"We are the greatest democracy on earth" - welcome to some of the opening words Sancia Sequeira, our super tour guide used as she welcomed our AGS crew to a tour of the wider Mumbai surroundings. Today in the casual 28 degree heat we were treated to Sancia, a walking encyclopaedia, and with her knowledge she transformed our complex questions regarding Indian customs and societal structures in simple answers.
In the aftermath of yesterday's movie, an event at which Miss Candy was brought to such fits of uncontrollable laughter that she had to self administer an asthma inhaler, today was going to take a little while for the boys to get into. Some attempted to duck for cover, under the banner of being 'sick' (which Hugo Stewart managed to pull with such dramatic integrity that he was allowed to recover in bed- only to be caught out as having posted on the blog in a computer booth 45 minutes after our departure- fair play that man), while others fronted physically but were somewhat distant mentally. This is all totally expected though as it has been a massive effort for the boys to get this far and the fact that this time tomorrow we will be asleep on a train to Goa points to nature in which the programme has been organised to be confronting by then calming. But that is tomorrow; this is what happened today:
Friday 27 December
7:30am- With a tour set to start 90 minutes later, most deny the urge to sleep for longer and instead head down to grab breakfast in the hotel dining room.
9am- We all depart on a bus tour of Mumbai. This was more than sightseeing; with the most insightful of guides (it was so wonderful to have you lead our group again Sancia) we moved throughout the city jumping on and off at various locations in an attempt to understand how a city of 20+ million people operates. Highlights of the tour included Chowpatty Beach, a Jain Temple, The Hanging Gardens, the Towers of Silence, the Dhobi Ghat, and the Crawford Market. The 'Supreme' highlights included the Ravi Community and the Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya Museum. A brief description of each goes as follows:
Chowpatty Beach- the Mission Bay of Mumbai (you would absolutely never swim there though)
Jain Temple- the Jain religion is an offshoot of Hinduism. They have traditionally owned the entire Indian diamond jewels industry and are widely admired for their philanthropy work
The Hanging Gardens- sitting on top of a hill in the plush suburbs, the gardens actually form the top layer of a large water supply that pumps out this priceless commodity to ensure 20+ million complete all of their daily chores that require the use of water
The Towers of Silence- the Parsi religion bury their dead on the top of two large concrete vats, where the bodies are devoured by the vultures, thus allowing the bones to fall through the grating to the calcium that is contained below (interestingly, with the population of vultures dying out in Mumbai, this centuries old tradition has had to be abandoned in the last 12 months, substituted by cremations instead- and so an entire religion has to shift its fundamental rules)
The Dhobi Ghat- the power of people and water collide here in the central place for laundry services. Mountains of clothes are washed and pressed in this thriving ghat
The Crawford Market- the chaotic hub of fresh food and veg for Mumbai Central
Ravi Community- the largest slum in all of Mumbai (the boys were gripped by the imagery; after all Slum Dog Millionaire has filmed here). We spent over 1 hour walking within the community admiring the industriousness of its inhabitants. This slum location is the hub of the Mumbai recycling machine with anything from fragments of wood, to plastic bottles, to cloth, being munched up and formulated into new useful commodities. We also managed to take in the pottery district at the same time where the crafts were of the highest quality. In all, Sancia kept emphasising that these are all skilled labourers; they may be dealing with what looks like scraps to us but what they do with them is meaningful employment, a paid wage, and thus a social status. Quite inspiring to say the least
Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya Museum- the home base for Gandhi during the years he spent in Mumbai. Here the boys searched the archives, downloaded into their own memory banks the story of this hugely influential man, and were left considering how powerful an individual can be who has a passion. Many of the quotes were so incredibly profound, i.e. 'There are moments in life where you must act, even if you cannot carry your best friends with you. The still small voice within you must always be the final arbiter when there is a conflict of duty'
1:30pm- We arrive back at the YWCA knackered but content with the huge body of knowledge and sights that we were able to witness. Confronted with such contrasts we head to lunch to debate whether there is any difference between India's richest man who has a 27 storey building exclusively for the 5 members of his family (right next to a slum) versus our own economic advantages back in NZ
