Getting Trained

Twyla and Greg have been teaching us well. In our first week in Mumbai, Dean and I have been on the commuter trains about every second day since arriving, in crowded times and less so, day and evening. It is an amazing experience, and so far for me, all quite thrilling. It’s a 10-15 minute walk from T&G’s apartment to the Bandra Train Station. The walk is not merely a stroll: in addition to the usual cars and small trucks all madly honking, one has to look out for zig-zagging motor rickshaws, bicycles, hand-pushed carts piled with all manner of goods, dogs, cats, goats, and of course people walking, preparing food, and selling goods in shops and along the roadside. Curbed sidewalks are often intermittent and rough, and irregularly occupied by huge trees, poles and posts, kiosks, sleeping dogs (let them lie), storm drains, trash, and puddles. About halfway to the station, one climbs up approximately three stories of crowded stairs to a long overhead walkway which allows pedestrians easier and safer access to the station and affords a marvellous overlook to the bustling streets below. From the walkway, it is hard to imagine that you have just survived the journey along the streets. However, from above one can see that there is a degree of orderliness to the activities below, and that what seems chaotic to the individual at ground level has a certain pattern when viewed at the larger scale. Think of the movement of a red blood cell as it courses through your own circulation system; so much in common with all the others, yet each with changing purpose, routes and function throughout its lifetime.

At Bandra Train Station, it is possible to access trains on four tracks, two southbound, two northbound. Some of the trains are “Fast”, and do not stop at every station along the way (these stations are posted above the waiting platform). One of the two southbound lines ends at Victoria Station and the other at Churchgate, both in South Mumbai. Technically, Bandra, where T&G live, is “North Mumbai” but really the distance from Bandra to Victoria Stations is only about 10 km. The city itself is vast and extends for tens of kilometres north, south and east of the centre portion. Many other interconnecting train lines serve these areas. Trains arrive at the stations every few minutes and stop only briefly. Our LP guidebook says that an estimated 2.5 million people pass through Victoria Station each day. Here we go.


It is necessary to descend from the walkway to the Bandra Station level in order to purchase tickets. Fares are for First or Second Class travel, and for example, it costs 6 rupees to travel second class from Bandra Station to Churchgate, one-way. That is about 12 cents. First Class is about 40 rupees, a splurge. If travelling second class, you have to wait in line to purchase tickets, but if travelling first class, you can go to the head of the line and cut in to pay. There are no automated ticket machines or tokens: everyone needs to pay for each ticket at a manned wicket and wait for individually printed tickets and change. Once the ticket is purchased, it is not routinely shown again, although the train authorities can ask to see your ticket and ensure that you have paid. Then it’s back up the long stairs to cross above the tracks and select which track your train is likely to be on, then back down the stairs to the platform. So that’s four sets of 2-3 storey stairs so far, right?

Selecting the correct platform and direction for the trains is a bit of a trick as well. Again, Twyla has this all figured out. Southbound, V is for Victoria Station and S is for Churchgate Station, F is for fast train and S is for slow. Did I mention that many of the streets, public parks, stations and facilities in Mumbai have both an English and Indian name, so sometimes the letters don’t match the name, for us,. You choose the train direction according to the name of the final station on the line. Ignore for a moment that there is another V-starting station name at the end of one of the northbound lines, also labelled V. Painted signage is in both Sanskrit lettering and our Arabic lettering (the anglicized version of the Hindi or Marati names); electronic platform and train car signage is in English, e.g. “Bandra Station” or “Charni Road”

On the platform, where to stand? The roof support steel pillars are painted with stripes to indicate roughly where the First and Second class train cars will be located, and of those, which are designated for women only. The train cars themselves have a I or II marked beside each door. Women cluster near the spot where the Second class cars will arrive so it is fairly easy to spot; the non-designated cars are mostly populated by men, and by women traveling with men. Twyla and I have sometimes traveled in the women’s cars, which are lively and massively colourful. It has also been fine for us while using the undesignated cars, especially since we have been with Greg and Dean, and on those occasions there might only be 1-2 other women in the car. The only difference between First and Second class is the fare: the appearance and set-up of the seats and windows is otherwise the same. It is enough of a difference, though, to make the First class cars less crowded and easier to board.

