August 16,
2013: Today,
Tom, Emily, James and I toured Mumbai.
· Mani Bhavan:
Our first stop was to Mani Bhavan, where Mahatma Gandhi once lived. Mani Bhavan is a simple, two-story building,
which is now a museum, library and research center depicting Gandhi's life and
struggles for equality for all.
For me, the most memorable aspect of Mani Bhavan
was James’ remarkable level of interest and engagement. After
walking around for a while and learning about Gandhi’s efforts with non-violent
civil disobedience, James made the very appropriate parallel between Gandhi and
Martin Luther King Jr. He also commented
that he learned a lot while at Mani Bhavan; some of the things he learned included:
(1) that Gandhi spent 21 years working in South Africa before returning to
India and beginning his work there (I actually didn’t know this either!); (2)
Mahatma is a term of respect or revere and not Gandhi’s name; and (3) Gandhi
was assassinated, bowed to his assassin, and was later cremated in Delhi where
a memorial remains today.
Mani Bhavan is not to be missed.
· Terrorist Attacks
In 2008 in Mumbai, there
were twelve coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across the city by members
of a Pakistani-based militant organization.
The terrorists attacked at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal, The Oberoi, The
Taj Mahal Palace, Leopold Café, Cama Hospital, and the Nariman House Jewish
Community Center.
The terrorist attack happed immediately
preceding my first trip to Shanti Bhavan, making it remarkable in my mind.
While in Mumbai, we got to see the Oberoi,
Trident and the train station where the attacks occurred. Even after all this time had elapsed, you
could still see remnants of the damage inflicted. Recalling the horrific attacks and seeing the
aftermath of those attacks is just another reminder of how precious life is.
·
Mumbai’s Laundry
While Mumbai has become the financial center and Bollywood (aka
Hollywood) of India, it has nevertheless retained several of the traditional
practices, like the largest hand-laundry site in the world, the dabba wallas
delivery service, and the historic fishing villages.
In Mumbai, more than 5,000 men and women work at one laundry facility
where they wash and iron clothes by hand 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, earning
barely enough to survive. I have never
seen anything of this scale and magnitude – it was incredible.
Dabba Wallas:
While we did not go see the dabba wallas, our tour guide told us
about them. Everyday in Mumbai, some
5,000 deliverymen called dabba wallas hand deliver 200,000 hot meals to people
across the city. It’s an intricate network that requires precise timing and
numerous handoffs from courier-to-courier. The century-old service is a staple for
the city's office workers and yet, the service still relies on an archaic
system of symbols rather than written word to delineate food choice, as well as
directions for the delivery.
· Mumbai’s Fishing Village:
While sightseeing in Mumbai, we visited a traditional fishing village,
which existed approximately 2000 years ago when Mumbai was just an archipelago
of seven islands. The fishing village
exists untouched since then and is still inhabited by the same tribal fishing
people, the Koli fisherman. In the
fishing village, life goes on in its traditional way with the men and women working
together to catch, sort, dry and sell the fish.
As you walk down the narrow roads, the fragrance of the catch of the day
emanates. Women call out, offering
prawns or other freshly caught fish.
Children run about, laughing and smiling. The energy is palpable.
Marine Drive:
Bordering
the Arabian Sea, this famous road is a popular spot in Mumbai for watching
sunsets or for simply hanging out.
Marine Drive is
full
of people at all hours of the day; it is full of vacationers leisurely walking
about, businessmen hustling to and fro, joggers running along the path, men and
women sipping Masala Chai, and young lovers enjoying the fresh sea breeze.
And
at night, Marine Drive comes alive with lights.
· Morimoto’s Wasabi
On our last night in India, we dined at Wasabi by Iron Chef Morimoto. Our Indian waiter, named John, explained to
us that the ingredients used in the restaurant, including seafood and the
wasabi are specially flown down from Japan. While grating fresh Wasabi for us tableside,
he explained that authentic Wasabi is lighter green in color, less pasty, and
made of horseradish that grows under water only in Japan; whereas, most of the
wasabi you see in restaurants is made of a combination of wasabi paste and
mustard. He encouraged us to try both
the authentic and imitation wasabi. We
definitely noted that the fresh wasabi was less pungent than the imitation
wasabi we are accustomed to in most U.S. restaurants.
Our waiter also encouraged us to try some of the
signature dishes, which we did. These
dishes included white fish carpaccio, salmon tacos, and black cod miso.
Aside from the delicious food, the other notable
thing about this dining experience is the view, stretching seamlessly over the
Gateway of India. We were given the best
table in the restaurant, which had a perfectly unobstructed view. All-in-all, it was a lovely conclusion to a
fabulous 2 weeks in India.
Final Thoughts:
This
is a bit cheesy, but nevertheless true.
As
I finish writing my travel journal from our adventures in India, the lyrics
from Blake Shelton’s “God Gave me you” keep coming to mind.
The
lyrics say, “On my own I'm only half of what I could be. I can't do without you. We are stitched together and what love has
tethered, I pray we never undo. ‘Cause
God gave me you for the ups and downs.”
On
my own, I have enjoyed India time and time again. However, on my own, “I’m only
half of what I [can] be.” This most
recent trip to India, accompanied by Tom, Emily and James was all the more
special because I was there, sharing the
“ups and downs” of traveling and a place I cherish with people I love.
Thank
you again to Tom, Emily and James for sharing this with me.
