In late January of this year, I went to India for two weeks. One of my best friends got married there. I spent a few days attending her and her husband’s wedding, and spent the rest of the time sightseeing. I went to Mumbai, Chennai, attended an Indian wedding, touched the Indian Ocean, visited some Hindu temples, saw the Ganges River, and visited parts of the Himalayas. Let me tell you about it.
First stop, Mumbai. Mumbai is on the west coast of India and is a city of 18 million people, more than twice the population of New York City. It took about 24 hours of traveling to get from Charlotte to Mumbai, so I arrived at about 1 a.m.
The first thing that hits you when you get outside is the smell of diesel. Almost all of the cars in India use diesel rather than gasoline. I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel. My hotel was in an area called Colaba. It is an older, touristy area in the southernmost part of Mumbai on a peninsula. There is a large arch within walking distance of my hotel called the Gateway of India. The gateway was placed there to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary of Britain in 1911.
I didn’t know it, but the first day I was in India was Republic Day. This day is similar to our Independence Day. This is the day that India adopted their constitution after gaining independence from British rule. (See? They aren’t so different from us. But they do drink their tea hot. Very strange indeed.)
In any case, the streets were filled with so many people that I wondered what I got myself into. Was this really what I’d have to contend with every day in Mumbai? And did I mention that I went alone? Luckily the crowds weren’t as bad afterwards, but on this day especially I stuck out like a sore thumb. So many people wanted to sell me things or give them money.
My first order of business was to buy traditional wedding attire for my friend’s wedding. Since many people came up to me that day, one man asked me what I was doing. I told him that I needed wedding attire. He took me to a store to buy clothes. I’m pretty sure that I paid too much, but everything is much cheaper in India and I was on vacation. C’est la vie.
Afterwards, I got to tour much of the city. I wasn’t really planning on it, but I went to a slum called Dhobi Ghat. You can think of it as a shanty town. The phrase “dhobi ghat” translates into “laundryman,” and in this area that is exactly what they do for a living. This area is an open-air laundromat. On the ground level they wash the clothes in square cement areas, and on the tops of their houses they hang the laundry to dry. Almost all of the laundry is done by hand. It is a very colorful area, but it is also very poor. The people, however, were extremely gracious to me. While I was walking around, many of them wanted to show me their rooms and houses. Visiting this was a very humbling experience.
Ground level of Dhobi Ghat
Rooftops of Dhobi Ghat
After visiting Dhobi Ghat, I just walked around to explore more of the city. I saw some large sports fields where many people were playing games of cricket. It is vaguely similar to baseball, but it’s quite different. Don’t ask me the rules. Around this area, and in many places in general, there are various stands to buy food, snacks or drinks. There are many stands that have fruit cut into decorative shapes. It probably costs less than a quarter for these fruit plates.
My favorite stands, though, were the fresh fruit juice stands. Those drinks were so good. I wish we had those stands here. They were also very cheap. You definitely get your money’s worth in India. One strange thing in India is their scaffolding. Rather than being made out of metal, it is made out of bamboo. Bamboo is very abundant, very light, and very strong.
The next day I visited Khaneri Caves. The Buddhists carved caves and intricate sculptures into the hillside and lived and worshipped there more than 1,000 years ago. I even saw real Buddhists who came to visit the area. There were lots of monkeys there, too. I don’t think the monkeys were Buddhists though. The monkeys were very smart, so you had to be careful with your snacks. They might take them.
Khaneri Caves Carving
Carvings at Khaneri Caves
A monkey and her baby at Khaneri Caves
Later that day, I went back to Colaba to have dinner. Since I was by myself, I stuck out. At the restaurant there was a lady sitting by herself. She said that I could sit with her. Her name was Eloc and she was from Italy. Because English wasn’t her primary language and because of my southern accent, it took some time before we began to understand each other. She told me that she translated manuals and documents for a living. I think that she said that her parents lived in Germany.
The next morning, my hotel was giving the guests a sampling of various types of typical Indian breakfasts. I forget the names of the food because I don’t know how to spell the names, but I do remember the Masala Tea. It is served hot in small, brown cups. I could get used to that hot tea. In fact, I need some now.
At breakfast, I met a couple from Singapore named Lim and Agnes. They were very friendly and we talked a while. Lim told me that he backpacked and stayed in hostels in most places that he visited. They were very nice and told me to contact them if I ever visited Singapore.
After breakfast, I took a one-hour boat ride from the Gateway of India to a cave temple called Elephanta Caves. Elephanta Caves is a temple dedicated to Shiva, one of the Hindu gods. There are more than 33 million Hindu gods, but Shiva is one of the most famous and most powerful of them. There are seven carvings portraying various stories, but unfortunately many of the sculptures were damaged by Portuguese colonists using them as target practice a long time ago.
I had a tour guide about my age who told me all about the stories of Shiva. The most interesting thing my tour guide told me is that Shiva is the god of destruction, Shiva the Destroyer. Along with two other gods, Brahma and Vishnu, these three gods create a sort of balance in the universe. Brahma created the universe, Vishnu ensures that everything operates in the universe, and Shiva destroys the evil in the universe: Brahma the Generator, Vishnu the Operator, and Shiva the Destroyer. Look closely at the first letter of each of their functions. It spells out the word “G-O-D.” Many people think that this is where the word “god” originated.
Shiva Sculpture at Elephanta Caves. Notice the damage.
After getting back from Elephanta Caves, my friend who was getting married invited me to her parent’s house. She grew up in Mumbai. Before getting married, the bride gets mehndi (pronounced muh-hen-dee) painted onto her arms and legs. It is very intricate. This is where Henna tattoos came from. After reading the initial draft of this, my friend wanted me to add that I got “fleeced” by the taxi driver who took me to her parents’ house. What’s a few extra bucks for the immense hilarity of my friend?
My friend and her mehndi paintings
I spent a total of three days in Mumbai. The next day I would fly to Chennai where my friend would get married.
Alex Auman is a Richmond Country native. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. He writes about politics, ideas and current events.