Here comes the train. A surge of people move toward the slowing train and begin to try to board even before others have exited or the train has come to a halt. It is amazing and scary and exciting all at once. Men experienced at this literally dive onto the train, hands first, edging between those waiting to exit. There is a 18” step up to the floor of the train from the platform, so when boarding, you have to aim for a vertical as well as horizontally moving target. The doorway is about 4 feet wide, and there is a wall of people standing there, so it’s a matter of avoiding those jumping off the still moving train and hopping in just as the train is stopping. There is an initial crush while people scurry to place themselves inside: scrambling for any deserted seats, hanging on near the doorway for the best air and view, adjusting their sitting to fit four across each bench-seat, jumping up to offer Twyla or me a seat. It is helpful (but difficult) to know which side of the train you will exit, and to position yourself relatively near a door on that side. It reduces the stress of worrying whether you will be able to get yourself off at the correct station; remember, the exiting process starts well before the train comes to a halt. There is no visible means of predicting which side the platform will be on, but people who ride know and are very helpful with that. If you are several people back from the doorway and needing to exit, you can just call out the station name and somehow, as if by magic, a tiny little passage is created as people shift to let you through. It is stressful but exhilarating.

The trains have open doorways along the sides, similar to a subway train and unlike a long-distance train coach. There are no sliding panels or doors to close. It clearly is a coveted location to travel near the doors, or even leaning and hanging out. Often you see 4-5 men hanging out the doorway. I suppose that the view is good and the air rushes by your face. Twyla and I marvelled at the magnificence of a woman in a lovely wine-red sari standing in the doorway of the women’s car with the folds of the fabric insufflated by the rushing air and billowing around her. Inside, there are fans which are suspended from the ceiling and move the air very well. Still, it must be murderously hot on the trains in the spring and summer. Well, it’s murderously hot everywhere then.

Off the train, traipse along the platform, up the stairs, across the tracks, down the stairs and now you are at the street, and about to start the next phase of the adventure. That is how we are getting trained!

New Year’s Eve Day: Back in Mumbai



Taj Mahal



We are back in Mumbai for New Year’s Eve after spending the past 10 days on our tour through Rajasthan with Twylaji Tours [this is a play on her name..."ji" added to a name is a term of endearment, and phonetically represents both her surname and the fact that she is a Guide]. The total group size, including our ji-guide, was only 6. We traveled by air, train, taxi, motor and foot powered rickshaw, van, camel, and walking. Our guide was intrepid in introducing us to new experiences and sights and challenging our boundaries. This is a quick overview of the trip with pictures and details to follow….



Agra Fort



We started by flying to Jaipur for 3 nights. The first of the days was spent going by train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. Both were spectacular. We returned by sleeper car which was an experience in it’s self when our berths for the 6 of us was unexpectedly added to by 2 people sleeping on the ends of the lower benches or on the floor. Since it was a 4 hour train ride and there was standing room only in the 2nd class car next to ours, we didn’t make them leave. The 2nd day in Jaipur, we spent walking around Jaipur visiting markets, temples, the fort, and shopping.



Pushkar



On day 3 we loaded into a van for our transportation for the remainder of the tour. The 6 of us fit well into the 11 seat van. The back seat was a bench which worked well for whoever needed to sleep/nap that day. (This was the Delhi belly or bad cold recovery ward.)
We stayed one night in Pushkar and again did a walking tour in the town center area where our guest house was located. This is a very holy location with many ghats and temples around a lake for cleansing and meditating. We and our families were blessed by several Brahmin priests at the lake. It was fun to walk around the lake and visit several of the 400+ temples.

Udaipur

The next day we went on to Udaipur where we stayed for 2 nights overlooking the lake in the old part of town. We visited the palace, took a boat trip on the lake, went to a Rajasthan dance performance at the museum and walked, shopped, visited temples and ate great meals and celebrated Christmas.

