Mumbai, India

When asked by friends who knew that we had lived in India, what is it like living there? Well, the experience can not be described in a few words.

When we came to India, though I have read about the country’s multi cultural diversity, I had no idea that we are up different journey. A journey that got me lost my identity and somehow I have to sink into thinking that I am just too ignorant of so many things and made me rethink how little did I knew about diversity of human nature. Conflicts between human to human, human and nature are just very visible in front of your very eyes. I silently wished I'm insensitive to what I see.

Well, I can only relate my experience living in Powai,Mumbai, India in an expat’s perspective. In Hiranandani Gardens, where we reside while there, it wasn't much of a problem to move around as almost all basic needs can be found within the town center. We lived there for a year, quite short stay but it was a different experience. Now I’m getting to understand better what CNN’s advertisement on India “Incredible India” It’s either incredibly good or incredibly bad. I had experienced both extremes. Didn’t had much culture shock being Asian but I’m so overwhelmed with vast incomprehensible religions. Maybe because I’m only limited to exposure to Christian and Muslim countries but in India, I was lost in religion… yes, my mind is sing the lyrics of R.E.M.’s “Losing my Religion”. I was literally totally lost. But well, yes I do respect their religions but my understanding is limited to what I can fathom. To understand India’s immense cultural mixture, I paid a visit to some Cultural Museums and different Temples but the more I see, the more I get lost. I’m so amused how this such race of people come up with there own beliefs, hundreds of Gods and Goddesses. I came to learn some few of their God images like Ganesh, an elephant God, Shiva, Lakhsmi, and ohh so many others that I can’t remember, I got a memory of a goldfish, I admit. LOL.

Visits to nearby tourist spots kept us busy during weekends. Plenty of places that we should have been but we didn’t had a chance because we didn’t know that we are leaving so soon and it became inconvenient for me to travel when I got pregnant plus the monsoon rains that is flooding Mumbai every now and then made it almost impossible to visit far places.

Some Shots of Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai

A killer view from our apartment overlooking Powai lake... Relaxing view day and night
A visit to Ganesh Temple

In the town where we lived, there is a Ganesh Temple that I always pass by from the hotel going to the town center, with loads of people queuing to pay a visit. I was hesitant to go in at first so I let the days go by noting that maybe someday, there is no queue I will have a look. That day came, so I ask the driver, who is local, to make a detour and accompany me to the temple. He was stunned in awe; maybe he was thinking there must be something wrong with me. When we got there, there was almost nobody around and so quite, I was guessing I came too early, which was a relief. I wasn’t looking to go for the ceremony; I just would like to have a look anyway. The entrance is very nice garden, well manicured and I saw stairs made of stones to the temple. Santosh, the driver, told me to take off my shoes. I then said asked why? The pavement is quite dirty and uneven and… and..(Signaling him with my hands like do we have to be barefoot?) before I could finish my complain, he said; Madam the temple is Holy and we don’t bring our slippers there because its dirty. I’m speechless, quite annoyed but okay I was there to understand something. We climbed all the way to the temple barefoot. The temple is so quiet, adorned with lots of yellow gold flowers that formed a curtain. I stood beside the doorway, observing like a curious child lost in wonderland. There is a huge altar a picture of a topless man full of flowers on his shoulders. People brought some tray of flowers as offerings, flowers tied in strings, murmur something, and stay in one corner for a little while and leave. So after a short observation, I irked to leave.. I still don’t get it.

So? What did I learn? I asked myself. I liked how everybody showed humbleness that everyone showed by removing their footwear but I was concerned of hygienic issues. Maybe I was just too keen about it but I didn’t mind this time.

Visit to Canheri Caves

Canheri caves are located in Borivli, outskirts of Mumbai. These caves carved in the hillside of a mountain of rocks dates back from 1st century BCE to 9th century. Until now they still exist. These caves were Buddhist monasteries during that time. The stoned carvings of Budha and some scripts intricately carved on the walls are still preserved up to now. They are gorgeous works of art that depict stories of how they lived way back then. Such a breathtaking experience. Going there was a challenge. You must have strong knees because it involves climbing in a rock mountain where the caves are located. We’ve been to the top of the hill and what a view up there. It was a stone-age experience! Yah-ba-ya-ba-doo… yup it felt like flintstones.. After the visit, you can’t help but think how difficult life must have been during that time compared to the convenience we have now. I can’t help but think, gosh I’m so lucky to be born on modern days. J

Caves that used to be man's house
this is how men lived centuries back...
These caves were know to be monks' temple during 100 B.C.

