More Mumbai

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I'm back on the interwebs! [insert emoticon of digital relief here] I have been doing a lot of exploring, and seeing and eating. So I promise you will have posts a plenty in the days to come, even if I just decide to sit around for the next few days (pretty close to the truth: my big plans are to buy the new fat Indian Vogue and to get my hair trimmed, although things here have a way of happening when you have no plans). Yesterday, armed with my camera (finally), I set out on a quest for wifi (clearly, I am a very dedicated blogger). I headed to South Bombay (more or less a Manhattan equivalent). I love taking taxi's south because of all the neighborhoods you get to pass through. Most people would be shocked to hear that and while yes, there is traffic that is so bad you can only be flabbergasted, not angry, and it's overwhelmingly hot (they charge extra for AC), it's still magical to zoom by the sights (when there is a green light). Marine drive is especially lovely to drive down (second photo). The air is cool, and the water sparkles. It's transporting. Perhaps not surprisingly, my favorite part about it is seeing all the different people that get to enjoy it: the three girls giggling, the two men drinking some chai, the teens sitting with there legs dangling off the edge passing their cellphones back and forth. It's a real stage for life here. On the land side, you see the apartment buildings morph into the colonial mish mosh that is architecture in the south. Traffic lights are a perfect opportunity for people watching (photo 3). The cab drivers and their passengers are always the most interesting (I'm sure they think that about me too).

Finally I arrived in Colaba (SoHo, these days, is probably a good comparison). After a couple false starts I finally got wifi in the Starbucks attached to the Taj hotel, and what a swanky starbucks it is. I had just enough time to reassure my mother I was alive and vidchat with her so she could verify that I still have all my skin (and no face tattoos or piercings.. yet) before rushing off to a hip spot in Bandra to meet with friends for a lime soda. These are a few of the things that make me love Bombay, that give me that fizzy feeling behind my eyes, that causes me to erupt in ear to ear smiles, and the warm deep and fuzzy sensation in my stomach that makes me feel like I am where I am supposed to be. Speaking of warm fuzzy stomachs, I had a thought yesterday as my body was systematically rejecting my lunch. Being in India, is a lot like food poisoning (bear with me), and I don't mean bad seafood, food poisoning or even Delhi belly, I mean the run of the mill, oops my body doesn't like that thing that happens every so often here. Sometimes India is shit (pun intended), it can make you feel intensely uncomfortable and miserable, but as soon as you get that out of your system, you feel like you can do anything, like it's the best place in the world, and you forget all about the bad (until it happens again of course). It really is the contrast, the fact that you (or really I) have to try to be bored, that makes each experience something specially, blog-worthy, I might say. Much more soon.

Love,
Violet

Technical Difficulties

Will be back tomorrow.... stay tunes

Crawford Market

Alright, so I have a confession to make. I have been in Mumbai for almost a week, and I still haven't charged my camera battery. I had been enjoying the mobility of using my iphone until I got to Crawford market. These pictures don't begin to do justice to one of the coolest places I have been. Those who know me, know that I love a good market: farmers market, flea market, and especially indoor food markets (see the pretzel picture in violetinparis.blogspot.com) and this was a particularly spectacular one. The market building was clearly once a beautiful majestic building, and from far away it seems to be a castle in the middle of a sea of shopping streets. When you get closer you notice how many tiles are missing, and how their seems to be more holes than roof. Stepping inside is another world all together, the stands are tiny, and the whole area is dark. Despite the high ceilings, it is impossible to feel relief walking through the narrow passage ways. You can get anything there, and people do. Women do their shopping with a man with a basket balanced on his head trotting behind them with their groceries. The smells make it obvious what section you are in. The spice section is almost aphrodisiacal. It's like you forgot that you had ever smelled something good in your life. The fruit section is bouncy and joyful smelling, thanks to all the strawberry vendors. Then the stench starts to creep in and you know you are getting closer to the animals. You see the coolest and weirdest thing about the market is the pet section (Picture 3). It's both fascinating and terrible to see ducks, pigeons, puppies, and cats all stacked up in similarly small wire cages. Curious about the prices? I was? We asked about a puppy and they said 3,000 rupees (roughly 60 bucks), meaning actually 1,000.