 Next we went on to Jodhpur, the blue city, for 3 nights. This city is located in the Rajasthan Desert and the locals are only able to grow crops in the winter after the fall monsoon if enough rain fell that year. This year was/is cool and wet so we actually were thankful for our light goose down "sweaters" for the low 40’s at night. It also rained one of the days we were there, very unusual this time of year in the desert... but you already know our luck with deserts.

On the drive to Jodhpur we stopped at an ox powered water lift used for irrigating the fields. We were shown how it worked and got great pictures of the water being lifted from a cistern dug many centuries ago.

Jain Temple at Ranakpur

On this drive we also stopped for several hours to visit the Jain Temple Complex at Shri Ranakpur. I think this rivals the Taj Mahal in elegance and splendour. There are over 1400 carved marble columns each unique holding up the walls and roofs of the complex. All surfaces are marble and carved completely with scenes and figures. The sunlight penetrating the complex rendered a lovely soft bright light amongst the columns. Enchanting.

The fort and palace complex in Jodhpur was also very extensive and spectacular and one gate was only a block from our accommodations. (Great choice by Twylaji Tours!) Since we were very centrally located we wandered through the streets, visited markets and temples, got lost, but could easily get back to the guest house via rickshaw if we couldn’t locate it ourselves.



Jodhpur



 One of the gates in the walled city of Jaipur

For the last 2 nights we returned to Jaipur. We visited the Amber Fort in Amer, and went to the Anoki fabric printing museum. While shopping continued for some, Greg and Dean and a rickshaw driver climbed up on a part of the city wall and walked along it to a vantage point above the fort, town, and reservoir. We successfully kept the monkeys away because they also like to walk along the wall.

Elephants at Amber Fort (Alison got snot-sprayed by an elephant,
another event to add to her list of animal-fluid exposures)

Today we flew back to Mumbai and have dinner and later plans to bring in 2011.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!



Amber Fort



Dec. 12: Chor (Thieves) Bazaar

Today we are off to the train station again. Even though we have walked this way before it looks different each time and we see many new sights every time. Today I noticed a hand cranked kids Ferris wheel ride.

Sunday is a great day to ride the trains because the rider volume is much lower than during the work week (only 4 people in the train doorway instead of 8+) so we chose to travel 2nd class. The total return cost for the four of us is 48rs or 1 USD. Twyla and Alison traveled in the women’s car and even had seats! Once we got to Grants Road station we treated ourselves to a taxi ride to Chor Bazaar

instead of a rickshaw so all of us could travel together. Rickshaws carry a max of three adults, although they are more comfortable with two.






Chor or Thieves Bazaar is one of several bazaars and markets in the central section of Mumbai. If you are ever interested, several guided tour options are available from Mumbai Magic: http://www.mumbaimagic.com/

We have our own guides, Twyla and Greg, so head off into the bazaar with gusto.  We are interested in seeing antique furniture and household furnishings and aim for

Mutton Street

.  The mixture of street happenings, people and animal watching, building architecture, as well as window shopping makes our progress slow, but fun.  (Anne, we even spied some Christmas balls! Huge ones and heavy.)

I can’t understand how many shops selling the same type of items can exist right next door to each other. How many shops selling bamboo scaffolding do you need? The most shops of one type we see today are car parts. In the street are several cars in various stages of dismantling with parts leaving the demolition site for several different shops.

When we arrived at our first furniture/household items shop, Twyla was recognized and greeted. (I wonder if she gets a commission?) There are many great things to look at in this shop and others on the street. Do any of you need a porch swing made out of brass adorned ox cart tongues, or a metal grain bin as tall as Dean, or an old set of semaphore flags? Let us know. I’m sure shipping can be arranged. It is amazing how many and how diverse the items are in a single shop let alone along the whole street of shops.

At the end of our bazaar crawl, at the edge of the bazaar, was a cool upper floor restaurant with cool drinks for all. Twyla has introduced us to fresh lime sodas, and Alison is already addicted. Very refreshing.

