Tokyoahead - Impressions from Mumbai, India

Mumbai is a agglomeration with around 20 Million people. The city is huge, dirty, chaotic and terrible to drive a car in. Traffic jams are a permanent and still steadily worsening problem. On a single drive through the city one can see all extremes between rich and poor, traditional and modern. This article simply shows a few glimpses of the city, but all of what you can see here is a normal sight there. The picture on the left is a statue in a Jain temple.


The city has a very high diversity of religions. Next to Hindu and all its facets there are many Buddhist, Christian and also Muslims. Some of those have their own quarters. Near downtown is an island with nothing but a large Mosque on it. The path to that Mosque is flooded during high tide. The way buildings are built is quite scary. The scaffolding is slanted and bent, made form a local wood. With no boards in between this structure reminds of East-Asian bamboo-structures on buildings, but they are straight at least. You will find grand buildings everywhere downtown, which look like palaces and that house central post offices, train stations etc. This here (Pic 3) is the "Taj Mahal Hotel".

Technology is a matter of time in India. With so many IT professionals coming from there, and call centers becoming a social issue, the way telephones are connected reminds you of the 70's in Europe... Religion, however is everywhere. Many ornaments, flowers, temples, clothing and colors on the faces of people remind you constantly how important religion is to Indians. This second picture shows women in a Jain temple chanting. Since many people are poor, many have a very small business on the street. Some of them deal with illegal goods apparently. This street vendor was not really happy when I took a picture of him selling some shirts to tourists...

Scenes in the streets are very diverse. While you will see people washing their clothes in gullies, you will also see expensive shops and one of the worlds most expensive real estate markets. Transport is done by trucks that are beautifully painted. Motor scooters are a popular mean of personal transport. Since helmets exist in only one size, you can even hold a cell phone under it. Those two ladies share their MP3-player at the same time. Since commuting in Mumbai can take hours, this is surely a good idea. The veil in front of the face is more a protection against the dust and smog than a religious issue. The taxis with three wheels are a problem however. Since they three of them can fit on two lanes, and people do not care too much about the white lines on the road, on taxi often blocks an adjacent lane. That is why they are not allowed in downtown, but elsewhere the effect is quite bad.

Despite all the mess in the city you will find some calm spots also. Some of the restaurants are very nicely decorated and do not seem to fall apart like most of the older buildings in town. The beach is a prominent place to spend the evening, although its also bustling with people & food vendors. At least a nice red sunset is a given due to the smog...

There is one sightseeing place that should be visited: Elephanta Island south of Mumbai. It holds a big cave with ancient carvings and statues with Hindu motives. If you are not familiar with the symbols it might be worth getting a guide who can explain to you the richness of those panels. Unfortunately most of them have been destroyed by the Portuguese when they found this cave many years ago.

Menu

User Functions

Sponsored Links

Related info

Impressions from Mumbai, India

Trackback