Alley oops and its up

Chimbai village is one of the original fishing communities that the Portuguese found when they first settled the southern end of Salsette Island in 1534. Lying just to the north of the seven islands that were later joined to form Bombay, the houses and tiny lanes that wander down to the Arabian Sea speak of earlier times.
Goats amble amongst the local fish and food vendors who set up on the pavement at meal times.
The heavy furniture for one of these stalls is being carefully hoisted high onto a head for transportation by these two women in brilliant saris. 

How Sanganeri met Sarasa

This glowing wood-block printed vintage silk textile is displayed at the National Handloom Expo 2012 in Bandra.
Taking a team of 10 artisans over a fortnight to print, the heavy silk hanging was made in Mumbai to be exhibited at a Festival of India held in Germany more than 25 years ago.
Outlines of the 7" curved shapes were printed first, then filled in with colored patterns printed through paper stencils... each infill is unique.
Discussions with a printer also revealed that the hanging is in the Sanganeri style of block printing, which was developed in Sanganer near Jaipur.
A textile center for hundreds of years, brightly colored, high quality block-printed cottons or calicoes from Sanganer were coveted by Europeans and Asians alike. Calicoes formed a lucrative part of the trade items travelling the marine Silk Road and later helped build the fortunes of the great European trading companies.
Strangely, a very similar pattern to the one in this textile is commercially produced in Japan today. The motifs and colors of the modern Japanese version are called Sarasa. Indian printed calicoes (often from Sanganer) provided many of the designs for Sarasa. These calicoes were brought to Japan by early trade and were prized by the aristocracy.
So today, both India and Japan seem to have a historical claim to this charming pattern.

Panchos still open

Sudden confusion and destruction reign in front of this popular Bandra restaurant. The front awning has been ripped off, and the outdoor concrete patio chipped back.
Pancho's and other ground floor restaurants had encroached on the pavement in front of their apartment building. So the Bombay High Court, ruling on resident's complaints, directed the city to remove the illegal construction. Apparently acting without the required 24 hours notice, the city administration did so on Wednesday. The restaurants deny encroachment and plan to fight back, saying that when they bought 15 years ago, many of the complaining residents had not even moved in.

Repelled by dung

A weekly fixture for health conscious Mumbaikars, the Bandra Sunday Farmers Market thows up some unexpected offerings.
Strangest of all last Sunday, were little cakes of cow dung, wrapped in lots of 5, sold as a mosquito repellant called "sweet dreams".
You break one in half, light it, and then let it smolder away for a night free from airborne poisons (conventional coils release chemical insecticides as they burn) and mosquitoes.
There is precedent for this use of dung. Traditional village homes in rural India have always had a coating of cow dung mixed with clay applied to the walls and floors... to provide insulation and to act as an insect repellant.
Recent research has found that burning cow dung may release antioxidants... and so can help clean polluted air. Is it possible that Mumbaikars, choking in smog, may soon rethink their distaste for the dung of their wandering urban cows?

Subcontinent sub-cultures

Gazing serenely out at museum visitors for more than 100 years, these painted plaster heads show the diversity of cultures on the subcontinent. On display long before the partition of British India in 1947, there are races exhibited here who now live primarily in either Pakistan or Bangladesh.
The Sindhi (named after the Indus River) gentleman on the right is a case in point. Descended from early Indo-European invaders whose ancient conquests pushed east of the Indus, Muslim Sindhis are today found mostly in Pakistan.
These near life size busts fill just one case of the many containing interpretive plaster models throughout the Bhau Daji Lad Museum.

