Mumbai, India

Sunday, March 31, 2019

This is my last port of call in India. As I complete this visit and start to write, I’m choosing to write in a different manner. This time, I’m not writing chronologically, and I’m not writing geographically. Instead, I’m going to write thematically.

Where am I?

The good

Mumbai is a very, very old place and there have been many different cultures present here over the centuries. If one looks around, there can be seen traces of all these different cultures. In those traces can be seen beautiful artistry, deeply felt religion, and attempts to understand and be one with nature.

For example, on my first day in Mumbai I went out to the caves on Elephanta island. These caves can be found on a hill by climbing a path that holds 120 uneven steps between the bottom and the top. The caves were originally just plain natural caves. Over the years, the people who lived in ancient Mumbai started to enlarge them and in the process created exquisite panels carved from the rock that told the story of Shiva.

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The Elephanta caves, which were once a place of worship, are a UNESCO site that demonstrates their cultural importance. UNESCO also provides the means to preserve and protect the caves and the works of art within from any further destruction (accidental or intentional.)

It appears that the wildlife on Elephanta also enjoys the protection of UNESCO and the generosity (sometimes involuntary) of visitors.

There is also some beautiful architecture in Mumbai, especially that which remains from the era of British occupation. A wonderful example of that would be the Gateway to India, seen here.

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Other old and beautiful architecture can be found in the old downtown area of Mumbai.

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The views around the harbor are varied and colorful. The sea is beautiful everywhere one can see it, and Mumbai is certainly no different in this regard.

And, ultimately, Mumbai’s most beautiful treasures must be the decent people who live there. They can be seen everywhere, working hard, smiling, and making their way through life, day in and day out. This is something that is not always easy, and it shows.

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The bad

Mumbai may be the financial capitol of India, and it may have some beautiful people but, like most places in the world, there is a dark side. Much of India’s money may be here in this city, but not everybody has access to it. As a result, Mumbai certainly has its trouble with trouble.

Another problem here is the overcrowding. Streets are clogged and people are jammed together nearly everywhere. The population of the city of Mumbai is more than twice the population of the entire state of Arizona. All of that crowding causes short tempers in traffic and so the car horn must be the national musical instrument. Now, take people selling their wares, dense traffic with car, taxi, and bus horns providing a never-ending cacophony, and you can start to imagine Mumbai as a noisy place. And, it is. 24/7.

The ugly

Most of the people that I know back in the U.S. have accepted that we need to reduce, reuse, and recycle. I’m one of those people. So it breaks my heart to see places that are so littered and and show such a lack of care.

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And it’s not just individuals carelessly tossing cans, papers, or plastic bags. There’s also industrial waste and pollution to be seen, and in the cases of the following photos, it can be seen right in the middle of the very places of beauty that I showed you earlier in this post.

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My visit to India has been a richly colorful experience. I’ve seen the pursuit of inner truth, and the creation of architectural beauty. I’ve seen some impressive generosity, and have also been warned about thievery. I’ve seen places that have been lovingly cared for, and others where everyday waste needlessly collects.

I’m very happy to have visited this place, the home of yoga, of nirvana, and of hinduism. I have a better appreciation for the underpinnings of the many different societies that make up the country known as India. Yet, I have also seen it as an imperfect place with overtaxed resources and careless abuse. I’ve seen it as a place where people subscribe to a religion that focuses on the inner self, while seemingly allow its environment to suffer. So, while my visit here was too short, I doubt that I will return. Of all the foreign places I’ve visited on this cruise, this one seems the most foreign of all. And, being in a place that is so foreign, my desire to see home once again grows stronger.

So, what’s coming up?

Next, the Amsterdam crosses the Arabian Sea and touches on the Arabian peninsula.

G’night!