Local graffiti seems to be well in tune to the special days of the calender. Today the signs all labeled with a text in French:
But what on earth happened to google? Did they get so exhillarated by Valentines that they managed to lose their L. Or is this a sign? Oh, well Happy Valentine’s Googe…
Not really sure that it is possible to wrap up my thoughts about Mumbai but since there was no opportunity to continue blogging while down there the whole story seems a bit unfinished. So there is a need for a closing.
Friday was conference day so not much else happened on that day besides the conference. My keynote went well and there were many interesting people to talk and listen to during the rest of the day.
Saturday was group tourism day we spent the day around town enjoying the sights and sounds. The others even managed to go to a Bollywood movie that night but my guilty conscious made me stay at the hotel to do some much-neglected work.
On Sunday all the others took a day trip to the city of Pune but I felt there was too much I had not seen. In addition to this I really needed to stretch my legs rather than sit in a car all day. So I decided to explore much more of the city. My plan was to travel to a far point from the hotel and basically wind my way back through the more interesting streets I could find. The result was a great seven-hour walk through the city.
The trip started at the Hindu Mahalaxmi Temple complex and the Muslim shrine of Haji Ali Darga. The latter is out in the water and is reached by walking across a causeway the white shrine seems to float in the water. It is very impressive.
From there I just started walking. Following no real plan except for generally moving in the direction that would eventually lead me back to the hotel. The only point on the way I wanted to reach was a series of markets.
Finding the markets was a bit of a challenge. The city is not mapped out on a grid pattern. This makes the city more unpredictable and exciting, but it also makes navigation more difficult since the maps that I carried seemed not necessarily to represent the reality of the physical space. This was made more confusing by the fact that many roads carry both colonial names and post-colonial names. In addition to this many of the roads and places are known not by formal names but rather by accepted nicknames.
Eventually I began to get the impression that Mumbai was a limitless space. It seemed to expand limitlessly. I donâ??t mean that the outer edges were moving further from the center (which they also are) what I mean is that around every corner was a new surprise a new microcosm to be discovered.
I used to think that Rushdieâ??s magical realism when depicting this city was the result of excellent prose, an admiration for South American writers and an active imagination but after walking around Mumbai I get the feeling that the only way to capture this city on paper is to resort to magical realism. It is the only realism that can do credit to the city.
The markets came and went, the city continued with every corner: new sights, new characters, new experiences. The American shouting that someone stole his wallet, the salesperson who cursed me when I would not buy (the one and only such experience), three men pushing and pulling a cart had to stop to get a cow to move out of the way, markets with imaginable and unimaginable merchandise, the European hippie with dreadlocks and a child on his shoulders having an argument with his East Asian women â?? as I pass the hippie shouts angrily: the problem with you is that you need more discipline.
What can be said about a city which never ends but is a universe unto itself, how is it to be defined? To me there is no way to describe the city but its hallmarks are the endlessness and the life â?? the unpredictability and scope.
Home at last with bags unpacked and the first working day over Mumbai has left many impressions. From the memories to the scent of mothballs which has stuck to my backpackâ?¦
Not much more can be said that will capture the city. There are no pictures with this final post, instead all the pictures are online here.
It’s election time in the local Mumbai elections and among the people I have spoken to the general feeling is that politicians lie and cheat to get into power and then once in they ignore all the election promises that they made. Sounds familiar…
Actually outside the media and bills posted on walls the actual election has been very quite. Considering that Mumbai has a population of over 12 million you would have expected more action. My media coverage has been thin, mainly the overly positive (to almost everything) Times of India which is basically pushing people to go and vote – even if they leave a blank vote. Mainly it seems to be local celebrities talking about the importance of democratic participation.
There is not much political graffiti mainly handbills but there is an exception and that is the blue paint of which is seen in a few places
But the most intimidating seems to be some of the ads which attempt to bully the voters into choosing their party…
Just a quick post with some of the pictures I took during the trip to Kolaba Fort yesterday…
The tide was out so we could walk across the sands to the fort.
