Balmy, Breathtaking Bandra: Summer Heat Peak

I think I can, I think I can...slowly chugging up the hill.

Did I mention that A/C is magic/wonderful/amazing/miraculous?  Because it is.   

I realize I am extremely fortunate to have access to unnaturally cooled temperatures and humidifiers that purify the inside air.  There is enough humidity that four separate gallon-sized water tanks fill up and must be emptied once a day from the sucked up water captured within the balmy air in our building apartment.  Once the humidity lessens, the air cools quickly.  

 I suppose that living in Charleston, South Carolina prior to moving here was excellent prep for humid summers.  Right now the weather in Mumbai is perfect, low 80s, but will continue to steadily rise and peak until we hit the height of monsoon season in mid-summer, when the clouds turn gray and rain emerges like stray packages plummeting from the sky. 

Pink and Purty ; )

Flooding, I have heard, is common between June to September throughout Mumbai, but surface streets are generally slanted so they can for the most part still be driven on through the use of a dryer, narrowed entryway.  [Note to reader: Oh, so if you are going to visit, better not plan for monsoon season.]  October to May, however, is goodly warm weather, with the height of Mumbai’s beauty in January and February.  The flowers now, however, are blossoming colorfully, and walking around the city with the slight bit of heat is entirely manageable if you are a warm-weather spirited sort.  

Walking about on a warm, sticky day with sounds of cars and bugs buzzing through my ears.

 I, for one, chose to do my dissertation research in Ghana, West Africa during the winter season while living in New York: I will do nearly anything to re-arrange my schedule to avoid the bite of Father Winter.  Yes.  So for me, in this moment, the temperature is perfect.  Ghana, comparatively, takes about two weeks to become adjusted to the heat index, accompanied by frequent realizations, upon finding a sporadic mirror, that sweat dropules permeate and park themselves above the lip, on the back, under the arms, and down the legs.  You may be thinking, hmm, that sounds hot, but really you get used to it after a few short weeks, and then sitting in the shade it grows quite 

comfortable.  

 Hot weather makes cold drinks taste all the sweeter, and the power of ice holds ultimate prestige within my book.  My love of ice is a particular American-bred oddity, one that I’ve found, when traveling throughout Europe, is U.S. specific.  (When you ask for ice in Paris, they give you two bitty cubes to temper a tepid soda.  I on the other hand pour my ice to the cup’s brim and then listen to the crackle of Diet Coke—a strange addiction!— as the ice sharply breaks.)  When I hear the loud pop of the ice melding with drink, I know I have done well in preparing my frosty liquid for consumption.  Ah, ice.  Perhaps I should move on to more important things, no?    

 

Sun-bleached laundry, air conditioners, and breeze-seeking windows.

An idea of the heat index, if you are thinking of traveling to Mumbai: 

Year-round weather ranges from about 16 to 33 degrees Celcius (or 60 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit): January is the coolest and May is the warmest, whereas July is temperate but is by far the wettest.

Here's a scale in case (like me) you 

forgot how to do the conversion rate 

from Fahrenheit to Celcius:

16 degrees Celsius is 60.8 Fahrenheit

19 degrees Celsius is 66.2 Fahrenheit

21 degrees Celsius is 69.8 Fahrenheit

22 degrees Celsius is 71.6 Fahrenheit

23 degrees Celsius is 73.4 Fahrenheit

24 degrees Celsius is 75.2 Fahrenheit

25 degrees Celsius is 77 Fahrenheit

27 degrees Celsius is 80.6 Fahrenheit

28 degrees Celsius is 82.4 Fahrenheit

30 degrees Celsius is 86 Fahrenheit

31 degrees Celsius is 87.8 Fahrenheit

32 degrees Celsius is 89.6 Fahrenheit

33 degrees Celsius is 91.4 Fahrenheit

38 degrees Celsius is 100.4 Fahrenheit

40 degrees Celsius is 104 Fahrenheit

            So, do you think you will be up for a visit? 

And are you ready to handle the magical, marvelous heat?!?

Ganesh, The Hindu God of Possibilities

Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god of possibilities

This is Ganesh.  Ganesh (or Ganesha) is the Hindu elephant god of infinite change, ultimate compassion, and the remover of obstacles.  Ganesh in his many forms is displayed throughout the city, be it in marble, plaster, bronze, wood, concrete, plastic, paper, or sticker form.  Ganesh is the Hindu god of Mumbai, celebrated and venerated as the maker and breaker of the city, the holder of secrets, the speaker of truths, the power to make things happen-- Ganesh, multi-handed and many-versed, is the spiritual embodiment to Hinduism of power, beauty, and miracle, holding out possibilities to rich and poor alike to be better, stand taller, and become the person they so desire to be.  Every year, giant depictions of a manifest Ganesh are paraded in procession throughout the city during the Vinayaka Chaturthi festival, a reminder of stability in the sea of frenetic urban life.

