Sunrise in the City...

Who is ready for a visit?

India is quickly becoming home and the norm.  Things that once seemed outlandish or extraordinary or surprising are now part and parcel of everyday living.  The adjustment of moving from something that seems foreign to something that feels familiar takes time, patience, and habitual re-introductions: you see the four-year old child begging on the street, tapping on your door window, and your heart cringes.  It is horrific.  You don't understand why in the world children are put up to such daunting tasks, what makes life so cruel, and how these little guys are able to navigate between droves of moving traffic including 'dinosaur' buses, sacred cows, teenage-sped motorcycles, out of control rickshaws, and in-a-hurry cars. 

Smog is Bad, But the Sunsets are Beautiful!

You wonder how the poverty and wealth can meld and intersect and why some people spend $75 USD on a meal at the Taj while others barely get by on 50 rupees a day (85 cents).  You try to get over the small sights that appall you, like when you hear rural cancer patients as young as three are going through chemo treatments in the city but at night must sleep on fecal-infested streets in slum conditions because there is often not enough housing for a sanitary move to health.  They don't even have a chance.

A burgeoning seed pod on the side of a dusty road: a life metaphor?

And then you begin to think about all of the wonderful things that strike you about India:

the artwork painted across "goods carrier" trucks,

the inner sanctum of Hindu temples permeating incense and chants from the Upanishads,

the love of all things Bollywood in its sheer... Bollywoodness,

the way people are so quick to smile and are open to conversation,

the amazing wreaths, stringed necklaces, and bunches of flowers that are carefully tended to on the side of the road,
 the bright lights and loud celebrations at elaborately decorated weddings, the piercing sounds of traditional music which penetrate into your heartbeat, the food and the spices and all of the amazing ancient sites....

A sign of the times

I think I am keen on embracing the whole of India--but I must first become comfortable within the confines of Mumbai.  It is not the place that pictures and films always show, not the images of what is strewn about National Geographic of holy Ganges water and waves and waves of brightly colored saris.  It is a city.  A loud city.  A city of business and bustle and grime.  A city with beautiful restaurants and amazing openings, art galleries, fashion shows, and cinema.  It is a city where nearly half of its residents live in slums or on the street. 
  
It is, for the moment,  my home.

Graffiti-laced wall outside of Bandra Kurla