Riding the local trains

In order to get around Mumbai, you need to brave the local trains. At first it can be quite a daunting experience, however the more I ride the trains, the more this mode of transport has grown on me. The local trains carry an estimated 6.1 million commuters each day between downtown and the sprawling northern suburbs. The sheer number of people the trains manage to accommodate each day is astonishing to me.
Once you arrive at the train station, the first order of business is to locate the ticket counter and obtain a ticket. True, it is debatable whether buying a ticket to ride the train is actually a necessity. I have never been asked or seen anyone be asked by a railway official to present a ticket however the system miraculously seems to function pretty well based on trust. Behind the ticket counter are a number of long lines, none of which are clearly marked. I’ve learned that the answer to buying a ticket is to cut the line and request a coupon booklet. Yes, believe it or not, it is allowed, even recommended, to cut the line if you’re looking to buy a coupon book.
Three main railway lines connect the city: the Western line, the Central line, and the Harbor line. The main transfer points are Kurla, Dadar, and C.S.T., the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly known as Victoria Terminus. Also, there are both slow trains and fast trains.
Then boarding the train is another challenging experience. Locating the right platform can be rather confusing since all of the signs are written in Hindi. The flyover tunnels that connect the platforms to the station create a sort of meandering cobweb. Once you find the right platform, look for the ladies. Trains in Mumbai have separate compartments for women, which to their benefit, seek to minimize harassment and help women to feel safe and comfortable when riding, yet I have mixed feelings about since ladies’ compartments are only a band-aid solution to alleviate the symptoms of larger structural issues.
As the train is nearing the station, you have to be sure not to stand too close to the edge of the tracks because gaggles of men hang out of the compartments, arms stretching out in every direction, eager to push one another out as soon as the train slows down. Once the train stops, the true chaos sets in. A mad rush of commuters flood out of the compartments as those boarding fight to get on in time before the train lurches out of the station. When it comes to boarding, survival of the fittest is the dominant philosophy. If anything stands in the way of you and the train, it is socially acceptable for you to take any necessary measures to remove the obstacle. I’ve definitely experienced a lot of pushing, shoving, and even trampling while boarding the local trains. And, believe it or not, this transition of passengers is every bit as crazy and feisty among women within the women’s compartments.
Assuming you are lucky enough to make it onto the train, finding a seat is not always possible. Once you’re on, you’ll be confronted with women selling everything from tacky stuffed animal keychains to chai and street snacks. During your journey, you learn to expect the unexpected—its entirely possible for you to be asked to pose in a family photo or to hold a baby. So, riding the local trains is quite a colorful, exhausting yet equally exhilarating experience.

On a more serious note...

I regret writing such a serious post, but feel its time I updated everyone on last week's events and tell more about the current security situation here in Mumbai. As I'm sure you've heard by now, about a week ago, there were bomb blasts that hit three different areas of the city. Most occurred in South Mumbai, which takes about an hour to reach from where I'm staying.

My roommates and I were headed across the city in a taxi when it occurred. We had planned to venture over to a neighborhood called Bandra in western Mumbai to visit a doctor whom had been recommended to us. As we navigated our way through the chaotic bumper to bumper Mumbai traffic at the peak of rush hour, all appeared to be normal from our taxi. It was only once we met up with some local friends in Bandra that we learned of the evening's events. The news sparked feelings of disbelief and confusion in us all. Of course everyone was full of questions, questions which would could only speculate about. Not really knowing how to react, I tried to judge how others, especially our local friends, were reacting, and respond accordingly. Although everyone was feeling passionately about the event, I remember one of our friends expressed immense anger upon hearing the news, sharing with us his deeply felt sadness and frustration that his city kept being the target of terrorists attacks and still nothing had been done to bring about justice.

After a hectic and understandably distracted meeting with the doctor, we decided it was be best to get off the streets as soon as possible and camp out somewhere nearby until the city had calmed down. So from there, we went to a friend's house in the neighborhood where we were greeted with warmth and hospitality. The overall mood inside the house that night was dramatically different than the atmosphere in the streets that we had just escaped. Everyone seemed to be quite relaxed and in good spirits. People were eating, drinking, laughing, and enjoying each other's company. I was a bit surprised at how undisturbed they seemed by the startling news, especially given eerily quiet the street scene down below us, but looking back I realize this was the probably the best way to respond to the situation. Spending time at their home was a lovely respite from the confusion and chaos that loomed over the rest of the evening. We stayed at their house late into the night, eating delicious food and "ooh-ing" and "aah-ing" over her daughter's glitzy wedding photos. We left feeling exhausted but much more calm and at ease.

