Why so much white on your face?

Mumbai...

Mumbai was only supposed to be a transiting stop where Angelina and I would meet up and then head south to Hampi and then Kerala.

The only points of reference and expectations I had of Mumbai were based on what I had read in Shantaram. Ha! Little detail I forgot to take into account, the story in the book happens in the late 70's early 80's...and yes, the city has apparently changed entirely.

So in some ways, yes, I was very disappointed. Mumbai is now a mega city. Spread out beyond expectation with numerous neighborhoods not so different the one from the other, except perhaps Colaba who is trying hard to remind somewhat of a mini hub for naive tourists who will assume the rest of the city is the same.

Anyhow, after a lot of walking all over the southern part of the city to soak as much culture and people interaction as possible, we were both very happy to leave Mumbai.

Three interesting things happened though, which made the visit so much worth it:

- before I arrived, Angelina had had the time to connect with a small organization working at helping former sex workers diagnosed with HIV/AIDS to improve their livelihood. So we met again with them on out last day and spent the whole afternoon with them trying to identify a project that we could support them with that would allow these women to regain some self confidence and make some sort of income to sustain themselves. Kind of a social business. The short term project we settled on was selling undergarments to sex workers and possibly other women in the community. Angelina through her long experience in community and social projects during her journey is quite an expert in this and has managed to raise quite a sum of money throughout her journey (18 months already) to put to use for such occasions. So after a quick brainstorming we went off, taxi and train to the wholesalers neighborhood to buy a large load of women undergarments that the women would start selling the very next day.
Should you want more info on the organization and similar projects please let me know.

- second, while walking through Mumbai's main slum, we walked for a while with these four kids, brothers and sisters from the same family. At one point the older brother asked me bluntly: why so much white on your face?
I found the question so unexpected and brilliant at the same time coming from a 12 year old. Kids have a way to be so curious in the most direct and simple way. I had no clue what to reply. He barely spoke English, and explaining to him that in other parts of the world people have different skin tones (among other things) would have taken some time and effort. But this simple question coming from a kid of such a huge, international and developed city as Mumbai's threw me back on a reality check as to how, without realizing it, people in other  much less developed places I have traveled through till now, must have seen me as a being coming from another planet. As international and relatively well educated travelers, there are so many things we take for granted, being totally unaware of the depth of the differences between us and the more secluded and less educated populations of the world. It is definitely good for us to get such reality checks from time to to!e to bring us back to the reality of this planet and remove us from the absurd nativity in which we blindly accept to live our privileged lives.
I am in such admiration when I meet people from such secluded places of the world who tell me that they have spent their life savings to travel to Europe of north america to discover new cultures and done the touristy trails. These people could want to put their money into a better comfort at home or more material things that would increase their social status in their community. But no, they chose to educate themselves in the most direct and real way, by traveling. I can't attest to what they actually do with this additional knowledge, but I find amazing that though they tell me they have loved the experience, in the end they still prefer to remain in their town, perhaps to live a much more real life, where people matter a lot more than things. Which is headed in the right direction with regard to the pursuit of happiness (let's be honest, all of us, in a way or another, are after the pursuit of happiness). I have my opinion. I will let you make your own...but perhaps, before you do, travel a bit to those remote places.

-third, my last evening in Mumbai, and before catching a night train to Hospet (to connect to Hampi), I managed to reconnect with Bilitis, who was at the same rehab facility in the Alpes when I got my knee surgery in 2007. Back then, we were very close friends, as it helped in order to get over our pains and struggles of wheel chairs and crutches. And I hadn't seen her since 2007, yet knew that she lived in Mumbai where she had gotten married and just recently given birth. And so I managed swing by her apartment uptown for a quick one hour catch up. It was so good to see her, and so cute to witness that now she actually speaks English with the strongest Indian accent. Though it took an hour to get to her place and one hour back, for only 45 minutes of hanging out, it was so worth it. Ever taken the public commuter train in one of the most crowded cities of the world during rush hour and with huge backpacks? Ha! A real adventurous experience in itself!!! And on the way back, that day was a huge Muslim celebration (of the birth of the prophet I believe), so the streets were loaded with parades and chants, and people dancing and waving flags, ALL OVER!!! Regular traffic jams in Mumbai are nothing compared to that evening. And so to get from Bilitis apartment to the train station, though we naively believed we could have down it all by auto rickshaw...well, we had to walk most of the way. At least 3 km I would say. Walking, as fast as possible, with gear on, and in the middle of an avenue, against traffic, and in and out of parades was such a spectacular way to end our visit to Mumbai. Such a rush of adrenaline! Will we make it on time to catch our train? Will we get hit by a car? Such a potty to not have the time to partake in these celebrations. All these were our thoughts for the half hour we had to walk/run.

But we made it just in time to catch our train...bye bye Mumbai. A short journey, but great memories.