2:45pm- Power naps are taken as we are now inside 90 minutes until NZ vs India in cricket and football fixtures at the Oval Maidan
4pm- game on! Patrick Jung looks all fired up to send the ball out of the park before departing himself with an innings total of zero. It must be noted Miss Candy joined a female game of cricket running parallel to us (Hamish Fox was even invited to attend as an outcome of his cute girlish looks according to the ladies present)
6pm- Having completed a clean sweep of the fixtures on offer (a rarity) the AGS boys shower up whilst Mr Jordan yells profanities at our Magician Rugby Club friends as we leave (some people just don't know how to win graciously)
6:30pm- 'Mean feeds' are had at Cafe Mondegard on the Colaba Causeway. The vibe is massively positive, but how can it not be when a juke box is belting out classics in the restaurant at volume levels which create no chance for conversation. If note George Helsby nails the words to American Pie and then fights Ben Toogood to get out the verses of We Didn't Start the Fire in a more coherent manner than Billy Joel could ever do
8:15pm- Debrief commences. The topic tonight comes in the form of an analogy. Life simply is a game; a game of football (soccer). Consider all of the personnel that are required to showcase the beautiful game in a professional stadium environment (the players, coaches, commentators, owners, fans, broadcasters, food stall vendors, etc). The boys were asked to associate themselves with one of these characters and explain how this link plays out with respect to their time in India i.e. I'm a rookie player in the midfield trying to attack (enjoy the experience) whilst also defending (being freaked out by the challenges), or I'm a fan who just arrived at a new stadium which doesn't resemble any place I've ever watched the game at before and it is so different that I don't know if I understand the rules anymore. The sharing was propounding deep and well considered
10:30pm- Lights Out (most are sound asleep already when checked on by the Captain Jordy
In a few hours time the boys will be treated to one final day in Mumbai prior to moving further down the coast to see in the New Year. Goa promises to shift our collective concentration to rest, relaxation and reflection- all massively important focuses at this end of our journey. In the meantime a visit to the shipping docks tomorrow may just throw the team off wanting to eat fish in Goa. We will just have to wait and see . . .
Ben
MVP- Jake Robson. Today young Jake was caught out. In advance it would be fair to say Jake likes to dabble in the frequent hugging of his touring companions, but today's revelation takes it one step further. Mr Jordan, in his infinite wisdom, had negotiated with the YWCA staff to have 2 boys to a room, each on single beds. There were however two rooms with three single beds able to be allocated for groups of 3 (all pretty straight forward so far). Asked this morning by the Editor how he slept, Jake simply concluded "it was wonderful". The Editor then went onto to merely ask whether it was perhaps the settled temperature, or the buzz of watching the quality movie Dhoom 3, or maybe even the long walk earlier yesterday morning that had been the key driving factor in such a top class sleep. At this point Jake replies "nah, I just suggested to the other two guys in the room that we should rearrange things so that we had one big triple bed, it's all about keeping together sir". Enough said, honourable winner.
Thought- It's time for accountability. Today our wonderful guide spoke about the Indian political system. At this point in time an Indian MP is provided with two cars (and drivers), free 'immediate family' 1st class domestic train travel, free phone calls, and finally, the staggering benefit of free international air travel (oh yeah and domestic flights as well- but that's a little irrelevant in the big scheme of things). I say staggering though as the free flights are not only for the MP, but a further 45 members of their wider family. The total cost per MP per annum is anywhere between $US 2-5 million to the Indian citizens when the above perks are taken into account. Add to this the fact many of them don't front to their daily political engagements/responsibilities in the House, and clearly it is shockingly evident that an environment of zero accountability exists. Furthermore, consider that if a law against corruption in Indian politics (which unsurprisingly is being stone walled by these very same individuals at present) was passed, it would result in 70% of the MPs being sent to jail on rather serious charges. Until recently the locals have been so disenchanted by the politics they haven't bothered to speak or act. We were told today by Sancia that the climate is changing though and before long someone might be held accountable. Wouldn't that be nice?