Thanks to Crawford Market, I officially promise to charge my battery.
Love,
Violet

Mumbai Moment

Yesterday, I went on an incredible tour of the city with my friend Vik. One of my favorite places was a church in Bandra. The movie I was working on is about Catholics in this area in the 70s, so it was great to see the real neighborhood (we were filming in a different part of the city... movie magic at work). The little area by the sea is filled with beautiful crumbling Portugese style cottages. Riding down the streets is like leaving the city behind. The air is 5 degrees cooler, and you can feel the fresh breeze coming from the ocean (this is amazing given how unfresh the water is). The church building itself was something to see, and the walls on the inside are carved wood depicting various stories about Jesus (yesu in Hindi).  Seeing the mix of Catholic worship the way that a Westerner might think of it with the clear influence of Hinduism, gets my anthropologist blood racing.  However, my favorite thing by far was the little stands outside (one pictured above) with tons of colorful candles, wax figures and rosaries. Across from the church was an altar set above the street. We walked the steps to see it and took in the spectacular view of the ocean (and the multi-million dollar apartments in the buildings facing the sea). Hung on the altar were garlands (picture 2), and the multi-color evidence of the candles sold below (3). The whole effect was of a vacation to a costal town in Europe. This visit definitely makes me want to go to Goa (the most famous of the former Portugese colonized towns). I'll keep you posted on whether that happens.

Love,
Violet

Seeing the city

So yesterday I did a bit of sightseeing with some people from the hostel I am staying at. Walking around in Bandra, a suburb of the city which has been called the Brooklyn of Mumbai, and around the city center reaffirmed my love for the city. The buildings (such as the clock tower in the picture) have a beautiful old world character, but with features that are distinctly Indian, and they are surrounded by the vegetation of land that should have been a rainforest. I could wander around forever, despite the heat. The highlight of the day though, was looking for a cheap place to eat some local Indian food in Bandra. There is a gelato place on every corner, and plenty of places to get pizza, macarons, cupcakes, but we just wanted some cheap standard fare. I walked up to two guys to ask them where they get lunch around here. They both raved about a place called hotel something, I was sold. When I asked them where it was they simultaneous pointed in opposite directions. One was sitting down and the other was standing up behind him, so the effect was something out of Alice in Wonderland, like getting directions from tweedle dee and tweedle dum. I burst out laughing and all three of us ended up doing semaphore dances and giggling. In the end, we did find the place. It was a little hole in the wall. I warned my hostel mates that they were taking their bowels in their hands, but that it was probably fine because a lot of people eat here. For dishes at 30 rupees a piece (about 60 cents), we couldn't say no. I mean, at least it would be cheap dysentery).  The meal end up being very very tasty, and many hours later I can cautiously say, that it was also clean enough. I guess the lesson to learn is: ask the locals, and cultivate a healthy sense of humor.

Love,
Violet

On the set

After sleeping from roughly 4:30pm to 5:30 am (thank you swiss duty free sleep mask, awesome ROI), I arrived bright and early at the set, a little too early in fact. Hair and make up were around, but no one else showed up for another half hour, and the camera I was supposed to use didn't show up until the afternoon. Despite the hiccups, I really am enjoying watching this film come together. It's pretty astounding how much work and expertise it takes to make something look effortless. Anyhow, the highlight of my morning was the omelette guy (pictured above making my very own omelette). By midmorning, I was very engaged in the creation of the making of video (my job). The crew is very difficult to catch on camera. They all say they are behind it for a reason. So I have to engage in some sneaky filming. Luckily I am very inquisitive, so it's hard to tell the difference between an interview and my general interaction with people, especially because a movie set is a new place for me. All in all I am really enjoying meeting the people working on the film and having the job of talking to them. It's pretty perfect for me, honestly. Do I smell life trajectory? Maybe that's just my feet after a day of 80-90 degree weather.

Love,
Violet

Here I go again

So, I'm back in Mumbai, massively jet lagged (slept from 1:30am - 4am), sweating in front of the computer. I'm excited, and nervous, although to be honest, half of that is probably because I have to pee... I am staying in a familiar hostel, which is nice. They have reliable wifi, which is a god send when you refuse to get out of bed at 4:30am, but also are definitely not going back to sleep. After being coddled on air swiss (every time you think you might be hungry, someone hands you a warm roll, croissant or a bar of chocolate), being faced with having to fend for myself is a bit daunting. I just have to keep reminding myself that it's a daily struggle to get myself to get up, go to the ATM, good food shopping and other essential and essentially boring activities. Really it's nothing new. I happen to be in Mumbai trying to figure out if I can make breakfast our of sliced bread, something called "sandwich spread" and a very large plastic sack of ketchup, but I could just as easily be in Prospect heights trying to make dessert out of hot chocolate mix, tea biscuits, almond butter and red hots. Really all my ingenuity comes from being lazy at only the most basic level. Will I decide to relocate to India, yes! Will it take me any less than 2 hours to convince myself to go the ATM, no! A major hurtle is getting dressed, but really both things require pants, so that's not really a valid excuse. Anyhow, I'll manage to eat something before I head to set this afternoon (more on that later).

Love,
Violet