Day 5 of Ganesh Festivities

 
Today is the 5th day, one of the days when the ganesh idols are taken and submerged in water (the sea if its near by). This ganesh will be on display until the 11th day (the last) before being taken to the sea. The guys who "guard" this mandal are very sweet and get so excited each time I drop by for a visit. They shooed everyone out of the way so I could get a photo without people in it! 

Mid week Winner - Ganesh

 
This is my favorite one so far this year. Its a bit smaller than other ones, but its unique and thats a rarity! I just love the life like feet on Ganesh and the peacock with real feathers behind. 

Day 3 - same as last year

 
This Ganesh is another one from Ambedkar Road and its very similar to last year's ganesh. I was hoping for something more spectacular this year since last years was so beautiful. Its still beautiful this year, but the only difference is the background. I passed by a few different looking ones today, I will try to get them before they are submerged! 

Day 2 - Ambedkar Road Ganesh

 
Here is another one.. This one is also in my neighborhood, just down the street from the one shown yesterday. 

Day 1 - Union Park Ganesh

 
Get ready for 10 days of Ganpati! Some of you might get sick of seeing these, but this is one of my favorite holidays, so I at least will enjoy showing you all of the different Ganpati Mandals around town. This is the one directly across the street from my house. I am subjected to loud music from 9 a.m. - 12 a.m. daily! 

Last of Juhu Beach

 
A woman bargaining and trying to sell her Rajasthani purses. I thought they only hassled foreigners, but this lady didn't even mess with us, she went straight to the rich looking Indian couples on the beach - and she walked away selling a purse too! 

a beach for ALL locals

 
The great thing about this beach is that you will always find people from every strata of society here. Even among the demolished buildings people still come out and enjoy a day sitting by the water. I thought this couple was cute and really showed the joy people experience at the beach. Glad to see that even though it will change with "progress" that some things will always stay the same. 

monkeys at Juhu Beach

Another annoyance at the beach - the dancing monkeys. The keepers of the monkeys walk them around trying to get people to pay for the dance. I'm personally scared of these monkeys - they are always so small and scary looking. Even with the demolitions they are still cruising on the beach.

flute seller at juhu beach

These guys are all over the beach, playing the flutes to attract buyers. It creates a nice sound with the ocean waves, the laughter and of course for us foriegners the sound of beggar children tugging at your sleeves.

the pigeons

Food sellers and locals having a good time on Juhu Beach. Thankfully thes things still exist!

Beautification of Juhu Beach

 
The demolitions began this weekend at Juhu Beach as part of a beautification drive. There used to be lots of food stalls here that had lots of character and really symbolized Mumbai, at least for me. Lots of other people were happy to see the demolitions though as they think it will make the city look more "beautiful".
So this week, I will be showing some of the things that I love and hate about Juhu beach! 

Sesame Street Arrives to India

 
Sesame Street has arrived to India. There seem to be mixed feelings about its arrival. Some feel that it's a US govt initiative to inculcate children with American Values. Others are excited as it provides a platform for poor children and regular children to learn a small amount even if they don't go to school. Right now there are non-profits here who are trying to find ways to utilize the program for street/slum children. Only time will tell what type of effect it will truly have. 

from Anand Gujarat

 
So I am cheating a bit today - this photo isn't from Mumbai, its from the state north of us, Gujarat. I was there for the last few days for work. The small town of Anand is known the world over for the Amul Dairy Co-op, known abroad for their business model, known in India for their products - Amul cheese, butter, milk etc. Amul puts up new billboards all over the country every 2 weeks, changing the themes to match whatever the current hype is. This is just a sampling of the different billboards seen recently. Many are from popular movies (Frrsh is a play on the film Krrish, there is one for the world cup, head butting fiasco, etc.)The last few are in regards to the recent news that coke and pepsi products have high levels of pesticides in their products here. 

gas guy

Keeping with the bike theme, this is an adapted bike with two wheels on the front and a carrier built in between. The gas guy delivers these cylinders to your house, they are used for cooking. Many homes (mine included) do not have piped in gas. We have two cylinders at a time, a back up ready for when the one in use empties.

bikes

Bikes are great, and a major transportation method here in Mumbai especially with delivery guys. I say guys because very rarely have I seen a gal on a bike. I miss riding my bike, I don't think I would feel very safe riding my bike on roads here, too much going on and not enough protection.

Gokulastami!

 
Today Mumbai is celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna. People have tied up clay pots filled with curd and butter across roads and as high as they can. They will then form human pyramids to try to break them open. I think there are about 5 different groups doing this in my immediate neighborhood and I have seen truckloads of young boys going around town to different celebrations/pyramids! Its a fun holiday to be part of, but unfortunately today we are again being hit with lots of rain - but people seem to still be enjoying all the festivities! 

Happy Independence Day!

 
Today is Independence Day in India. All the kids are out of school this week for 2 different holidays. But rather than enjoying the time off many are put to work to earn a little extra money. This girl was a doll, she was happy enough having her photo taken for a few minutes rather than selling! 

carrom

 
One of India's favorite pasttimes - Carrom. Its basically like finger billiards. This photo is from the orphanage that I often go to visit - the kids always get so excited to see us. They finally settled down a bit to play their "board" game! 

the real police

 
Today we went to Borivali National Park in the northern part of Mumbai. We had hoped to see the Kanheri caves, but unfortunately as soon as we got there they stopped admission. But we sat and watched the monkeys torture people for a while. They are vicious little things! I just thought this one on the police vehicle was hilarious. He would grab food from people and climb back to his safe haven! 

locals fight back

 
Local people taking action. This lady works at the bakery across the road and I guess had decided to help control traffic by getting out there with whistle in hand. This section is always congested, and since the govt won't do anything, its up to the locals! 

daily ganesh

 
A lot of people here like to "decorate" the inside of their cars, and one of the favorite things to use is a small ganesh idol like this one. This is from the inside of dissenters car. what a dirty windscreen she has :). 

school time

 
All of the kiddies backpacks lined up at a local municipal school. they are so colourful! You wouldn't believe how many books these little ones have to carry around. 

first class please

 
Its been almost a month since the bomb blasts on the 1st class train compartments and little has changed. You might see a few more police hanging around the stations, random checks of baggage or tickets, but that is about all. 

can he do that?

 
I didn't know you could ride a bike through rush hour traffic holding an umbrella! doesn't really look like he's "riding" the bike - more like walking it through all the traffic. As you can tell, another day full of torrential rain. I guess we had it coming since so much of this monsoon was dry! 

its raining again...

 
My rikshaw driver having to push the rik on the flooded road after the engine died! This happens often during the rainy season - they seem to think that their little 3 wheelers can make it through calf high water! 

another sleepy sunday - woman

 
Its rare that I see women napping on the streets this way. I couldn't tell if she was homeless or just decided to get out of her house for a bit and take a nap on Marine drive! 

another old building

 
Down in "town" as we call it here, there are lots of these old dilapatated buildings. I always say how beautiful this city would be if they would just fix up these old buildings - but it might also take away some of the charm. 

Victoria Terminus

 
In the British days, this station was called Victoria Terminus. Today it is still called VT informally, but all signs and station maps will call it CST, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Built in the old Gothic style in 1888 it is now classified as a World Heritage Site. One of the few "tourist" sites in Mumbai.