In the aftermath of yesterday's movie, an event at which Miss Candy was brought to such fits of uncontrollable laughter that she had to self administer an asthma inhaler, today was going to take a little while for the boys to get into. Some attempted to duck for cover, under the banner of being 'sick' (which Hugo Stewart managed to pull with such dramatic integrity that he was allowed to recover in bed- only to be caught out as having posted on the blog in a computer booth 45 minutes after our departure- fair play that man), while others fronted physically but were somewhat distant mentally. This is all totally expected though as it has been a massive effort for the boys to get this far and the fact that this time tomorrow we will be asleep on a train to Goa points to nature in which the programme has been organised to be confronting by then calming. But that is tomorrow; this is what happened today:
Friday 27 December
7:30am- With a tour set to start 90 minutes later, most deny the urge to sleep for longer and instead head down to grab breakfast in the hotel dining room.
9am- We all depart on a bus tour of Mumbai. This was more than sightseeing; with the most insightful of guides (it was so wonderful to have you lead our group again Sancia) we moved throughout the city jumping on and off at various locations in an attempt to understand how a city of 20+ million people operates. Highlights of the tour included Chowpatty Beach, a Jain Temple, The Hanging Gardens, the Towers of Silence, the Dhobi Ghat, and the Crawford Market. The 'Supreme' highlights included the Ravi Community and the Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya Museum. A brief description of each goes as follows:
Chowpatty Beach- the Mission Bay of Mumbai (you would absolutely never swim there though)
Jain Temple- the Jain religion is an offshoot of Hinduism. They have traditionally owned the entire Indian diamond jewels industry and are widely admired for their philanthropy work
The Hanging Gardens- sitting on top of a hill in the plush suburbs, the gardens actually form the top layer of a large water supply that pumps out this priceless commodity to ensure 20+ million complete all of their daily chores that require the use of water
The Towers of Silence- the Parsi religion bury their dead on the top of two large concrete vats, where the bodies are devoured by the vultures, thus allowing the bones to fall through the grating to the calcium that is contained below (interestingly, with the population of vultures dying out in Mumbai, this centuries old tradition has had to be abandoned in the last 12 months, substituted by cremations instead- and so an entire religion has to shift its fundamental rules)
The Dhobi Ghat- the power of people and water collide here in the central place for laundry services. Mountains of clothes are washed and pressed in this thriving ghat
The Crawford Market- the chaotic hub of fresh food and veg for Mumbai Central
Ravi Community- the largest slum in all of Mumbai (the boys were gripped by the imagery; after all Slum Dog Millionaire has filmed here). We spent over 1 hour walking within the community admiring the industriousness of its inhabitants. This slum location is the hub of the Mumbai recycling machine with anything from fragments of wood, to plastic bottles, to cloth, being munched up and formulated into new useful commodities. We also managed to take in the pottery district at the same time where the crafts were of the highest quality. In all, Sancia kept emphasising that these are all skilled labourers; they may be dealing with what looks like scraps to us but what they do with them is meaningful employment, a paid wage, and thus a social status. Quite inspiring to say the least
Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya Museum- the home base for Gandhi during the years he spent in Mumbai. Here the boys searched the archives, downloaded into their own memory banks the story of this hugely influential man, and were left considering how powerful an individual can be who has a passion. Many of the quotes were so incredibly profound, i.e. 'There are moments in life where you must act, even if you cannot carry your best friends with you. The still small voice within you must always be the final arbiter when there is a conflict of duty'
1:30pm- We arrive back at the YWCA knackered but content with the huge body of knowledge and sights that we were able to witness. Confronted with such contrasts we head to lunch to debate whether there is any difference between India's richest man who has a 27 storey building exclusively for the 5 members of his family (right next to a slum) versus our own economic advantages back in NZ
2:45pm- Power naps are taken as we are now inside 90 minutes until NZ vs India in cricket and football fixtures at the Oval Maidan