Women are so colorful

I can’t help but be in awe of the colorful saris women are wearing. Shades of light green to neon green with mixture of pink to blue, from red to yellow, embroideries to bead works with glitters or laces at the border of their saris. Most colorful women I’ve ever seen in my life. Very contrasting combination is such a fad everywhere. Decorative bindi on their foreheads, from round to sharp, matte to glittered of all glitters that matches their well defined thick eyebrows. A friend of mine says, if it doesn’t glitter, it’s not from India. Yep, I can’t disagree. Even shoes and jeans are heavily decorated with glitters. Love it or hate it everything just glitters! It may not look good on me but for Indian ladies, they look gorgeous with it. It’s not uncommon to see ladies across the mall with nose ring or pierce. I would love to have a pierce on my tongue! How about that?

Come again please?

I don’t speak Hindi, but most Indians speak English so language wasn’t a big deal. Though if I encounter instances that requires a translator, I will ask Santosh, the driver to negotiate things for me, otherwise, I’m screwed. The only thing is, even if they speak English, they speak way to fast. Although I have worked with Indians in my previous work in Abu Dhabi and got used to the way they talk, but I’m still lost. I’m amazed how they talk so fast. I think they can say a hundred words in a split second. Well, ummmm, can you talk slowly please? We are not in a speedy talking contest, I say to myself.

Spicy Food Anyone?

Ohhh, love spicy food? Being in India, the land of spices, you can’t resist the aroma either you can’t resist to rage, or you can’t resist craving. I love spicy foods but moderately. Here, my meter level of spice is not even spicy for locals. Some foods I love but some foods are way too aromatic for me. Well, there’s always a wide array of choices. Love to explore different flavor combinations, personally, it was like a gastronomic adventure, no I’m not in France where all the presentation and detailed cooking is such a craftsmanship where every little detail of ingredients is being carefully laid on your plate. Here, colors comes to play. For example for pasta dishes; I can pasta dishes with colorful sauces; may it be dark green, bright yellow, yellow orange, bright red. Pasta with Curries, green curries, yellow curries or what so ever curries. Having said that, other foods are very interesting to my palates and challenging to my stomach. So, LOVE it or HATE it, local foods are just way too spicy for me. But I learned to love one thing and it is a confession: I love curries.

Appreciating Indian Art

One thing I love being in India, the touch of craftsmanship is quite distinctive. You can tell that this is made from India when it is shiny, or heavily hand carved with plenty of curves, or heavily embroidered or heavily beaded. Talents that rooted from ancient technique of doing crafts do still exist with a mixture of modern touch.

INDIAN DANCE

I think I got plenty of souvenirs from India without knowing that I have collected them. I mean, when I see exhibits I take one item, when I see something nice and very Indian from a craft store, Oh how lovely to take one, and then it got plenty and although they are collecting dusts I still want to keep them as a souvenir. I took plenty of cloth materials that are very Indian. I got hand painted stuffs. An Incense burner which is heavily carved a set of family of carved elephants from baby elephant to adult in wood and in stone which I intend to give to my friends but didn’t had a chance yet.

My unforgettable souvenir: I got pregnant in India but gave birth in KL.

Cost of Living

As an expat’s point of view, it is relatively low cost. Almost everything is cheap. Goods and commodities are averagely priced. Depends on where you shop or dine. If you wanna be treated like a King or Queen, you may go to five-star restaurants, otherwise, loads of street foods are easily available. There are a number of restaurants to choose from around Powai ranging from local to foreign cuisines. Chinese take-away is my all time favorite. They deliver.. whoooaaaa… I love deliveries. Almost all shops do delivery. I think this is the only thing I’m missing in India. They deliver without a minimum cost. One time, we needed a cable plug and I tried to call the electrical shop, and whoa, I got it on my doorstep with just 10 Rupees, I was more than glad to pay double for the tip. There is no hassle if you run out of milk, you are just a phone call away. No more beer? You’ll get it right on your doorstep, chilled! Ohhh, and how can I forget, they pick up and deliver laundry with a minimal cost which was so great! Who loves ironing huh? I don’t!

Pigeon Droppings Everywhere!
Powai is such a nice place in Mumbai. Rich in old acacia trees in the streets and everywhere but there is such an enormous population of pigeons. I have been a constant victim of pigeon dropping! Gosh! Poor me! I want to have pellet gun and shoot them. Kidding, I don’t do that.. they are nice creatures, I love to see them hanging around in our window sill even if they leave their droppings. I dunno much about pigeons but when they are mating, they make this annoying noise! So I kept on driving them away, why can’t they stay overnight in somebody else’s place? Not in my kitchen’s window near the exhaust! Damn pigeons, go away! Shhoooooo Shoooo!

