Victoria Terminus

Victoria Terminus (now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) and the taxis below. A historic spot in South Mumbai.

In the train

A typical day inside the ladies compartment.

Cow in the rain

This skinny cow was trying to find a bit of shelter from today's rain storms.

Night scene

An interesting sight in south Mumbai - a black and yellow taxi and a black and yellow Hummer.

Rain at last

It's been very dry for the last couple weeks, but today there has been heavy rain and already there is flooding. I wonder if this garbage truck will make it!

Elephant sighting

This friendly elephant was walking the city streets collecting donations with his trunk and delivering them to the man on his back.

Street market

A busy street of people and vegetables at Vile Parle market.

Working day

Two women in their colorful saris heading out for a days work.

Deluxe real estate

Here is a prime property overlooking the ocean in Bandra. It is interesting how many homes like this remain in disrepair as property value continues to rise steeply.

Highway view

A shot of the slums while speeding over a highway overpass. There are many slums that line the major highways in Mumbai.

School's out!

I passed this wonderful group of joyous children jammed into a rickshaw on their way home from school. What a great way to get around.

Night vegetable stand

A great shot of all the veggies at night on a quiet street.

Speckled goat

A school boy stepped back behind his mother to peek at this speckled goat standing outside his house.

At the beach

Here is a family taking a walk on Juhu beach. It is amazing to see the glorious waves and the masses of trash on the shore.

Train ladies

A fantastic shot of the crowds at Bandra station. I love all the colors - especially near the ladies-only compartment.

Lone Ranger

A lone crow surveys the scene at Juhu beach as the storm looms. He's one of thousands that patrol Bombay's rugged coastline on a daily basis.

Railway Kids

A group of young children gather to be centre of attention when the camera comes out in a railyard where they live in south bombay.

Run off...

let it rain... millions of litres of fresh rainwater slip away during the monsoon... rainwater harvesting could prevent massive short falls faced by the local municipality's every year.

Wet Steps

A group of women negotiate the constant stream of run off as they descend the famous Mt Mary Steps in Bandra West.

Dark City

The monsoon exudes an ominous presence as her grey clouds linger in the early morning.

Forever Rain...

Sometimes the monsoon rains feel like they go on forever... this is taken from my eighth floor apartment in an attempt to illustrate the heavy downpour's which are routine at present.

Red Rick

A rick shaw driver is surrounded by the surreal glow of eternal brake lights as the crawling peak hour traffic draws on
- Mark Lapwood

Median Strip

A young girl attentively picks critters out of her Mum's hair in their makeshift living room... Amidst the traffic.
- Mark Lapwood

Juhu Lights

Sunday evening - A man sells colourful toys on Juhu beach as the monsoon sunset graces the evening skies behind...
- Mark Lapwood

Another dry day!

 

A typical busy Saturday afternoon.

Slaint will be out of Mumbai for the next month, but MDP will continue as usual, with some wonderful people filling in. Enjoy!

napping on a dry day

Today we have had no rain and people are taking advantage of it by getting out of the house... even for a snooze on the street!

more monsoon essentials

 

Umbrella, pants rolled up and flip flops... this is what you need to survive monsoons!

who does the dishes?

 

In the little lanes often found in chawls (in many aras, the "slum" areas consist of many chawls) you will find everyone doing all their household chores outside. This pile of dishes was sitting out in the rain -- I assume its owners were waiting until the deluge of rain stopped!

slowly coming up

 

It's raining cats and dogs, but so far most of the city is still managing. Just a few little effects like the sewers popping up because they are too full of water!

umbrella nation

 

I'm still waiting for the perfect umbrella show where the only thing you see are umbrellas -- but haven't gotten it yet. But I did like this view since it was so colourful!

cleaning the drains

 

This man decided to take matters into his own hands.. to clean out the drains. As you can see the area was already quite flooded. We have experienced heavy rains for the past two days, but luckily it stops for a bit to let it drain off. But already I know of 2 people's homes that have been flooded. Already we have reached 40% of our yearly rainfall and its only the first month of monsoon!