4pm- game on! Patrick Jung looks all fired up to send the ball out of the park before departing himself with an innings total of zero. It must be noted Miss Candy joined a female game of cricket running parallel to us (Hamish Fox was even invited to attend as an outcome of his cute girlish looks according to the ladies present)
6pm- Having completed a clean sweep of the fixtures on offer (a rarity) the AGS boys shower up whilst Mr Jordan yells profanities at our Magician Rugby Club friends as we leave (some people just don't know how to win graciously)
6:30pm- 'Mean feeds' are had at Cafe Mondegard on the Colaba Causeway. The vibe is massively positive, but how can it not be when a juke box is belting out classics in the restaurant at volume levels which create no chance for conversation. If note George Helsby nails the words to American Pie and then fights Ben Toogood to get out the verses of We Didn't Start the Fire in a more coherent manner than Billy Joel could ever do
8:15pm- Debrief commences. The topic tonight comes in the form of an analogy. Life simply is a game; a game of football (soccer). Consider all of the personnel that are required to showcase the beautiful game in a professional stadium environment (the players, coaches, commentators, owners, fans, broadcasters, food stall vendors, etc). The boys were asked to associate themselves with one of these characters and explain how this link plays out with respect to their time in India i.e. I'm a rookie player in the midfield trying to attack (enjoy the experience) whilst also defending (being freaked out by the challenges), or I'm a fan who just arrived at a new stadium which doesn't resemble any place I've ever watched the game at before and it is so different that I don't know if I understand the rules anymore. The sharing was propounding deep and well considered
10:30pm- Lights Out (most are sound asleep already when checked on by the Captain Jordy
In a few hours time the boys will be treated to one final day in Mumbai prior to moving further down the coast to see in the New Year. Goa promises to shift our collective concentration to rest, relaxation and reflection- all massively important focuses at this end of our journey. In the meantime a visit to the shipping docks tomorrow may just throw the team off wanting to eat fish in Goa. We will just have to wait and see . . .
Ben
MVP- Jake Robson. Today young Jake was caught out. In advance it would be fair to say Jake likes to dabble in the frequent hugging of his touring companions, but today's revelation takes it one step further. Mr Jordan, in his infinite wisdom, had negotiated with the YWCA staff to have 2 boys to a room, each on single beds. There were however two rooms with three single beds able to be allocated for groups of 3 (all pretty straight forward so far). Asked this morning by the Editor how he slept, Jake simply concluded "it was wonderful". The Editor then went onto to merely ask whether it was perhaps the settled temperature, or the buzz of watching the quality movie Dhoom 3, or maybe even the long walk earlier yesterday morning that had been the key driving factor in such a top class sleep. At this point Jake replies "nah, I just suggested to the other two guys in the room that we should rearrange things so that we had one big triple bed, it's all about keeping together sir". Enough said, honourable winner.
Thought- It's time for accountability. Today our wonderful guide spoke about the Indian political system. At this point in time an Indian MP is provided with two cars (and drivers), free 'immediate family' 1st class domestic train travel, free phone calls, and finally, the staggering benefit of free international air travel (oh yeah and domestic flights as well- but that's a little irrelevant in the big scheme of things). I say staggering though as the free flights are not only for the MP, but a further 45 members of their wider family. The total cost per MP per annum is anywhere between $US 2-5 million to the Indian citizens when the above perks are taken into account. Add to this the fact many of them don't front to their daily political engagements/responsibilities in the House, and clearly it is shockingly evident that an environment of zero accountability exists. Furthermore, consider that if a law against corruption in Indian politics (which unsurprisingly is being stone walled by these very same individuals at present) was passed, it would result in 70% of the MPs being sent to jail on rather serious charges. Until recently the locals have been so disenchanted by the politics they haven't bothered to speak or act. We were told today by Sancia that the climate is changing though and before long someone might be held accountable. Wouldn't that be nice?
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