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Published: February 4th 2010
Princess day
the real daughter of the man who ran the orphanageHow quickly the rest of the trip has passed....I come home in 1 week!!
Before this blog turns into another short novel, I want to tell you about a unique experience I was fortunate enough to have in Mumbai. It started one innocent night in Nepal, having dinner with Juka, a fellow traveler. She told me she made a contact with an NGO in Mumbai, called CORP, that helps the poorest people living in the Dharavi slum, which is the biggest in all of Asia, home over to 1 million people. Her plan was on raise whatever money she could from her friends and family back home and bring a Christmas meal to families in the slum that should cost about $1 per family. I immediately decided to help and sent out my own emails (which included many of you) asking for you to feed a family. The response I got was greater than I ever imagined. Juka and I planned on meeting in Mumbai, so that we could facilitate the event together. Upon arriving, and realizing how much money we had collected, we decided we could do so much more with our money that just have a feast. Instead, we
funded a project the NGO had launched, where we purchased school bags for 105 hearing impaired children. Their families were so poor, and there were so many other needs to meet, that it had taken 2 years for the NGO to find funding to buy them school bags. 2 years!!!!! Since we were both in the city, the NGO arranged for us to deliver the bags personally. We were taken to a school in the slum, where the children were eagerly awaiting our arrival. We expected to casually meet with them at the end of their school day, say hello and leave the bags. To our surprise, a whole ceremony was set up so that we could personally hand a schoolbag to each individual child. A few who could not show up due to illness were represented by a parent, who sat on the floor with the other children and waited until their child' s name was called. But before we handed them out, each child stood up and introduced himself, as best he could, since most of the kids could not speak. After the bags were given out, the kids gave us gifts and danced for us. These children
who could hear nothing, but feel the vibration of the music, performed choreographed dances. The entire 2 hours, each child clutched his bag as if it were his most prized possession. They were so appreciative of this gift we had given them, some even touched my feet..... a sign of respect in India. The smiles on their faces were beaming. It was amazing to see people grateful for something we in Canada take for granted. Next time you replace a schoolbag that isn't even broken, think of all the children in the world who never even get one in their lifetime. Try to appreciate the one you already have instead.
Due to the huge response I got from my friends and family back home, I still had enough money to fund a Christmas meal, as originally planned. Our contact at the NGO also runs a small orphanage, where he and his family look after 30 orphaned girls from the slums. They share one room in his apartment, where they sleep on mats on the floor that they roll up during the day because the floor is their eating area as well. Juka and I attended Church in the slum
with them, and then enjoyed our Christmas lunch on the floor of their room. The best part was when the choir sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus!!" After lunch we spoiled them with cake and ice cream for dessert! The girls couldn't stop saying how lucky they were to be indulged like that! And all I could think was that cake and ice cream could be dessert for me on a random Tuesday night. How happy and appreciative these girl were for something I take for granted. It was a great feeling to be able to make their day memorable.
So, that was my incredible experience working with an NGO in Mumbai.
Since Christmas I've traveled to a few more cities so I have some more stories, but ill keep it at a length you wont have to reserve your whole lunch hour to read...Marissa! Mumbai is a crazy, loud, chaotic, dirty city. I can imagine it's quite overwhelming when its the first Indian city you set foot in. Having spent 2 months here already, I was already quite used to having to dodge cars just to cross the street. So for me, it was just like any other big
city! Although I did start to master running through traffic with my arms flailing about just to make sure the cars saw me!