Offerings, meager and grand, are prevalent throughout the city

The city of Mumbai is teaming with multiple expressions of religiosity.  From the Portuguese influences of Catholicism in the 16th century to long-held Parsi (Zoroastrian) practices and funeral pyres, the cityscape is a melting pot of Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi, and Buddhist archetypes.  As a cosmopolitan city Mumbai is home to what can be described as the amalgamation and summation of the collective world religions: from alternative healing methods, Ayurvedic  life principles, Kundalini energy sessions, hatha and asana yoga practices, meditative chants and singing, Muslim calls to prayer, the prayers of puja and the rosary--all echo and embellish the sounds and embodiment of the city collective.  Mumbai, like any commercial city, is a city of doing.  Unlike religious Hindu centers of the southern Indian regions, this central-western city is all about practicality: the ends justify the means, capitalism is king, and hospitality is key to successful, flourishing business.

An offering of marigolds embellishes this car

Prayer here does not mean that you are separated from the masses, a hermit in seclusion and sequestered from daily realities.  Being a religious practitioner here implies the embodiment of life itself: to breathe, speak, and engage the surroundings with vigor and surety.  To celebrate in community.  To pray for personal well-being.  To dream of familial betterment.  It is a hope, a prayer, a call, to be something better, to do something more, to stand for something that will last into future generations and life cycles.  Rather than separating religion from life, religion is enmeshed within the messiest, grittiest, and grandest of scenarios: it is to be alive and engaged with all that is around you. 

Peppers can be used to honor certain deities or to ward off ill-intentioned onlookers

 
Every pocket, crevice, and corner has surprising elements of devotion and attentive care.  Across from a pile of trash can be a food offering to a spirit, a ribbon wrapped around a tree trunk, an offering in a flower branch, a reminder of something, somewhere, that is sacred...

But, and this is a big but--
this reverence is not separate (or sacrosanct) in a way that delimits or isolates life practices from the day to day grind.  Sacred and mundane, profound and preposterous, pragmatic and monumental all combine in a way that I can only describe as melodious, intersecting harmony:
                                          congruous, multifarious, and utterly, tangibly real.

Market vendors in the early morning: the fresh vegetables look mouth-watering!

                                                      Thanks for reading!  Much love, c.

Trees, Flora, & Fauna: Getting to the Root of Things

Poe's Raven in Paradise

I love walking around Bandra to see what type of trees, flowers, birds, and critters abound.  Bandra is a Mumbai district to the north of the major hustle and bustle of Mumbai's city-center.  While it is not overcrowded, it is still active and full of energy as a vital living-working neighborhood.

From budding, fragrant flowers in hues of red, fuschia, gold, and white to giant weeping leaves lazing the day away, the plants in the Bandra area give life and vibrancy to the ambling streets, juxtaposed with the man-made lines of city buildings and market stalls.  The brightness and colorful character of the plant life is recognizable throughout the area and is honored for its beauty, majesty, and the giving of shade to sun-filled streets. 

The soft simplicity of a drooping flower on a balmy day.

Getting to the root of things...

                                                
                                                 Intertwined and twisty,
                       the roots connect, interweave,
         envelop and grab hold of each other, wrapping around each branching neighbor,
                                weaving from one side of the street
                                                                                      to the next
                                                                        like a choreographed polyphonic dance.


Buildings, walls, and street lights often adapt to and are built around spectacular rooted trees that were here well before human construction exploded across the city.  Because of this, it is not uncommon to see roots coming out of walls, or visible from built-in peepholes, or trees changing the shape of a side street or entryway.  
 

An offering is placed within the opening of a rooted wall.

An embellished palm that reminds me of a hula girl

This flowering tree towered a stream of flowers over forty feet tall.

   d                                                                  
The landscape here constantly amazes me.  Piles of trash and tiny hovels are set against the backdrop of grand palazzos and ancient roots, trees, and blossoming flowers.  The disparity and seeming paradox--the conversation between the rich and poor-- is a necessary part of daily interfacing reality.

