We spent one more day in Mumbai with N's sister and co.
We took a tour of the city.
We went to some gardens in the middle of the city.
Saw some beaches surrounding the city.
We took, a civil engineering wonder, this massive bridges from the mainland to an off island. Were we went and checked out some of the Bollywood Stars homes. We were surprised by how unimpressive and unguarded most of them were.
We went to a Jane Temple.
And we went to the Taj Mahal Hotel where there were terrorist attacks in 2008. President Obama stayed there on his visit to India. It’s apparently “the hotel” to go to if you’re a hotshot coming to India. We had some very expensive coffee’s there (even by at home standards).
We saw where they do mass hand-was laundry. That was quite impressive.
We checked out the slum that “Slumdog Millionaire” was filmed in, Dharavi Slum. Although we could, unfortunately, not go into it. We may try again, on our way home we leave through Mumbai. A few interesting notes paraphrased out of the Lonely Planet (793). Sixty percent of Mumbai’s population lives in shanty towns or slums. Dharvi is the largest slum in the country. Though it may look a devastating mess from the outside inside life is surprisingly “normal.” Dwellers pay rent and most houses have kitchens and electricity. You can see satellite dishes on many of the structures. Building materials ranger from flimsy corrugated-iron to more permanent concrete. And this I found really interesting-many of these families have lived here for generations even if they work white-collar jobs they choose to stay. It’s the neighborhood they grew up in. I always find this kind of information really fascinating. As a foreigner from the outside, something can look so terrible and upsetting. The reality is that people survive, live and enjoy life in wildly diverse circumstances.
According to the LP Mumbiakers had mixed feelings about the stereotypes expressed by the hit movie. And understandably so if this was your home, and you felt safe and at peace here. I wouldn’t want my neighborhood portrayed as a pit of despair to the rest of the world, either. At the same time it’s upsetting to walk along the street and see a girl who is clearly still a teenager trying to quite the baby on her hip. And watching her sooth him by picking up a dirty plastic bag off the street and giving it to him to suck on.
I think this is why it is important to travel. It is one thing to watch a stirring movie. It’s another thing to interact and witness first hand real lives of people. Witnessing poverty like this first hand is really upsetting. We continue to struggle with how not only to respond but how to cope. It makes you want to have nothing. It makes you want not live where you do with the luxuries you have. It make you feel guilty to your very core. Sick to your stomached that you happened to be dealt the hand of cards you got, because they didn’t.
We had dinner all together on the hotel roof top, overlooking the city, that night. It was great to get to catch up with our sister over these past two days. To chat and to laugh. N's sister hates sad ‘good byes’. She reminded us that, like this trip, you never know when or where you’ll get the chance to connect with loved ones. So instead of being sad at our parting I look forward to our next exciting meeting abroad.
It was so wonderful to be together. And as always hard to say good bye.
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