That night, we stayed over in Bandra just to play it safe. The next day I was expected to give a presentation in my 9am class, which, would have meant getting across the city first thing in the morning. Since everyone I spoke to recommended staying off the roads and hunkering down at home for a while, we decided to stay in Bandra a little longer and not head home until later when we were more confident in the security situation.

To be honest, I was quite surprised about the response the bombings received here. Of course news of the blasts were all over the papers, but other than that, the evening's events in no way seemed to dominate everyone's conversations. The day after, Mumbai woke up and went about life pretty much as normal- commuters went off to work, our university held class as normal, and transportation across the seemed to run rather flawlessly. The only major difference I noticed was the presence of police throughout the city. Since last week, many police barricades and checkpoints have been constructed on the roads. (I have yet to see the police stop any vehicles though, most of the time they are just standing around.) Don't ask me how this in any way remedies the security situation, but Mumbai police sure seem to see this as a successful method of heightening security throughout the city.

Mumbai Market Culture

Despite having lived in India before, I must admit this is the first time I've really experienced the whole culture buying groceries in the market and cooking food here. Although I've wandered through markets in both northern and southern India, and, with the help of my host mother in Jaipur and our cook in Vikravandi, have tried my hand at a few Indian recipes, never before have I had the full responsibility of purchasing, preparing, and cooking my own meals here in India. Now, as I look back, that sounds quite ridiculous to admit, but I remember having to do quite a bit of convincing to even be allowed into the kitchen to help with meal preparations while I lived as a guest with host families.

Now that I've been living on my own in India for almost a month, I am starting to realize the advantages and disadvantages of my current situation. Since I am not much of a cook, preparing meals here has been both exciting and challenging. It is definitely great to finally feel in control of what I am choosing to eat. It is also a relief to avoid overeating, since true Indian hospitality really comes out at the dinner table, when hosts insist upon having their guest eat until they're stuffed. On the other hand...ah, what to cook all the time?! For the first few weeks I felt paralyzed upon entering the marketplace. With so many unfamiliar ingredients before me, I struggled to visualize how I could create a meal out of these.

Grocery shopping here has also made me realize how dependent I am back home on grocery stores to provide me with creativity in my cooking. I realized that back home, much of my diet consists of Trader Joes staples such as lobster ravioli or veggie burgers (which, by the way, do a pretty good job of disguising your true cooking ability and convincing company you can cook). Here, however, you pretty much have to start at square one with most of the cooking, which I am learning to do. Thankfully, my roommate is quite the chef and is now working on making a cookbook, so I'm sure that will help me prepare a meal without my "Trader Joes training wheels."

Now more about Chembur market, where I do most of my grocery shopping here. Chembur market is located right next to the local railway station, in the heart of Chembur's bustling downtown. The market itself is situated in one of the most unlikely locations- under an oppressive, cement, elevated highway. Crammed into the streets that run parallel to it, even the market fights for space in a city so crowded that the only direction yet to build is up. The market stalls are constructed of bamboo sticks which have been precariously tied together with twine. Light bulbs hang down from the bamboo, illuminating the path for shoppers to conduct their errands into the night. Some stands even have garlands of fresh flowers hanging overhead to differentiate themselves from their neighbors and attract customers.

In my time here, I've gotten pretty good at navigating the market to locate the groceries I need. I've learned to distinguish which vendors quote to me the all too common "foreigner price" and which vendors will give me a fair price. Given the quantity and diversity of the street stalls, it seems as though you can find just about any fruit or vegetable you could want...that is unless you are looking for something in particular, such as salad greens, which I've unfortunately realized are quite rare here. Chembur market is also quickly helping me to become a mango connoisseur. Since I've been in India, I think I've tried at least four or five different types of mangoes. And I know the market has at least five or six more to offer ;)

At first I remember being quite skeptical about buying all of my vegetables in a market situated under an elevated highway in the middle of the town's craziest traffic intersection. Now, having learned to navigate the craziness that constitutes Chembur market (that is given I have enough energy to do so, because it definitely requires quite a lot of patience and determination), I feel I'm beginning to develop a new appreciation for the India's unique market culture.

Photos!

Dinner with my lovely roommates, Julia and Sasha ;)

 Street Scene

 

Our Apartment Building

 Mmmm...

