plumber

 
This is where you go in my neighborhood when you need a plumber. Normally all the men are sitting below their signs, but today they must have all been seeking shelter from the rain at the nearest snack shop! I think its funny how in Mumbai all of one's competitors are next to one another. If one doesn't quote a fair price, you just keep going down the lane until someone offers a good deal! 

D.A.R.E.

 
DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) was a program started in the US in 1983 when I was a kid and here in Mumbai, on the other side of the World, over 20 years later is a kid wearing the american branded t-shirt and sniffing glue at the railway station. I don't think this is what the american promoters had in mind as an advert. 

coconut grove

 
Right in the midst of the city I ran across a coconut grove! Well really its by dissenter's house, but I never noticed it before until she showed it to me. I am sure that it won't be there too terribly long as I am sure some developer is just foaming at the mouth for this prime real estate! Just thought it looked pretty cool -kind of like one of those fake backgrounds at the photographers! 

harsh reality of india

 
Passing by Dharavi slums last night I was snapping away when I got this photo. I'm not sure if a day goes by that I don't see scenes like this one. Its always heartbreaking no matter how many times you see the naked, extended bellyed children. And even more heartbreaking when you know they are surrounded by food, clothes and people living in excess but that its just not available to them. 

cricket!!

 
These boys are always playing cricket on the street next to ours and today I decided to finally stop and get a photo. Of course they have to stop the game and all gather around because none of them wants to be left out. Perhaps someday I'll actually get a photo of them PLAYING cricket!! 

rememberance

 

Today is the one year anniversary of the massive flooding in Mumbai last year. Over 1,000 people died within the state and over 400 in Mumbai. Today people were supposed to wear white to show their rememberance - doubt this guy knew about that, but he looked very pensive as well, so i thought it would be good to show that we do remember those lost last year. 

relaxing on the street

Since porches are almost non-existent in Mumbai, you often see people hanging out on the street as if its their own private porch! These little ones were enjoying the cool monsoon air (mid 80s!) and lack of rain. They didn't even seem to notice me standing right in front of them taking this photo, they were so engrossed in their afternoon snack! (sorry its so late, blogger was being funny with me all day...)

vegetable seller

A local vegetable seller getting ready for the evening market in Khar Danda. Some vegetable stalls are open all day, but many of these individual sellers only come out in the mornings and evenings. 

sleepy sunday: 2

Bombay is full of people sleeping and I always enjoy capturing them during naps! This guy is sleeping in his rikshaw. Not the most comfortable place, but at least its a bit more secluded than on the sidewalks! 

its raining, its pouring...

...and its flooding again! Just minor flooding this time though, but still enough to cause traffic jams, wet feet and very dirty pant legs! This little lane gets flooded every single time it rains, one of these days perhaps they will fix the drainage! 

dhobi wallas

The neighborhood dhobi wallas (clothes washers) having a break catching up! In the back is "my" dog blackie who I feed daily. (Good news - blogspot is back online in India! With public pressure mounting, the govt finally made the ISPs unblock sites that weren't specifically directed to be blocked. Basically the ISPs are lazy and when they see one site that is a blogspot site they just block all blogspot rather than figure out how to ban just the one!) 

municipal school

This is what public school looks like in Mumbai. These kids are actually at school before classes begin so they can get extra coaching. Normally a class would have 30-50 students, all sitting on the floors and there may or may not be a teacher present! The situation at public schools in Mumbai is atrocious - teachers don't come consistently, there aren't substitutes, the classrooms are over crowded and often the teachers don't even know the subjects they are trying to teach. 

our "water world"

Walkway to Haji Ali Dargah. During Monsoon season this walkway gets flooded reguarly during high tide. We were there at the beginning of high tide - when we entered the mosque not much of the walkway was wet, but on our way out you can see the water slowly overtaking the bridge. 

bombay burger

I've never noticed this "fast food" joint near Grant Road station before today. they weren't open yet so i couldn't find out what their "burgers" were made of, but I imagine its probably not meat! I'll have to keep my eye out to see if this is a growing chain or a one of a kind! 

more tiffin wallas

Everytime I see the tiffin wallas I get so excited - I have no idea why!! I just think its absolutely amazing how they manage to take care of so many people's meals from one end of this city to the other and never really mess up. Not messing up is an absolute rarity in Mumbai!! haha. I hope this is one tradition that doesn't ever die off. 

sleepy sunday

Nothing better than taking an afternoon sleep. In Mumbai you can see people sleeping all over town, all times of the day, in all situations! This guy was sleeping in front of a busy restaurant, on a busy street! (For anyone who isn't aware, blogspot.com addresses are being banned from some ISP's in India - including mine. I'm able to upload only through picassa. Lets hope it doesn't extend any further in the coming days.) 

lonely fisherman

Today it is quite gloomy out. It keeps threatening to rain, but it just wont! This fisherman was taking the opportunity to search for a fish during low tide. You can't tell from this photo really, but the water is a murky brown and quite polluted.. i hope this man's fish doesn't make it to market for sale - I surely wouldn't want it to end up on my plate!! (Can anyone even see blogger today? i can upload, but can't actually see any blogger pages. Email me if you know what the problem might be!) 

another ganesh

Haven't meant to keep showing Ganesh, but today I happened upon this man drawing a ganesh on the street near Victoria Station and since I have NEVER seen a street artist like this I had to put this as the photo today! 

Ganesh

Ganesh, the remover of obstacles.
Many people have turned to their spiritual centers these past few days to help deal with the tragic loss of life. This Ganesh statue is situated in the sea actually and can only be accessed during low tide! In Mumbai Ganesh seems to be one of the most worshipped Hindu idols and we have one of the most famous Ganesh temples here as well.

 

Salaam Mumbai

Thanks for all the well wishers. We were all shocked to see the news, especially since we ride that line daily and the first blast was at my station. But everyone we know is safe and sound. And Mumbai is completely back to normal today - you honestly wouldn't even know that this happened. I was on the trains at 8:30 am today, the same line that all of these blasts occurred on and there was no indication of what transpired less than 24 hrs before. As everyone says here - the spirit of Bombay keeps it going. (Photo - women's carriage on Western Railway Line) 

annie from marine lines

Today we met this sweet lady near Dadar station. She spoke great English (which is rare for females!) and seemed to understand right away that we actually live in Mumbai and aren't travellers, a welcome change! She is making garlands for people to buy and take to temple or church. We loved how she made the garlands using her feet. 

messy mangroves

There is a large area of mangrove forest in the sea right by my house. When its low tide you can walk out into it and this is how it looks. They have tried clean up drives, but it doesn't seem to help much. 

sunday flowers

Rain or shine, these flower sellers are always at their corner! I just love how they use anything around to create their presentation. 

Day Laborers

These women day laborers are having a break. You often see women doing hard manual labor along the roadsides and in construction areas. The type of sari these women have on is specific to Maharastra (the state that Mumbai is in) - it is 9 meters in length, rather than the normal 6 meters. It also is tied very differently - through the legs and up the rear. 

hanging tree

I saw this cool tree while out walking (another rainless day!). I have no idea what kind it is, what these big bushels of pea sized balls are or whether it is native to India only. We tried to ask if the people who's yard this was in knew anything about it, but they didn't understand us or had no clue either! 

indian princess

Dissenter and I were out for a walk today and happened upon this pretty little statue sitting on the side of the road. One man's trash is another's treasure! (and thankfully NO rain today!)