outside looking in

Its not often that I am driven around in a nice chauffeur driven car, but this is what seems to be the most common sight when I am in one! I think I enjoy the rickshaws more where at least I can practice my hindi with the beggars and make them smile and laugh!

Coconut water

Another hand painted sign that I love! I really love being in older parts of Mumbai where the ads are homemade and the people are not occupied with the latest billboard advertising the latest Western brand arriving in Mumbai.

shoe seller or cleaner?

This lady was sat down right in the middle of a small lane - cleaning and possibly selling shoes of all variety!

more from juhu beach

Not taken today! From a Sunday evening, Sundays at juhu or chowpatty are usually packed, family and couples take their outings.

heritage building

Not sure of the name of this building but one of several in Mumbai with the Victorian architecture (is this is really the correct title of this type of architecture, I have heard it used? correct me if wrong.)
It is near churchgate station and the Indian Tourism office (that is where I was!).

State Library

The Asiatic Society (state library) seems to be the hangout place in the evenings - the steps are full of couples sitting chatting and soaking up a little bit of Sufi music coming from Horniman Circle.

ice delivery

Ice delivery getting ready for a busy sat night!

Siddhivinayak Temple

Siddhivinayak Temple in Prabhadevi is one of the most famous Ganesh Temple's in India. I used to live right by it, but back then it didn't have a huge retainer wall around it nor the insane amount of security cameras. After the bombings up north the other day, security has been stepped up another notch in this area as well as other areas of Mumbai -- but life continues on as normal regardless!

Happy Thanksgiving

Every year an Expat group hosts an American style Thanksgiving dinner. The US Consulate flys in the turkey's and any ingredients necessary and off they set to cooking! It was a fantastic dinner - I'm veg, but having our own turkey to carve was as close to being home as we could get! (The pilgrims and American Indian statues were brought by someone at our table - a little added decoration!)

having a swim

Kids in Mumbai will have fun no matter what their circumstances! These kids were enjoying a swim/bath in a tank of water opposite Churchgate station! (taken by Stacie)

moon rising

I couldn't resist these parrots with the moon rising behind them. I love that they visit my house every morning and every evening.

juhu beach

This is Juhu beach now that all of the stalls have been moved over to the right. Now drivers have a clear view and people have more space. Its still not the clean welcoming beach you'd think though!

zenzi

Zenzi was crazy tonight - its their weekly Salsa night which has become very popular. It doesn't look so busy here, but the rest of the bar was packed!

Om shanti Om

Now they have full window adverts for the latest Bollywood flick -- but I still prefer the posters plastered all over the city!

Chhat Puja

Chhat Puja at Juhu Beach. I think its mostly for North Indians, but honestly this is the first I've ever heard of it! Educate me please!

leaving gift

Being a foreigner in Mumbai and having any foreigner friends means that leaving parties are common. This is a photo of a painting that was gifted to a friend at her leaving party -- I love it. It seems to be the best present you could give someone - at least those of us who ride in these little lovelies on a daily basis!

this is what i see all the time

This is what happens to me all the time.. people turning around to look at me. I just happened to catch this guy in the act. (Sorry for the ghosting... can't seem to stop it on my 50mm)

Fruit stall

One thing I love and hate about India is having to go a million different places to get stuff for dinner! Somedays I love walking from shop to shop to veg stall to fruit stall, but other times I just want to go to one place and get it all! These days, Mumbai is changing and we do have shops that have everything -- unfortunately they tend to be far from where I live, so I still get to visit the market almost on a daily basis! (Random question - why do the vegetables here not stay good for more than a day or two max once you get them home?!)

voyeurs

Anytime something is going on at Khar Gymkana there are lines and lines of people on the fence watching! I thought this was pretty funny though as there were literally lines of people watching the festivities -- most of whom were rickshaw walas and food delivery men!! Glad I was out for a walk and not waiting for food to arrive!

the day after

The day after the big night this is how all of the roads look! And late last night, the sky was crazy - it looked like fog in Mumbai, but it was just all of the pollution from the fireworks going off all over the city! Almost finished.. the crackers are still going off, but should subside in the next day or so.

Happy Diwali!

Today is the day... I think kids must wait for this day like we did for Christmas. They get to eat lots of yummy food, I think even get some gifts and of course spend the evening playing with fireworks! Kids young and old are out playing with fire. Thankfully most people in my building enjoy the mellow fireworks, but we are still being bombarded with the loud "bombs" that echo off of all the buildings anyway. Hope you all had a safe and happy diwali where ever you are in the world!

All out Diwali!

Yesterday was the auspicious day to buy gold apparently. And the gold shops make it known where they are - this one went all out on their lights and decorations just in case you didn't know they were there!

Rangoli

 

Today at the office, the ladies made this diwali rangoli. I tried to do it last year, but found out the hard way that its not as easy as it might look!

Diwali Diya

 

Typically the diya's seen at Diwali are clay, but this one is bronze (?). Ghee or oil is used as the fuel and cotton wool as the wick.

Classical dance

 

Tonight I went to the Prithvi to see a modern interpretation of Shakesphere with classical Indian dance, belly dancing and all sorts of cool sounds! This was one of the main dancers in the piece.

Shopping - FabIndia!

 

Diwali is a bit like Christmas in the US - which means time for sales and shopping! FabIndia is a favorite for foreigners who have just arrived and middle-upper class Indians. It stocks Indian ware with a western flare, great asian type furniture and all sorts of stuff to keep your home stocked. It also has recently started an organic food line.

Diwali / Wedding Season

 

The "christmas" lights are coming up quickly all around town. I thought this was part of Diwali celebrations, but then realized today after all of the firecrackers and bands that it was actually a wedding ceremony for someone in Mr. Narayan Rane's family. But hopefully they keep it up through Diwali as well as it makes the street look so nice and holiday like!

kitty stoop

 

So cute! People say they don't see cats around much, but I think they just aren't looking as I see them everywhere!!