Getting to Mumbai was actually the hardest part. I came from Udaiper, a small city in Rajasthan, about a 13 hour bus ride away. For some stupid the reason, the bus let at 4 pm, so that meant arriving in Mumbai 5 am. Mosy overnight, direct buses are packed with tourists and arrive at a bus terminal. So I never think to ask where the bus will stop, because it's not like the answer is gonna mean anything to me anyways, since I've never been to that city before. And it's usally easy enough to find taxis there or hop an another bus to get closer to the city or a Guest House. This bus was different. It stopped at 5 am, when it was still pitch black outside, somewhere outside of Mumbai, on the side of a highway. They quickly ushered me off the bus, alone and said "Mumbai." I could hardly argue that this was bullshit before the bus took off. I'm still not sure if they skipped the stop because I was the
only foreigner on the bus, therefore being the only person who would have benefitted from being dropped off at a bus terminal, or if it's possible that that really was the "bus stop." Coincidently....or not, who knows...a taxi was waiting there for me! He took me to a train station and said (or I heard) "chazgate"...which confused me even more. But his broken English wasn't good enough to explain to me that I had to take the local train into the city....wait what??? I'm not even in Mumbai...where the hell did this bus leave me??? I was confused! I definately got ripped off when I bought this ticket!! It turned out I was way in the outskirts of Mumbai and had to take a 1 hour train ride, which half way through turned into rush hour....which translated into me being separated from my bag and cuddling with a bunch of old Indian ladies. at least someone forced me into the ladies compartment so i wasnt making out with old Indian men! "Chazgate" was really churchgate, which is the closest station to the tourist area of Mumbai....how did he even know i was going there?! There are plenty of other areas
of Mumbai with hotels! Churchgate however, was still another taxi ride away from Colaba, the tourist area that I was of course staying in. So a bus, taxi, train and another taxi ride (that went in circles because he had no idea where the guest house was) later, and I'm finally settled in Mumbai! get me the hell outta here!!!
Aside from traffic, the only sight that got to me were the beggars lining the streets. They all lived on pavement, with no place to wash or eat and relied on tourists to stay alive.....or so they would have you think. I'm sure some, are genuinely poor and homeless...like the kids you saw who grew up begging in Slumdog Millionaire. But others are employed by the mob and making salaries (the movie touched on this briefly but focused more on the 2 orphaned boys). Some are even looked after by NGOs but choose instead to beg since its easier money. It's so hard to tell the difference that you're torn between feeling really sad for them and wanting to give them a proper meal and then wanting to yell at them to take advantage of opportunities that surely come
their way and stop relying on my money to survive. Some are brilliant too. They've invented elaborate scams so that you don't just give them a few charity dollars but spend a whole day's budget on them. There's one scam where they tell you they only want milk for the little baby they are carrying around. Sounds like something you cant refuse. But what you don't know is that a bag of milk costs about 150 rupees ($3) and they take you to a convenience store where they have a deal with the owner. So he charges you 1500 rupees ($30) and then she sells it back to the store and gives him a commission. There's no way a tourist would give a beggar 1500 rupees, maybe I'd give 50. But how can you say no when you've made it all the way to the store. The worst part is....that baby isn't even hers, she rented it to make the scam more believable! Knowing this, I noticed a man one day following a beggar. So, I stopped him and asked if he was about to buy her milk. Shocked that I could know that, he asked if he should do
it. He said she wouldn't take money, just milk. So I told him about the scam and said do it if you want to but know that she's scamming you. He left and she ran down the street after me cursing me out! I felt bad for her loss but I cannot stand by and watch a tourist get scammed. If people smartened up and stopped falling for it she might consider getting a job!
One of the biggest misconceptions about Mumbai....it DOES NOT smell!!! Who told me that it smells as soon as you get off the plane.....liars!!! I didn't even smell urine once! Maybe I'm just used to it, but seriously people, get your facts straight!!!
One great sight in the city was the washing ghat. It's the largest washing operation in the world. Many of the city's inhabitants get their laundry washed here.....where its all done by hand, slapped against the pavement and then hung out on lines....all outside. No machines, no dryers! Just hundreds of workers and millions of pieces of clothes! I still can't figure out how they know what belongs to who! But that's the brilliance of this country. It's pure chaos and I
can't figure most of it out, but it works....somehow.