Inside the fort there was a beautiful temple here is a small detail
On our way back to the ferry the sun was setting over the beach
Finally we arrived back in at the Gateway to India
Today we got a small taste of the life of a Mumbai commuter. Our host wanted us to experience more of India so he asked us if we would like to try public transportation â?? and we all were delighted. Actually this is not the real commute since most people are struggling on overfull trains to get into Mumbai while we were going out. In addition to this we were traveling first class (which means we did not have bare wooden seats). The best view was hanging out of the door so I struggled to maintain this position. It was a very nice experience.
We started by taking the buss to the station, then we seemed to be moving upstream against an almost constant flow of people â?? this was even worse than London rush hour. Buying the tickets and finding the platform was easy (because we had a guide).
The trains are full â?? in particular the way into Mumbai. People ride in overfull carriages, hanging out of the doors and even on the roof of the trains.
The ride to Mankhurd was a pleasant one with lots of new impressions. In particular we noticed on the walk from the station that people are less use to tourists and more interested and curious about strangers.
Since yesterday was spent sitting in an indoor meeting between nine-eight (including transport) today I decided to skip breakfast for a walk. Even though it is Sunday we will have a full days meeting so the walk was necessary â?? both to see more of Mumbai and to get some exercise.
The on the walk I came across this â??Dead Slowâ?? sign with a Mumbai crow perched on it.
this was followed by the elegant barbershop â?? no customers yet but the chairs are very elegant
Parking is a problem in all cities. The question of how to deal with them is usually quite complex. Around the corner from the hotel they have hit upon a novel solution to the parking problem â?? itâ??s close to vandalism butâ?¦
Since yesterday was spent mainly indoors, no real pictures of interest can be provided. Neither have I experienced anything particularly fascinating about India. I did manage to catch two scenes during the buss ride to the meeting.
The first is another balcony scene. The balconies of Mumbai are used in a more efficient way than in European countries, they are also a lot more colorful.
The second is a fleet of moped cabs (donâ??t know the official name), these small almost brittle constructions weave through traffic with a contempt of danger which few can muster. Also look at the digital display. Some traffic lights in Mumbai have a digital countdown until the lights turn green. But I have also noted that most vehicles tend to start rolling forward 5 seconds before the time â?? a habit which not only defies the purpose but also threatens traffic.
The day was a long one and it is difficult to choose pictures which show something of the city. The first is the fire-fighting readiness at the petrol station on our road. The area is both residential and highly trafficked.
The second is a ordinary block of flats -washing hanging to dry adds color and an exotic flavor in comparison with the Nokia sign below.
The third is the sign at a restaurant notifying that no alcohol is served on this day. Today was the day of independence and to avoid any risks of public drunkenness – no alcohol may be served.
The fourth is a night image of a taxi rushing by. The light and movement is what Mumbai seems to be all about…
Naturally I cannot post them all but here are three of my impressions from the first day in Mumbai. The first is a shrine in a shop selling mobile telephones – the contrast seems to me to be typical India. Only been here one day so I don’t know if I should be using words like typical – yet.
The second is a street scene full of life and color.
The third is the barbershop on the pavement. It is so unusual that I almost feel like having a shave there…
What a silly question really! What is a train station? But at the same time the purpose of the station has become different to the one which was intended. The vogue for some time now is that places should be exciting meeting places instead of functional and streamlined.
Therefore to enable this the main hall of the Stockholm train station was turned into a tennis court a few weeks ago. On several occasions the stations at both Stockholm and Göteborg have been turned into virtual conference and exhibition halls. On other times the stations have been used by talk show hosts and as locations for fashion shows.
Yesterday in Stockholm there was a decorative piece intended to signify that the station was more than a station. It was a floating dinner table.
The problem with all this is that the events occur at the expense of function. I don’t want to be met, challenged, entertained, amused, educated, dined or sold – I just want to catch a train! In their haste to renew themselves the train station is forgetting that it is basically a function to facilitate mass transportation.