The Streets of Mumbai
This is not a pleasant memory to recall… It is chaotic suicidal kind of driving. Thankfully, I’m still alive but I lost count of how many times I closed my eyes hoping this wouldn’t be the end of my life! You won’t feel bored if you are travelling.. Plenty of things to see... nice elegant building with a cow next to it. Cow’s are just everywhere in the streets and nobody is doing something… If the cow is in the middle of the road, nobody makes a move, wait until the cow decides to give way. Honestly, I really pity those cows who are eating garbage when they are supposed to be in the green fields eating grasses. I just don’t understand why some people are domesticating this kind of animals in the city. They should be on the country side living peacefully as vegetarians, not scavenging and eating spoiled leftover human food. Holy Cow!

Cows hanging around in the middle of the street.

Taxis in look like vintage cars.. they are locally manufactured but they have stood the test of times.

Heavily decorated elephants paraded in the streets during festivals.

This girl was selling books in the street during heavy traffic under the scorching hot sun with all her smiles.

What’s keeping me sane?
We lived in India for 6 months, not quite enough time to absorb the country’s culture. I usually spend my time in the Renaissance Club, where I could escape from chaotic roads, it has the best amenities I could find in town. Nice pool, spa, gym, restaurants and cafes. In the gym, I attend yoga sessions everyday which is cool. The hotel has the most relaxing view of the Powai Lake. It is just located next to the lake, actually, the only downside I could see is that there are crows everywhere. If you like outdoor, there is an outdoor bar where crows love to hang out with you with your favorite drink. If you want to dip yourself in the pool and leave your favorite buffalo wings or margarita, don’t be surprise if crows will take over your table. I’m amazed how wise these crows are. I was there having my drink, others are sun bathing reading their favorite vacation book maybe, while I was under the shade enjoying my drink in a hot summer day, a man just left his table with some finger foods, the moment he stood up and turned his back on the table, these crows just took his remaining food! Clever crows!

A man's music that lingers in the hallway of Renaissance Hotel one rainy day...

One thing I can’t forget in Renaissance is the most relaxing Swedish massage I ever had. I tried so many massages but nothing beats. It is the masseuse who can make you scream in pain with her finger tips if you like your massage hard and softest if you like it soft. I like the medium, in between soft and hard massage. Damn, she knows what she is doing! She then became my friend eventually. Her name is Tenzin. She speaks Hindi fluently, I’m sure I won’t get screwed when I’m with her. Me and hubby always fight for a slot with her on weekends. And I know somebody as well who is a big fan of her, George, a colleague of hubby who just loves pep talks with the hotel staff joking with everyone. Everybody loves his Charm.

To occupy my time, I often grab hubby’s camera, and roam around the streets to take pictures. My favorite subject is flowers. I play with my camera with different lovely flowers that I see on the roads and some in the Renaissance Garden. They just bloom everywhere.

Across the building is the Hiranandani Jogger’s park where sometimes I go for a walk to keep fit. Quite nice park, it’s just that it is quite crowded during afternoon when the sun is down, to avoid the crowd, I usually go on mornings. More often than not, Lee, wife of hubby’s colleague come to our apartment with her lovely kids Paris and Anique. They love to play in the Glen’s children’s park, exclusive for Glen Buildings’ occupants. Once, I took them to picnic to the jogger’s park. On weekends, hubby and some colleagues play cricket. We just go to join the fun.

I didn’t close my mind of finding a job in India, but I realize that the highest salary I could get couldn’t even pay our monthly food consumption neither pay our house rental, thankfully it is provided by hubby’s company. I was scouting for some good jobs and when I found one, the manager wants to hire me for a permanent post which is one of my problems finding a job. We are not permanently staying in India, that’s for sure, and worst we don’t really know when we are moving out. The nature of hubby’s job involves travel and families moving from one country to another. Leaving me with no choice, but to stay as housewife, which I came to learn there is nothing to be against of.

Exploring of ways to entertain myself rather than staying at home alone, Sophia, who is Columbian and wife of hubby’s colleague, and I usually go malling. Getting tired of exploring malls in Mumbai, we tried involving ourselves with crafts. We tried candle making which was quite an experience. We exchange candles books and ideas about candle making. I have to stop candle making when I knew I was pregnant because I can’t take the smell anymore and paraffin wax is not good for pregnant women.. Still hungry for things that would keep us busy, we scouted for more. We found a lady who teaches crafts at her home which is just a few buildings away from ours. Great! So we go to her place and learn some crafty things. Sophia took glass painting course and I took soap craft which is molding soaps into different shapes which is ideal for gifts and bathroom decorations. We were planning to take more courses but that was the time when we knew that will be moved to Kuala Lumpur. Yehey! Happy I was!