 Our Living Room (post MAJOR renovations)

 Our Bedroom

Academia

Well, well...it seems its time for an update. I have finally decided on my classes and am diving into the world of academia yet again. This semester I will be taking:

• The Political Economy of Space, Development, and Uneven Development
• Social Movements and Social Change
• Sociological Perspectives on Urban Development
• Conflicts and Humanitarian Crises
• Public Health Planning and Disaster Management

My professor of the first two courses I listed is quite a dynamo. She's firey, engaging, and embraces an entirely subjective teaching style, frequently expressing her personal critiques to development. The professor of my Conflicts and Humanitarian Crises class is equally engaging. The first day of our class I thought he was one of the students...glad I didn't let on to that! Anyhow, he is certainly young and has a lot of energy...potentially too much for 9am on Thursday mornings. More to come soon, I promise!

Home Sweet Home

Whew! It has been quite a whirlwind since I got here two weeks ago today...I've moved into the flat where I will be living for the year, classes are well underway, I'm becoming acquainted with the city, meeting new people, and, on top of all that, dealing with some seemingly endless Indian bureaucracy! But, time for more details about where I'm living for the year...

Hunting down an apartment in India, Mumbai nonetheless, a city known for its lack of space and insane overcrowding (Al- I learned that the population of Mauritius is the same as the population of Mumbai's biggest slum...can you imagine that?!) has been quite an experience. Thankfully, before coming I connected with two other international students (Sasha, a Rotary scholar from Seattle and Julia, a student from Vienna, Austria) and we agreed to live together. Sasha had already scoped out an apartment by the time I had gotten here, but pinning down the owner to agree to rent it to us turned out to be another whole matter. Within apartment complexes here in Mumbai, there is a distinct sense of community and connectivity. Each is run by a "society" in which the members meet regularly, at times to discuss who they choose as tenants. Since some French students lived in the building last semester and were apparently "a little too rowdy" for the society's liking, at first the forces were against us...but it proved to be nothing a few bribes of Indian sweets couldn't cure ;) (Although our apartment owner's wife still refuses to meet us...as he told us" she's still against all this, she only wanted to rent to a family" so yeah...hopefully we can escape our current marriage counseling position and get on her good side somehow).

Since we moved in a little over a week ago, we've been keeping busy with fixing the place to make it live-able. Looking back, I wish I had taken before and after pictures to show you all how much it has transformed already, but oh well, my written description will have to do. And I promise to upload some pictures of it once the decorating process is complete! When we first arrived in the apartment, it was decorated mostly with kitschy Christian relics and couches covered in Mickey the Mouse fabrics. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust, there was a fair share of broken glass, trash, and dilapidated furniture. To be perfectly honest, it looked a little like a war zone. So, naturally, it was a bit of a shock to me to picture living there for a year, but with a few touch-ups here and there, we figured we could make it tolerable, maybe even cute, in no time ;) That said, this weekend quickly turned into a non-stop work weekend as we spruced up the apartment, beginning at sunrise and ending at sunset. People came and went throughout the weekend to help with everything that needed doing...we had carpenters come construct beds for us, someone came and helped us with the immense task of cleaning, and we took a lot of trips to the market and back for supplies. After lots of work, the place is now looking a thousand times better...so yes, I promise pictures are on the way ;) More to come on classes and daily life soon!

Monsoon Rains

The best word to sum up my first few days here is rain. Lots and lots of rain. I've seen some short passing showers, steady all-day rain, and full out downpours. I came here right as monsoon season in India was beginning and I swear I've never seen as much rain in my entire life. I didn't even know it was possible to rain all day, everyday! 

According to locals, this is just the "pre-monsoon"...the real deal is supposed to hit Mumbai in July when the city gets a total of about 934mm of rain (which is the same amount of rain that Boston gets on average per YEAR...yup, crazy). So, regardless of a raincoat, it seems there's no avoiding being entirely drenched by the end of the day. Let's just say India has once again challenged my patience. Since it generally doesn't stop raining until September, it looks like I'll have to learn to accept my new, wet, home.

So, instead of feeling frustrated everytime the rain gets in the way of my plans, I've tried to distract myself by taking note of how the rains change day by day, hour by hour. My first few days here it rained steadily throughout most of the day. Sometimes it rains in the morning, afternoon, and evening with pockets of dry, humid air in between. And, surprisingly, some days you get lucky and there's only a passing shower (usually to be followed the next day by a downpour, just to keep you convinced that yes, it is offically monsoon season, so don't think you've gotten off the hook).

Well, I'm sure that's more than you ever wanted to hear about rain... more to come on my daily life here soon, I promise ;)