While in the Bollywood capital I took the opportunity to see a Hindi movie. I had tried in New Delhi, but for some reason when we got to the movie, an English one was playing. At first we thought it was a preview, but 2 hours later, still confused at what we had just seen, it turned out they sent us to see 2012! They probably figured English people could only possibly want to see an American movie! Anyways, this time I made sure to get tickets for a Bollywood film and what an experience. The theater was packed and the audience went crazy. During funny scenes, they roared with laughter. During the infamous dance scenes they sang along with the songs. When the star of the movie appeared on screen for the first time a few minutes into the movie, everyone went crazy cheering. Personally, I didn't even think he was that good looking but apparently he is like a God to Indian people! The whole movie was in Hindi but the dramatic performances and little bits of English thrown in made it pretty easy to follow the pretty basic
Typical India
A beach, yoga and a cow! story line. Apparently the Indian population has not yet graduated to clever plot twists, but prefer over-the-top Broadway-like performances. I think what really made the performance unique and entertaining was the singing of the national anthem before the movie!
What I've noticed recently is how commonplace some things have become that you would just never see in any other country. I've actually gotten used to dodging cows in the streets. I see sadhus daily....holy men dressed in robes with paint on their faces. Drum circles are pretty common, where would you see that in Montreal other than maybe at the tams. And it's impossible to walk down the street without being asked by at least 8 people where you're from, where you're staying, what your name is and how long you are staying in India. I answer those questions so many times (because it's all they know how to ask) that I have started making up answers just so that I don't get bored!
One thing that always makes me laugh is that no one in this country ever has change. Whether it's for a 500 rupee note ($12) - which is virtually impossible to get change for -
Hampi
some of the most gorgeous scenery in India. The mountains in Hampi are covered in boulders. or a 20 rupee note (50 cents), they always look at me and say "no change??" Could you imagine being asked for change for 50 cents when you owe 30???? I love it!
From Mumbai I made my way south, spending about a month gallivanting from beach to beach...in Goa and Kerala. I've visited a few cities in between (Hampi, Mysore) but basically have been relaxing in what could be Cancun. I'm in tourist India now. It still takes 1 hour to get a meal at a restaurant and I haven't taken a hot shower since I left the north, but aside from those few things that remind me I'm in India, I could be relaxing on a beach anywhere in the world. There are palm trees lining the coast and the water is warm and the people are friendly. I've only been groped once in this part of the country! So I'm happy! In Goa, I slept on the roof of a hotel for $1.25 a night. I woke up every morning with the sun, to a gorgeous view of palm trees and the ocean. It was an amazingly peaceful place to do yoga in the mornings, while
Varkala
A beautiful beach town where I spent 2 weeks lounging and doing yoga. the people that had partied the night before slept next to me!
I spent a week at the Sivananda ashram...which seemed more like a cult than an ashram. I'd heard very little about it except that this kind of yoga was a series of 12 postures repeated in every class. I was a little skeptical of the practice and didn't know how long I'd last but it turned out to be enjoyable. I was more challenged than I thought I'd be with a class I could predict.
From there, I went with a few other people to Varkala, which turned out to be my favourite coastal city. The beach is just below a cliff so every site is beautiful. And it means the beach is quiet since the tourist street is 50 steps up the cliff. So no one hawking useless items on the beach! I ended up staying (with most of the people I came with) for about 2 weeks. We did yoga in the mornings, relaxed on the beach during the day and ate incredibly delicious food at night! There were so many restaurants I don't even think we tried them all. We did find this woman who cooks at her house. If you call her in advance, she'll cook you a meal for a set price. But you don't get to make requests. Whatever she cooks, you eat! This is not something I'm good at but i took a chance and her food was delicious!
Now I am off to one last quiet beach destination in Karnataka before I come home. It's sad to leave, but it will be great to stop lugging around this heavy bag that is filled with soooo many wonderful souvenirs!
See you all in the scary winter soon!
Namaste
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Naomi
non-member comment
Wow Trish that's amazing! I wish you had asked me for xmas money to help! I will never look at a schoolbag the same again...