Saving Bombay's legacy

On September 5th 1855, Lord Elphinstone, governor of Bombay, appointed a committee to establish a museum of economic products that would showcase "the raw products of Western India and the methods of converting them into manufactured articles and to gather together a collection of natural history specimens."
Further, craftsmanship and aesthetics were to be employed to scientifically document every aspect of commercial and community life.
By 2003, neglect had left both the ornamental building and its unique collection  derelict. After intensive restoration ending in 2008, this beautiful Palladian structure... housing the oldest museum in Mumbai... stands today as a permanent memorial to India's remarkable artisans and their crafts.
In 2005, a UNESCO award recognized the unique private and public partnership that both funded the restoration of the building and the exhibits, and also provides ongoing support to the museum.
Built in the great tradition of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and in fact originally named after this institution, the reborn Bhau Daji Lad Museum showcases its own high Victorian craftsmanship and fabulous collection and is also now a partner of the V&A. 

Laccifer Lacca lacquer

In 1590, an anonymous English writer described the Indian insect-derived lac process; "they take a piece of the lac of what colour they will, and as they turn it when commeth to his fashion they spread the lac upon the whole piece of wood which presently, with the heat of the turning melteth the waxe so that it enter into the crests and cleaveth unto it, about the thickness of a mans nail : then they burnish it over with a broad straw or dry rushes so cunningly that all the wood is covered with all, and it shineth like glass, most pleasant to behold, and continueth as long as the wood being well looked unto..." This model is displayed in the Bhau Daji Lad Museum of applied art.

Whisperer of secrets

On the verandah at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya museum, this ancient stone Nandi sits with its tail tucked in to show submission and obedience.
In Indian religion, a bovine makes its first appearance as a god in the Indus civilization where dairy farming was the main form of agriculture.
Later, a bull god was the only one strong enough to carry Shiva the transformer. He also guarded Shiva's house, was his main disciple and led his army.
In fact, for today's Hindu, Nandi is so entwined with Shiva, that a prayer whispered in Nandi's right ear is said to be immediately attended to by Shiva.

A bumbling thoughtless blockhead

This melancholy chap is watching over the memorial in Fort's St Thomas' Cathedral to Lieut. Colonel Charles Barton Burr, of the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, Bombay Native Infantry.
In 1817 this regiment mounted a heroic defense and turned back the army of the Paishwar of Poonah, despite massive enemy attempts to subvert the native troops. Native troops serving with the English army were always suspected of having split loyalties, so their resolute action in this engagement was significant.
Strangely, the only thanks received by Burr from his commanding officer General Lionel Smith, was to be portrayed to his colleagues and superiors as the above mentioned blockhead and to be relieved of his command.
Burr's letters to appeal this verdict went right to the top... the Governor General of India... this long winded appeal (published as a book in 1819) did garner a measure of favorable recognition for his actions, but it is not clear if Smith ever apologized.
Another puzzle raised by this monument is why the pensive mourner wears an Egyptian badge on his hat? Perhaps a London stone carver's mistake, or did this Indian regiment see action there?

Handloom Expo 2012

Rainbow hued, this celebratory sand circle marked the opening of the Ministry of Textiles annual Handloom Expo in Mumbai.
The saris, dupattas, kurtas et al were organized in a myriad of tents by their state of origin. They flashed vibrant color from deep on shelves, or ballooned and  billowed invitingly in doorways. A central tent held an exhibition of sari weaving and printing techniques, a block printing demonstration and a loom threaded with golden tussar silk.
Since the handloom industry is India's second largest employer (after agriculture), the government plays its part by organizing and funding these amazing sales of everything textile.

Manchester of the East

Long compared to the old industrial cities of England, Mumbai is still struggling to redevelop its disused cotton mills.
The amount of open space for each Mumbaikar is much lower than that for residents of NY or London...so more public space is desperately needed.
The atmospheric harbor-side Mukesh Mill, just steps from the Gateway of India, is, despite reports of ghosts, beloved by Bollywood directors. However, zoning laws, the needs of nearby navy facilities and unclear ownership status have all led to this prime site with its lovely old buildings remaining undeveloped and closed to the public.

