycling Unit: I don't really know how to describe this. There were piles of organized trash everywhere. At one point I saw a huge pile of the same brand and color of razors. The workers had not protection and in some cases no shoes and they worked through the remains of Mumbai, India's metropolis. Thankfully no evidence of child labor was spotted.
- Pottery Area: To get a feel of the workings of industry within Dharavi, we visited a potter whose family had been doing it for generations. He could make a crazy amount of pots in a minute. Meanwhile, I just managed to make one clay lump.
- Then some experts on slum architecture and youth involvement talked to us. But the best part of these meetings was the fact that it was held in a school where the kids were a little too excited to see us.
- That night a miracle happened. We found a Starbucks! It's India's first one, opened just last summer. It tasted like happiness in the form of coffee. We found it while doing some nighttime sightseeing around the Taj Hotel (made famous for its architecture and the 2008 terrorist attack) and the Gateway of India.
Day 3:
- Another morning trip to the Starbucks and Gateway of India (where I met the guide who knew more about US current events than I did)
- More speakers
- Many people decided to stay in Mumbai for the weekend. I decided not to because I am going back in December for a wedding and I wanted to explore Pune for one last weekend. Those explorations never happened...
- Those who were going right back home went to a restaurant.
- Those who went to the restaurant got food poisoning. Weekend plans failed.
Despite the jam packed schedule and food poisoning it was still good to get to the city. Unlike Pune, it was a city in the US sense with tall skyscrapers surrounding a body of water. True, we were definitely restricted to the nicer parts of the city (excluding Dharavi), but I am so pumped to explore it some more next time!
Day 1:
- Arrive via train
Is this Mumbai or Manhattan?
Part of the skyline over Chowpatty Beach
- Visit the Gandhi Museum. For some reason this visit was actually hilarious. It wasn't the museum itself, I just haven't seen so many white people in one place since the Newark airport! It was weird. And then the fact that a good majority of the people were older groups who were so touristy was too adorable. Some people were wearing spaghetti straps or short shorts and I would stare at them almost as bad as the Indians would. Our group might have judged them a little too hard. So scandalous. The actual museum wasn't bad at all. Indian museums are usually a little more simplistic and less organized compared to US museums. Highlights include Gandhi's letter to Hitler and silly-looking dolls that depicted scenes of his life.
Gandhi's letter to Hitler: "Your forgiveness if I have erred in writing to you"
The Salt March enacted by silly, long-armed dolls
- Visit the Bombay High Court. The building itself was incredible. It looked like Hogwarts if it was in a highly polluted city. The actual courts we sat in themselves just were not my thing. Cameras weren't allowed, but mental snapshots include absolutely massive stacks of papers all over the court room, a judge sassing a lawyer for not knowing his client's name, books from 2006 that were already crumbling, and a land case from the 1960's being argued.
- By 6:30 we finally had free time, but by that point it was already dark so we couldn't do much. I just went with some people to a famous restaurant, which was once again filled with so many white people. I had my first soup since the US!! It was basically salad with hot water and salt, but at that point it tasted like nectar of the gods.
- I also ran into one of my coworkers for my internship! Small world.
Day 2- Visit to Dharavi (aka Asia's largest slum)
- After seeing so much poverty over the past few months, I had expected it to be much worse than it actually was. The buildings were in general vertically-growing tipsy brick shacks with very little room in between them. Every now and then, a new high-rise housing development would loom over these buildings. Obviously, we had already been aware of the negative aspects of slums from out studies and experiences, but the visit mainly focused on the positives and the specific needs of the area.
That plume of black smoke is just casual burning garbage
What you can't see in this photo: a Hindu flag and a Muslim flag in the same area
- The three main businesses in Dharavi are pottery, leather, and recycling. This is mainly because the rest of the city doesn't want to do these jobs so they push them an area with a large population willing to work for cheap.
- Recycling Unit: I don't really know how to describe this. There were piles of organized trash everywhere. At one point I saw a huge pile of the same brand and color of razors. The workers had not protection and in some cases no shoes and they worked through the remains of Mumbai, India's metropolis. Thankfully no evidence of child labor was spotted.
Organized chaos
Outside of the plant
- Pottery Area: To get a feel of the workings of industry within Dharavi, we visited a potter whose family had been doing it for generations. He could make a crazy amount of pots in a minute. Meanwhile, I just managed to make one clay lump.
The master
- Then some experts on slum architecture and youth involvement talked to us. But the best part of these meetings was the fact that it was held in a school where the kids were a little too excited to see us.
- That night a miracle happened. We found a Starbucks! It's India's first one, opened just last summer. It tasted like happiness in the form of coffee. We found it while doing some nighttime sightseeing around the Taj Hotel (made famous for its architecture and the 2008 terrorist attack) and the Gateway of India.
Best part of Indian Starbucks: Name spellings
Grace - Kgrac- Karc
Day 3:
- Another morning trip to the Starbucks and Gateway of India (where I met the guide who knew more about US current events than I did)
Taj Hotel
Gateway of India
- More speakers
- Many people decided to stay in Mumbai for the weekend. I decided not to because I am going back in December for a wedding and I wanted to explore Pune for one last weekend. Those explorations never happened...
- Those who were going right back home went to a restaurant.
- Those who went to the restaurant got food poisoning. Weekend plans failed.
Despite the jam packed schedule and food poisoning it was still good to get to the city. Unlike Pune, it was a city in the US sense with tall skyscrapers surrounding a body of water. True, we were definitely restricted to the nicer parts of the city (excluding Dharavi), but I am so pumped to explore it some more next time!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm Kanika from Mumbai-based newspaper DNA. I was wondering if we could feature this post in the newspaper.
Let me know. My mail id is kanika.dna@gmail.com
Thanks.
Very informative blog. We need good environment and healthy food to live a good life.
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