This morning we enter the harbor of Mumbai. I think I am finally getting used to the industrial entrance to each harbor. I have a new appreciation for just how much the world depends on shipping. Each port is always loaded with ships obtaining some precious cargo waiting to either be loaded or unloaded. I will never look at shipping containers the same ever again!
We arrive at noon and will leave shortly afterwards to have a face to face immigration meeting and off for a panoramic tour of the city. India has a very strong security, I imagine brought on by previous terrorists attacks. We will need to show passport, visa and electronic landing card before we can even get near a bus!
On the way to immigration Many of my pictures today will be taken from the bus. I know we will get out occasionally but ….
Once again, the buildings are a mix of Colonial design from British influence and local design with Hindu influence.
One of the beaches. 
Alongside the beach this park is quiet, shady and looking close there are rocking chairs formed in the wrought iron fence.. the grandmothers garden. You must be over 65 to go in this area. Just looking down the street gave me an idea of the amount of people who call Mumbai home. 20-22 million people call this area home. It reminds me of the crowded streets of Hong Kong! Everywhere you turn there seems to be people!
After a short drive we got out to walk around this park.. called The hanging Gardens of Doongerwadi.it is a nice park with walking paths .. and interestingly it sits right on top of a water reservoir. It was designed to cover the water from the potentially contamination activity of the nearby Towers of Silence, the burial spot for the Mumbai Parsi community. The community does not believe in cremation or burial, instead Amy’s their dead at the top of a tower so that the vultures and clarion birds will feat the flesh and thus the Circe of life continues. Its a hard concept for most of us foreigners to grasp but if their entire focus in life is to not harm a living thing then I guess it makes sense. You need to look up the Parsi (Zoroastrians) religion beliefs to find out the entire story.
One of the Towers of Silence
A view of the square shaped building belonging to the richest man in India. Supposedly he has 7 floors just devoted to storing his automobile collection and one floor just for snow (because his mother likes snow). It cost 2 Billion dollars ( yes that’s a B)to build. and then we continued to the Dhobi Ghat. This is an open air laundry where many hotels, homes and businesses take their laundry to be cleaned. The dhobis ( washers) work in the open air to clean clothes and linens.For 18-20 hours a day, 7000 people flog clothes and clean them here. The clothes are washed in the mornings and dried in the afternoon. 
The laundry is right beside a railroad stop
After our laundry stop we headed off to see the home of India’s great man.Mahatma Gandhi
Along a quiet tree lined street away from the hustle and bustle of the city, a friend had a house that he always lent to Gandhi to use. The quietness of the street was wonderful to experience.
The house was impressive compared to others we’ve driven by. Inside on the ground floor the entire floor has been made into a library of peace and political action resources. You can go there and research many different subjects. It was also really quiet. Many of his comments were printed along the walls and words of encouragement.
At the end of the library was this monument to him.
On the first floor was his bed on the floor and his working desk. The only modern convenience for him was the phone in the corner. The second flor contained dioramas of the important moments in the life of Gandhi and depictions of how his life in political life evolved according to the events he faced. It was an inspiring visit.
On the way back to port we drove through an area of colonial buildings that were modeled like the area in London where there is a circle of these homes. They curve slightly and all ring around a park in the middle of the road. 
Mumbai has a large Art Deco collection of apartment buildings and I found this Aquarium building one of my favorites,. Unfortunately the aquarium was closed. 
St. Andrews’ Cathedral ( Church of Scotland) 
Street scenes
All in all, our first look at Mumbai has been fun and we are looking forward to seeing more of this city!Tomorrow we head to Elephanta Island to see the Cave Temples dedicated to Shiva
No comments:
Post a Comment