Happy Birthday...

 
to me! hah. So self centered that I am :). In India when it is your birthday you give other people sweets, cake, etc. So today I took two lovely chocolate cakes to a girls home that I work with and this is what they had put on the chalk board to greet me. Such a wonderful day spending it "Indian" style! 

1 rupee

 
This is one of the first pay telephones I have seen (or noticed) in Mumbai. Of course all you can see is the coin slot. Usually people go to booths called "STD" (Standard Trunk Dialing) and pay a person for their call. Anyway, thought it was cool to see the 1 rupee slot! 

Expats at water world!

 
A group of Expats went to water kingdom on sunday to wash away the stickiness that has slowly been taking over Mumbai. Here's a group of guys relaxing, watching the pool. (Photo from Chris) 

dogs life

 
Sorry for posting another dog photo this week, but I have been waiting to capture this one for a while! I see this dog on top of this car everyday, but somehow I never have my camera out. This car has only appeared here in the last month or so and somehow this dog has decided to take it over! 

gently sleeping

 
Usually when i try to take a photo of someone sleeping, the crowds around say something to wake them up. This time, everyone just looked on peacefully letting him catch a little snooze on the busy road. It just seems so peaceful - I wish I could block everything out and just have a sleep anywhere at anytime! 

indian wedding

Indian weddings are beautiful. The colors, food, ceremonies, dancing, a true celebration! There are interesting little rituals I think are so cute, the mother in law trying to grab the groom's nose, sister stealing shoes of the groom (names?)...and the *baraat* (marching band, dancing in the street and a groom mounted on a white horse) makes you smile!

sleeping dog

 
This is "my" street dog Blackie. I've been feeding her for several years now along with the rest of the neighborhood! It just cracks me up how the animals will literally lay anywhere and most of the time people will just walk over them or around them to get where they need to go. Blackie is friendly to everyone but beggars or other stray dogs. 

Olive Souk

 
Once a month the "famous" restaurant Olive sets up a Souk for shoppers. This is the first one I have been too, but its pretty nice. They have stalls from real shops and from independent sellers who do not have many places to sell their goods. So go to dinner and shop, that is if you have made an advance reservation! 

film poster

 
Its been a while since I've shown a film poster, and this one made me laugh. I have no idea what language it is in.(Maybe Hindi in a different font?) 

Chinese Cymtry

 
As part of my effort to learn about the Chinese community in Mumbai I also paid a visit to the small Chinese "Cymtry" located in Wadala. It was very small with only about 15 grave sites, all relatively recent as well, which was interesting. A local family (Indian) had also taken residence on the compound which was a bit odd. Here's one of the few gravestones with a very "Indian" garland freshly put on. 

Happy Chinese New Year

 
Today since it is Chinese New Year I decided to take a trip into town to find the only Chinese temple in Mumbai. Its located in Mazgaon, near Dockyard station. There are only about 3,000 Chinese in Mumbai - the biggest Chinese population of India is in Kolkata. In our short visit to the temple we met a local Chinese family born and raised here - never even visiting China once. The temple is small, but very well decorated and kept up. So happy new years - enjoy the year of the Golden Fire Pig! 

taj reflections

 
The Taj Mahal Hotel - offers a nicely cooled place to relax from the heat and chaos outside, as well as numerous upscale restaurants and shops. Here is a glimpse of the lobby at the prestigious Taj Hotel. 

cooking pots

 
Today I was at a local restaurant while they were cleaning out all of their cooking dishes. I didn't realize that people still used the old style pots where the wood is put in the bottom. I would like one just to display (b/c I could never figure out how to cook in these!). 

dirty ears?

 
Among the glitz and glamour that has taken over Mumbai, you still find old traditions shining through -- the sidewalk ear cleaner is one of those. You don't see them as often as you used to, so its quite exciting when you catch one in action like I did today! 

Happy Valentines Day

 
I had hoped to find a photo of the riot squad out protecting "valentiners", but I wasn't lucky enough to see any today, so instead you get this fancy red car! (Note on the riot squad: there is a political party here who is opposed to celebrating valentines day and caused lots of problems last year for youth out celebrating, so this year cops are out in full force to protect anyone who might be out celebrating) 

dolls at play

 
Today while walking to get some lunch from a street stall, I saw these little kids setting up their dolls by the tree. of course when they saw me take the camera out they wanted to also be in the photo. 

business as usual

 
The shopkeepers and stalls in Mumbai amaze me - the ground on which they work is in shambles and they still continue to work as normal! (Again, construction - it's the dry season so they must repair the roads again before the rains come and demolish them again!) 

reflections

 
One of my favorite places to hang out and chat is the JKart juice centre in Bandra. This photo is of their fruit display with the road relected in the glass. 

another one from Kala Ghoda

 
Here's another one of Lori's photos from the Kala Ghoda art festival. A life size (or bigger) of the nazer "good luck" charm that is often used to ward off evil spirits in people's homes/cars. A previous post on this can be found here 

heli-rick

 
Another photo from our faithful viewer, Lori! Every year there is an art festival in town at Kala Ghoda (black horse). I've not had the opportunity to make it down there this year, but Lori did and this is what she found! The art scene is really starting to boom in Mumbai and its great to see original peices. I usually love attending events at the Kala Ghoda festival, but work has kept me too busy. 

playing on the road

 
I was zipping by in my rickshaw today when I saw this little girl playing on the road with rickshaw's whizzing by. Its done all of Mumbai; I am not sure if they meet with accidents very often either. Makes you wonder if all the rules/restrictions we get as children in the west really make us safer or not! 

bric-a-brac

 
Today on the side of the road someone was painting some little iron figures and they had them all layed out like this to dry. i liked the little bicycle rickshaws the best. From this angle the figures look larger than they are in real life! 

spring is in the air

 
Oh wait, its only the beginning of Feb! Last week we experienced a "minor" heat wave or it felt that way, but "spring" is back this week. And the butterflies (or moth) are out. 

Ladies Only

 
I think we've shared with you before that the local trains have separate compartments for women, although women can go on any car if they choose. Today for some reason I was the only woman in the ladies car and with nothing to do I took photos! 

lotto!

 
I do not know much about the Indian Lotto, but I see the carts filled with colourful pages all over town. I don't know if its government sponsored or private, but I would imagine it has to be run by private companies. 

sunny day at the park

 
Today its beautiful out, sunny with a nice breeze and the parks are full! Even these little street kids were having fun playing in the dirt at the park.