Envisioning the Juxtaposition: Poverty Amidst Wealth

The simultaneous combination of what is hard and what is beautiful, who suffers and strives and who ultimately succeeds, 

is intermeshed and interwoven like the rooted trees scattered across the Bandra cityscape. 

   I will leave you with this final tree-consumed picture...

 and wishes that you may have a magical, lovely day.

Good morning, world!

The Land Of Speaking Doors: India Alive.

This door strikes me as regal and magnificent: fit for a king!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking about the city is filled with a trove of architectural feats, creative structural treasures, and intricate aesthetic details that show pride in work, meticulous craftsmanship, and the variegated personalities of buildings and  monuments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday morning I spent a few hours walking around town, ambling along side streets, and trolleying about... with the goal of finding something spectacular among silent moments of ordinary life.  There are so many pockets of breathtaking beauty...little pieces of heaven if you take the time and allow for the land to breathe.  

 

 

                                  Perpendicular lines cower in front of these architectural feats! 

Scalloped edging, lotus dome, iron web window: check, check, and check.  The tree enveloping the picture on the left looks like a voluptuous, dancing woman greeting the sky. 

 

Purple door: super check.  Why, you may say?  Pourquoi pas, I say. (Or, Why in the world not?!)  I love the bright colors that surround such seemingly mundane things.

The Kingly door in its corrugated iron zebra stripe surroundings....

The Talking Door: Mano-a-mano (Read: That's what she said!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So glad you are able to share this journey with me!  Please feel free to comment, join the blog site follower group, or email me directly about anything you would like to know more about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Namaste!

         

Jet Lag, Circadian Rhythms, & Mumbai Traffic

A leisurely stroll about Bandra, Mumbai

26 March 2012

Here I am, at 1:50 in the morning, wide awake and in a mass strike of hunger consuming what I must terribly admit is cold, unsalted pasta.  Needless to say, I have yet to adjust to the nine-hour time difference (EST).  In California, where I grew up, it is 12 hours earlier: while it is early morning on Monday in India, it is mid-afternoon on Venice Beach.  Please keep this in mind if you decide to call me and er-hum, it is three o’clock in the morning.  Not that it would really matter now, as I am up, full of vigor (or vinegar?!), and ready to start the day.  I even did a little dance moving my green tea with milk and sugar for breakfast from the heated kitchen to the fanned and cooled back-room office…

Later: Today I was up and working from midnight to 9 pm.  So, so tired.  I am starting to see flurries of color around me, because my tired self is in sensory overload.  Must-get-sleep!  How long will it take for my body to re-adjust its circadian rhythm to the new time and waking hours?  My hope, surely, is soon.

28 March 2012

It is Wednesday morning in India at 5:26 am and I have already been up for an hour.  What does that say about my sleeping habits?  I don’t know, really, but at least the last two nights I have actually slept through ‘til (incredibly early) morning, rather than waking up every two hours convinced that it is break-the-fast time.  Ah, morning.  How coffee tastes so sweet!

The Bagel Store, Pali Hill

Throughout Mumbai, most local stores do not open until 10 am.  The bagel shop, which in America generally has store hours from 5:30 am to 4 pm, here runs business from 9 am to 10:30 at night.  (Yes there are bagels!)  Conversely, restaurants for the most part begin serving dinner around 7 pm, and most Indians consume the evening meal well after dark.  (Not many early bird specials, here!)  The morning hours are great for walking around because the city is quieter.  The neighborhood literally wakes up around 9 or 10 in the morning.  When we’ve walked our dogs at 7, there are only a handful of people awake and on the streets, usually including dog walkers, joggers, and the night-watch security guards surrounding most housing complexes, some cars, and shopping sectors. 

Morning and evening joggers run in less crowded areas throughout the city.

Noises in the morning are muted, and the rise of cacophonous birds calling each other to wake begins around 5:30 am, reaching its staccato crescendo at 7:30 am.  Most people’s work hours here are from 10-7, or 10-9, which is frankly more up my speed for getting work done.  For Indians working at call centers catering to US times, the work day ends at 3 am!  (Just remember that next time you get frustrated on an international helpdesk call—people here have to change their entire living schedule to cater to American needs.)  Nevertheless, driving to work in earlier hours, say before 7:30 am, means that rush-hour traffic is missed and so there is less road frenzy generally. 

