Sunday March 16 Mumbai (formerly Bombay)
Walking the deck at sunrise as we drift toward the dock. In the distance I see the rounded domes of mosques, tall pointy spires of churches, and sculptural temple tops, mixed among the more modern buildings of the Mumbai skyline. I try to imagine what 16-20 million people look like. Today I have been asked to escort a tour called the Marvels of Mumbai, a four hour afternoon tour. We hit the trail in a modern air conditioned bus, thank God (must be 95 degrees outside). Crowds of people and wild crazy traffic. Our guide, Parveen, reminds us that this is very calm and quiet because it’s Sunday in Mumbai. First stop is Victoria Station, an absolutely beautiful, over the top with decoration, building. Turrets, spires, arches, flying buttresses, home to gargoyles of all persuasions—animals and mythical creatures. This is the central train station where a million and a half people pass through every day. 1080 trains move past 15 platforms daily, every 5 to 6 minutes. The sheer mass of people entering and exiting the gates is staggering.
We go to Mahatma Ghandi’s residence, a modest three story house. It’s rather humbling to stand in his library on the first floor and imagine a man of such intention and selflessness sitting and reading right here. The second floor, his living quarters, very modest and simple, holds a photo gallery of his life. I see his letter to Hitler. He asks pardon for bothering, but humbly implores Hitler to consider that as the only person on Earth who could keep from plunging the world into war, would he consider the alternatives. The third floor was filled with small dioramas of the significant events of his life. I walked back to the bus aware that my contribution to the state of the planet is very small, but ask to be strong in my intention.
On to the Prince of Wales Museum, filled with the wonders, both natural and manmade. I was fidgitey—wanting to be out watching the present living reality. I normally wouldn’t be going to these particular sites, but going from place to place allows me to see much more of India than I could in two days on my own. We stop at the huge Gateway to India Monument on the waterfront. I walk among the throngs, taking all this humanity in as they peer at this blonde woman walking around holding a big ‘Bus #16’ sign over her head. Then it’s back to our 5 star floating hotel. A dance company with eight musicians and ten dancers from Mumbai come aboard and entertain us with the dances from all over India. I love the ones from Rajastan the best. The costumes are so rich and patterned and the dance is one of the more complex in terms of folk style dances.
