reflections

 

An auto's reflection in the rain soaked road.

monsoon essentials..

 

One of the biggest industries during this season besides umbrella sales is umbrella repair! The wind whips your umbrella inside out more often than not and after a few weeks of this something snaps. You either buy a new one and hope for the best or you get it repaired!

here to stay

 

I think monsoon has fully arrived and here to stay... at least today. It has rained non stop all day and this is about all you can see out of the windows!

empty rain washed street

 

Sometimes right after the rain comes the city can look super clean and inviting!

monsoon damage

 

The last few days Mumbai has been lashed by heavy rains and gusty winds. Trees fell all over the city including this one on the famous Olive Restaurant.

at the sweet shop

Here is a selection of Indian sweets known as mithai. These colorful goodies are extremely sweet and can be an acquired taste.

the rains are coming

There has been some flooding in the area after last night's heavy rains. Here's a typical scene on Linking Road.

loads of laundry

These are the dobi ghats where the public laundry is done. Every week Mumbaikers send their clothes to be washed along with the rest of the city's saris, underwear and table cloths. Amazingly, the clothes always seem to return to the right owner without any kind of formal recording system.

colorful kurtas

A beautiful selection for sale above this busy street.

Panipuri

Here is a photo of the wonderful Indian street snack panipuri. These fried hollow balls known as "puri" are filled with a watery mixture of tamarind, chili and potato. You must eat them fast because the chef keeps them coming!

tank tops and chickens

Take a look at this high end clothing store next to Shahid Broiler. One of my favorite Mumbai scenes.

bamboo building

There is so much construction work in Mumbai right now as the city shoots up. I thought this building had a wonderful pattern of circles and bamboo scaffolding. Walking around Bandra you can see similar bamboo scaffolding everywhere -- new buildings going up, old buildings getting repairs -- people are working on construction all over.

evening in the park

This is the lion on the gate of Almeida Park where everyone gathered yesterday to enjoy a bit of cooler weather. It was wonderful how many people came out despite the rain to sit and chat and enjoy a Sunday evening.

at the train station

Quite a scene of hustle and bustle at Bandra station. It was extremely busy this weekend during breaks from the rain. I love the way this photo captures the people, the light, and the motion outside the station.

Rickshaw rest stop

Walking down the side streets of Bandra I spotted a rickshaw resting below this magnificent canopy. How brilliant!

market before the monsoons

Vile Parle market was very colorful in the afternoon before the rains came...

multipurpose roadside stand

I liked this bright red stand where you could make calls, make copies, and buy a coke. Do you think Coca Cola paid for this premium advertising space?

Amul

I've shown Amul ad's before, but these are the old school ones that were painted on the sides of buildings. Amul really must have the most creative ad department in India.. Their ad's always correspond to something going on in the media (besides these - they are old classic Amul ads

rare sight

 

Empty Shivaji Park! This is indeed very rare. Could it be because its blazing hot in the afternoons?! At least we aren't boiling like Delhi and Rajasthan where it was 51 degrees yesterday!

and they say we are ready for the rains...

 

After the floods of 2005 and a minor occurance of it again last year, the question racing around Mumbai is whether the BMC (Bombay Municipal Corporation) is ready for the rains this year. I think they probably are not! This is only one example of the trash that is built up in sewers leading to the sea.

hidden ganesh

 

Walking down by the sea today I spotted this rock hidden away near a garbage dump and lo and behold it was a ganesh statue.(i think!) Even though others are throwing their rubbish in the area, someone else is still coming to pay homage to Ganesh.

another sky

 

Right now all eyes are looking to the sky, begging for rain as the humidity levels have reached to 70% and above with very little breeze. It's almost difficult to breath sometimes! So here we are just staring at the sky, praying for the rain to come quickly!

fire in the sky

 

A viewer wrote to me yesterday hoping to see a photo of this, but I had already posted. Here was yesterday's amazing sunset, seen from my balcony.

glass bangles

 

I know Indian style bangles have become a trend in the west, but here they are a trend that never goes out of fashion! Bangles come in many varieties - these are glass. You typically see newly married women wearing loads of green glass bangles. They say that the honeymoon doesn't end until the last one breaks off! It is an art to get these on/off -- especially for our western sized hands!

ymca sign board

 

yep.. we have the YMCA here. actually they are all over the city and offer some pretty cool programmes for kids and adults for cheap!

black and white

 

how does he stay so clean in all that dirt?! Been too busy today to find anything more interesting than this lovely white street dog sitting in dirt trying to get cool with todays insane heat and humidity!

perfect day

 

Drying clothes on a perfect afternoon as the sun is setting.

dramatic sky

 

Only at the beginning of monsoon season do we get these dramatic looking skies -- once it hits, we get cloud cover all the time, so for now its still exciting to see this! The 'pre-monsoon' showers are happening a bit more frequently, and the forcast says the monsoon should be here by next week. Get ready for rain photos!

adding cheer to the neighborhood

 

Sometimes graffiti can add something nice to a neighborhood. The sad thing is that for many neighborhoods this is the only flower they will see growing since there isn't much room anywhere else to have flowers. But this is definitely a pretty addition!

pre-monsoon showers

 

Last night Mumbai experienced the first pre-monsoon showers of the season. Its always very exciting when we get that first bit of rain. Last night was even more exciting because it was thundering and lightening too! The good thing about these showers is that it cools the city down a bit and leaves fresh drinking water for the animals living on the streets! This cow was already taking advantage of the free water!