Dec 11: Dharavi Slum

On our first full day in Mumbai we jumped right in with a train ride during rush hour to the Dharavi Slum. Twyla and Greg wanted to take the slum tour and having visitors was a perfect fit.

The Bandra train station is only a short walk from T&G’s apartment, with part of it on elevated walkways that give a good overview of the whole local area. The walkways cross several large roads. They are very good for decreasing pedestrian/vehicular interactions which are always stressful at road level.

We bought 1st class train tickets so were able to travel in packed train cars, but not crushingly so as in the 2nd class cars. The 1st class tickets cost about 3 times the 2nd class tickets but each ticket still cost under 1 USD. One of the important points in train riding is getting on and off with and against

the crowds (think of us as salmon swimming up stream). There are no doors on the train doorways, so there is no warning when the train is leaving, as there would be on a subway car. Rather exciting until you get used to it and learn that you don’t die if you board or leave when the train is still moving slowly, AND the last to board get the best view and a breeze. The air isn’t exactly fresh but at least it is moving.

At the Dharavi Slum train stop, Mahim, (one stop before Dadar, the real mayhem station where many bus and train lines connect) we were met by our Reality Tours and Travel guide, Jidish.  On the bridge over the train tracks into the slum, Jidish gave us lots of history and information about Dharavi.  If you have seen ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, you have seen some scenes of Dharavi, but there are many misconceptions in the movie from the present day reality. 

Dharavi Slum Fact 1: In an area of 1.7 sq km there are an estimated 1 million people. (It would take 100 billion people living in Alaska to have the same density per sq km.)

 Dharavi Slum Fact 2: The slum has been in existence since about 1840 and has both industrial and residential areas. The land is government owned but the buildings have titles and private owners and are legally bought and sold. There is government-provided water, sewer and electricity.

 Dharavi Slum Fact 3: The estimated total yearly slum industry output is valued at 665 million USD! The slum industries we saw were: 1. Recycling of plastics, large paint and oil cans, cooling coils from refrigerators, cooper and aluminium wires, cardboard; 2. Baking various breads; 3. Logo embroidery; 4. Textile and travel bag manufacturing; 5. Food vendors for locals and migrant workers. 6. Public works for misc. pipes and wires. 7. Tanning and drying of animal hides.

Dharavi Slum Fact 4: The crime rate in the slum is much lower than the general city due to the community effect of everyone knowing their neighbours and not allowing pickpockets, petty criminals, and beggars to live there.

During the tour we were not allowed to take pictures out of respect for the people living there so we downloaded several from the Reality Tours website: http://www.realitytoursandtravel.com/

The streets, alleys, and one-person-wide passageways we walked through put us into life in the slum.  It was cleaner than we expected and had a very industrious, friendly and community feel overall.  Most of the buildings were 2 stories tall in both the industrial and residential areas.  By our standards things were very dark and dusty, but

compared with living “on the street” here in Mumbai, things were more substantial than we had anticipated.  We would have trouble fitting into the very steep, narrow stairs to the second story level of any of the houses or businesses. The stairways were like those on a ship; more like ladders than stairs.  Thankfully the upper story access to the school and several industries we toured were large enough for us visitors to enter.

We visited several of the small industries currently operating in the slum area. In most instances, the men working in these industries are from the rural area and often also sleep in the building in which they work. They work to send money home to the rural area to their families. The employers are very wealthy and appear rarely. In the more residential areas, families live in the slums might have children who attend school there, or who already work in industry. Some people live in the slum and work in the main part of the city. Our guide himself said he lives in another slum area because that is what he knows, and where his family is located.

Jidish was quick to point out that India is one of the “world’s dumping grounds”, and much of the small industry in Dharavi involves recycling and harvesting material from trash scavenged from the city, the dumps, and imported from developed countries. As a result we saw men bashing away at car radiators to harvest the aluminium and copper, then melt it down (very toxic fumes, so much so that this activity is not undertaken in North America), burning empty paint containers and cleaning them (also toxic fumes), and grinding and re-colorizing various plastic products to result in finely grated uniformly colored re-usable plastic. We could see and smell the smoky evidence of these activities as we stood on a rooftop, looking out across the whole slum.

