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Diwali in BombayNov 11, 2004
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| This morning we met everyone and after breakfast we walked around the area a little. We saw the waterfront and the huge memorial to King Geore V. and admired the various buildings including the Taj hotel. Mid-afternoon we took the local commuter train to the Mumbai suburbs, where friends of Jay and Jetna live. The train ride was an experience in itself. As trains come into the station and slow, people start getting off and on in a mad rush for seats - it's quie chaotic and I can completely understand why so many people in India are killed by trains every year. The tain we boarded was slower so didn't have many people and all six of us got seats. (We did try to board and earlier train, but I was the only one crazy enough to jump into the melee and the girls screamed for me to get off as there was no way they were going to be able to jump on!) As we travelled, however, our carriage got progressivel more packed. Thank God for the multitude of electirce fans on the ceiling or it would have been quite suffocating. The suburb was quite chaotic as well, with everyone preparing for Diwali and shopping in the markets. Rickshaws, scooters and buses did their best to wade through the never ending river of people. I loved it! Sights, sounds, the oppressiveness in your face. Humanity - Incredible! We went to the top flat of a small apartment building and met Jay and Jetna's friends - a very welcoming family who sat us down and gave us a nice Indian dinner. We watched fireworks from the rooftop for a while - the city alight with colours and sounds. All the families set off their own fireworks so it is utter chaos - the sounds were more prevalent than the colours as we felt we were in a warzone with all the firecrackers going off around us! We returned to the hotel by train with Vic and Maninda, much easier this tme around with fewer people. It was, however, disturbing to see filthy, half naked children sleepin on the sidewalks as we made our way home. You ask yourself, what should I be doing? Why shouldn't I help just one person? It humbles me to see this and my petty problems become an embarrasment. |
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