More on Mumbai

Yesterday's post on my first impressions of Mumbai was just that-the first impressions. Today I got a better taste of what this city is all about, and I have some more to say.

As an aside, I have to admit that in order to interest you I've had to get more creative with these posts as I'm no longer visiting care homes and hospitals and interacting with interesting people in the field. So now I'm just touring cities and talking about whatever comes to mind.

Anyway, today Sej and I were very lucky to have our very own tour guide, Kiran. Kiran is a family friend of Renu Aunty (a family friend of my parents), with whom we are staying while we're here in Mumbai. Kiran showed us the major universities of Mumbai, including St. Xavier's, Bombay University, and Jai Hind College. It was interesting to see how different they all are.

We also got to see some of the architecture typical of the city. It is distinctly different from any other city I've seen in India (and by now I feel like I've seen many). It's heavily influenced by the British. Train stations look like churches, with tall steeples and intricacies that you'd never expect from a simple public transportation building. The buildings are very very old, but surprisingly still standing despite 150 years (give or take) of wear and tear. Not all the buildings are old; there are so many high rises being built in the city, too. From apartments to corporate offices, Mumbai's skyline is rapidly growing. The mix of old and new buildings is interesting to see...more of that contrast/disparity we always talk about.

To get around, we relied on public transportation, which was an experience in itself (especially in the pouring rain!). We took the bus to the center of town, and a train to get back home (we live in a residential area of Mumbai). The bus was very convenient, and since it's Sunday, we didn't have to deal with the usual full frontal assault that is an Indian bus ride (Kiran agrees...she says that you come out of the bus half-raped, usually). The state of the trains is really bad, but it's so convenient that what it lacks in beauty, it makes up for (somewhat) in usability. However, Kiran told us that she's seen dead bodies on the train, because they are so packed during the weekdays that there isn't enough room for all the riders. They fall off the train onto the tracks. Another public health concern in a country that has more than its share.

Another interesting thing we did today was to go to Mocha, a hip coffee shop and hookah bar where teenagers and college students seem to pass their time smoking, flirting, and seeing and being seen. It was interesting to see young Indians being more "American" than me, smoking hookah, wearing lots of makeup, being totally comfortable with public displays of affection, etc. It was also a public health concern, as people were smoking indoors and we had to sit there and endure it. But that's a giant of an adversary here in India, tackling smoking in public places.

Lastly, this morning I finally went to the park to go jogging! It wasn't raining (it started pouring literally minutes after I arrived home), so I spent a good 45 minutes there. It was a Sunday morning...everyone in town that was up seemed to be there. Kids played cricket and soccer, ignoring the muddy puddles everywhere (or, more accurately, reveling in them). The elderly gathered around in the middle of the track to read the paper. Women power-walked in groups. Men strolled with their dogs...on LEASHES. It made such a difference to my impression of the city, to see everyone congregating in such a healthy way. What a huge public health blessing a decent, centrally located park is!

In the evening, we sat around munching snacks and talking about everything from life in the Gulf Coast (Kiran's family spent a lot of time there) to fashion in India and politics in the US. Life in Dubai is apparently very different from what you would expect in a Muslim country, with gay bars, excessive drinking (and driving), and ladies nights out. British immigrants apparently treat Dubai Indians like their servants, thinking they are superior simply because of their British passports. Kuwait is very shallow, with dinner conversations centered around people's income. The US media is deplorable. Mumbai real estate (in certain areas) is among the most expensive in the world. It was interesting to talk about all of these things, because in some way or another, they all affect my favorite topic: public health.