In the residential areas, some houses have tapwater inside; others share a public pump, placed frequently enough that 4-6 dwellings share the use of one. The sewer is open to the air, a tiny channel about 8 inches wide and deep, with stone slabs or grates over parts, and otherwise uncovered. Grey water (very grey water) stands in the sewer, undoubtedly a breeding ground for mosquitos. We saw several dead rats in the tiny alleyways of the slum, and many dogs and cats roaming the maze of pathways. We did not go into any dwellings, but could see in through the doorways that the rooms were tiny and cluttered, airless and dark, and the rooms and alleys were populated with many people.

Those that we encountered living and working in Dharavi are surprisingly receptive to small walking tour groups, and when we approached and eye contact, large smiles follow. We were repeatedly questioned: What is your name? and/or Where are you from? Children from toddlers up reached out to shake our hands, examine our clothing, touch our glasses. Also the vibrant color of the women and children’s clothing has no limit. Bright, sequined and embroidered is the norm everywhere. Any full street or balcony clothesline, railing or ground clothes drying area is a festival of colors.

The government, as well as some NGOs, provide medical clinics, schools, adult training and community centers. (One of these being the Reality Tours and Travel Company which uses the tour fees to fund a kindergarten, adult training and a community center.)

While this slum area is devastatingly primitive, dirty, crowded and poor, the tour showed us that there are some positive aspects for those living in the slum: the sense of family and community, the high employment rate, and for India, a regular source of income, relative freedom from crime, and intermingling of religions. However, this is not to glorify slum life. Although it is condoned, even supported, by the local government, at any time the government could (and is currently planning) to demolish the slum in favour of hi-rise and commercial development, displacing both the people and the small industry that has evolved and thrived there for over 150 years.

On To INDIA !!!

Dec 7 to 10: To Mumbai and first day

Alison and I arrived in Mumbai Dec.10th about 5AM local time. We had a very nice and uneventful trip. All went as scheduled and Twyla met us at the airport with a van and driver from ABS, the school where Greg teaches.

The ironic part of the trip was the route. We flew from Vancouver to San Francisco, there we got on a flight that then flew north along the west coast close to Vancouver, south of Anchorage, over Dutch Harbor, north of Adak, over the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula, over Japan to Hong Kong. It was a 13+ hour flight. So, during the past

several days, we were close to all of you on the west coast and in Anchorage! The next leg to Bangkok was only 2 hours and then only 4 hours over the Indian Ocean and India to Mumbai.

On the trans-Pacific flight we had individual pods that could be changed through the whole range of positions from the sitting to lying flat.  VERY NICE!!  Each pod had it's own monitor with hundreds of movies.  We each watched 3 movies during the flight and were fed multiple times with gourmet style meals.  During the airport layovers we also were able to use the business class lounge.  We like Cathay Airlines!



Business Class Lounge in Hong Kong


















Twyla and Greg's apartment building

 The morning we arrived, Twyla took us on a walking tour of the Bandra West area around Twyla and Greg’s apartment.  It is only 1K to the ocean. 
















The coast is mostly lava flows and columnar basalt not much sand right here.  People were walking in the waves and others were washing their laundry.  We stopped for bagels for lunch, saw where Twyla gets her pedicures, did some shopping, and went to the bank and ATM. 



ABS School Complex



ABS swimming pool and tennis court

After a short nap we went to ABS (American School Bombay) to see the NGO displays for some Christmas shopping and meet up with Greg.  We took 2 motor rickshaws (passenger limit for 1 rickshaw is 3) back to T&G's apartment for dinner and Alison and I crashed at 6:30PM.

It's Saturday morning now and we are presently drinking coffee and will take the train (during rush hour) to tour a slum in northwestern Mumbai south of the river that is the local boundary between Mumbai and the suburbs, the first of which is Bandra (west and east) where T&G live and the school is located..  Maybe a bazaar is also on the plan today.  If we can stay awake, we'll join T&G for the ABS Christmas party tonight.  On to the future.....