In larger crowded areas, imagine an 8-lane road without designated painted lanes or traffic signals that are religiously followed.  Theoretically, four lanes of traffic going east should seamlessly roam past the four lanes of traffic moving west on the paved road’s other side.  In reality, however, if more cars at the moment are moving to the right, six of the lanes will literally become the right-of-way, until, 30 seconds later, the left side has more oncoming traffic, hence encouraging the car merging dance where three lanes of (unmarked) traffic compete for status on who goes first and in what direction.  In America, this would be equivalent to several lanes of traffic on the freeway suddenly turning around and trying to move in the opposite direction, despite cars in their lanes furiously moving directly toward them.  Uh-hmm.  The name to this driving game is thus, swerve swerve swerve and hold your nerve nerve nerve!

City buses and local transport are often creatively painted and individualized based on personal preferences, auspicious colors, and localized symbology.

So far in Mumbai, I have walked about the surrounding neighborhood three times during the day and twice throughout the evening until 9 or 10 pm.  I must say that I prefer the morning time for walking and exploring, hands down.  By evening the chaos of bright lights, swishing and honking cars, tired drivers, rushed passengers, and eager-to-sell vendors is less than favorable for a long, leisurely walk.  The later it becomes in the afternoon to early evening, the more the nightlife and general city loudness begins to come to life.  While I enjoy the hustle and bustle of a flourishing city, 22 million people is, well, a lot of people.  Having a bit of quietness here is quite the luxury, one that, I am thankful, is provided to us in our neighborhood haven the majority of the time.  Other American housing arrangements appear to be in the thick of things.  We are, comparatively, a few blocks walking from restaurants and crowded streets, making it easier to slowly ease into the joyful mayhem of vendors, street hawkers, traffic, loiterers, street sleepers, blaring radios and buzzing rickshaws.  The birds’ chirping squeaks and squawks, happy little songs, are much to my preference for a natural alarm.  Let us give thanks… and chirps. 

Beautiful Bandra, Mumbai: Day 1 India

Bikes and Drying Fabrics on the Boardwalk at Sunrise

                                                     Bandra West, Mumbai, India: 

                                                                                   24 March 2012

Early Bird Special: Morning Walk at Bandra West Boardwalk

The sounds of cooing birds wake me from my sleep.  Their cackling avian banter pervades every cell of my being as I breathe in a fresh day after my first full night of sleep on India’s sacred soil.  The rhythms of the morning sun, soon to rise, and the light wind brushing across my face warmly reminds me that I am in a new country, a new land, a new universe.  My heart skips a beat—I am elated, dazzled, charmed by Mumbai’s intoxicating fervor.  

Marigolds & Bells Greeting Onlookers at an Entranceway, Bandra West, Mumbai

The smell of fresh mangoes, the sounds of honking rickshaws, the stop and go of painted trucks, the passing by of women and children, the cool marble beneath my feet, the churn of our water distiller grinding fresh drink, the muddled whisper of swiftly moving fans, the push and pull of the keyboard as it pounces words upon the page… life is full of the noisy emanations inviting me to a world which will now be considered home.  Graciously, I call the voices of the ancestors,  the collective of India’s spiritual heritage: India will speak, if I am only willing to listen.  As the Ewe in Ghana’s Volta region say, “My ears have been opened, kra.”  I only need to step outside to be immersed within the chaotic symphony of urban life in the tiny city within the city upon a hill in Bandra West, Mumbai’s tree-lined neighborhood teaming with the grit of life.  The town is filled with love, ingenuity, and perhaps even an artisanal of magic!  

Rickshaw Heaven! (Or, a way to get from here to there).

                                                     We are here, finally.  And so the journey begins…

India India India! Seven Days 'Til Departure

                     In exactly one week I will be getting on a plane and leaving my old life behind. 

New life, New Adventure

In eight short days I will be sleeping in my new home in India exposed to a new life, culture, language, and experience.  After a quick visit to California and a short jaunt down south to see family, my days in DC are limited... only three full days left! 

Time moves so quickly when there are a million things to get done.  So many tasks, chores, and shopping trips compile and build upon one another until moments of peace and quiet in preparation for departure are few and far between.  I know today is close to our US departure because I am selling my car, starting my anti-malarials, and packing the final suitcase that will be with me on the plane.  Days are becoming longer and more full with last minute gatherings, lists of to-dos, and final farewells from friends and family.  I have left the United States previously for months at a time, but this is the first time in my life that I will be outside of US borders for two years straight.  Needless to say, I am excited/nervous/happy/curious/elated that we are given such a fantastic opportunity to see and experience the world.

Charleston, SC sunset: the wind will take you with her...

Wish me luck and happy travels, if you like : ).

The next post will be from Mumbai! 

All good thoughts,
Christi