DAYS 104–105 At sea
Mumbai, India
DAYS 106-107 Sunday and Monday, April 30 and May 1. Mumbai, India
Talk about culture shock! After four days of seeing fabulous wealth and the slickest of cities we landed in Mumbai. It may not be rich like Dubai, but Mumbai is ‘way richer in so many ways. Number One, in my estimation, is Heart; then, in no particular order, Grit, the kind the English and Australians prize so much. History. Adaptability. Ability to deal with chaos and adversity. Did I mention History? Tradition. I was impressed how they are able to have traditional systems seamlessly coexist with the new. Their railroad system, seemingly ancient but running so well. The largest hand laundry, still keeping up with modern demands of both domestic and business clients. The dabbawallas system, delivering home-cooked, mid-day meals to workers right at their place of work, reliably, for decades.
I could go on and on, but this may not be the place for it.
I chose to do a portrait of “the Spice King,” from whom I bought some premium cardamom seeds. I think his face, which has more wrinkles than his starched shirt, expresses a lot of what impressed me in Mumbai.
As with so many of the other places we’ve been to on this trip, I plan to pull many more images from Mumbai. Starting with the Dharavi slums (remember Slumdog Millionaire?)