Shrimp peelers

After the last fish is sold at Mumbai's only daily wholesale seafood market, the space is given over to women in color splashed saris squatting on the wharf peeling and chatting.
Sassoon Bunder or wharf is surrounded by a fishing port with 700 registered trawlers... many others come from all parts of the city to sell their catch at the dawn  market.
Located in downtown Colaba on the eastern side of the peninsula, the authorities are worried that this small harbor is a security risk. Terrorists have accessed Mumbai by sea before, and the fear is that an unregistered trawler arriving at this wharf would give its passengers easy access to the heart of the nearby business district.

Sky blue synagogue

Bombay's eminent Baghdadi Jewish family, the Sassoons, built three synagogues. The Kenneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, 1884, stands in the 19th century business district of Fort, and was designed by local architects Gostling and Morris.
A Victorian compilation of ornament, the building's interior wraps Minton tiles, stained glass, wrought and cast iron, wood gingerbread and polished chunam lime plaster in a sky blue envelop. 
Membership of this water damaged high maintenance synagogue has dropped to less than 50 families, so the World Monuments Fund has prepared a conservation plan and is supporting its implementation.

Take my picture too

We went, very early on Saturday morning, to Sewri, where we joined a walk out to the harbor flats to see Mumbai's renowned flamingos. Around 10,000 of these birds migrate here in the winter from Gujurat.
To try and get a better view we climbed up on a large decommissioned fuel barge, where many hopeful bird watchers had set up a diverse array of  telescopes and cameras, all trained on the horizon.
To everyone's disappointment, the flamingos had retreated with the tide, and were visible faintly through the smog laden early light, as tiny dots in the distance.
Much closer, and much less exotic, an Indian House Crow  perched right in the middle of my photo, clearly wanting its fair share of the limelight.
In 1896, while staying in Bombay, Mark Twain wrote of these demanding birds, "this Indian sham Quaker is just a rowdy, and is always noisy when awake - always chaffing, scolding, scoffing, laughing, ripping, and cursing, and carrying on about something or other. I never saw such a bird for delivering opinions."

Cobbler in a shoe box

Needing some repairs to my handbag, I found a cobbler on a corner of Alemida Park Road in Bandra. Nearly every corner in this residential suburb is home to one or two of these little businesses.
Flowers, spicy curries, magazines, fresh sugar cane juice, steaming chai, just-roasted sweet potato, bright red strawberries mounded in baskets... the list of things you can buy from corner entrepreneurs goes on and on, ebbing and flowing through the day as carts come and go.
Secure from flooding in the rainy season, some of these small enterprises, as with this repairman, have a permanent elevated box with shutters that can be closed at night.
So, whether conducted from a hand-cart or inside a wooden box, it seems that for lucky Bandra residents, commerce is thriving right outside their doors.

Parsi memorial

Tucked away in a quiet upstairs corner of the long verandas at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya museum, this handsome elephant bearing a howdah is a memorial to Curtsetji Jamsheji Sethna.
He was a descendent of Seth Rustom Manek who was the chief broker of the Surat East India factory (trading post) in 1660, before it was moved to Bombay.
The title Seth/Sethna (Hebrew) was conferred on Rustom by the English, and means appointed.
He was an Iranian Zoroastrian or Parsi, and his merchant descendants laid the groundwork for, and then facilitated and nurtured, Bombay's great commercial success.

A dabbawala's computer

The yellow crate on the ground beside the dabbawala (lunchbox carrier) is his computer. 40 tiffin or lunchboxes have been gathered from homes all over Mumbai, and delivered by train in this crate to Bandra Station for distribution to local office workers and students.
Mumbai's three main rail lines are the great conduits in this system, which sees nearly 200,000 lunches delivered ontime every day with an accuracy of one mistake in 16 million deliveries. The 130 plus year old system is studied in business schools, and has been awarded an ISO rating.
Colored numbers and letters on the lid of every box give its destination and origin... each tiffin will travel by foot, bicycle and rail, and change hands three or four times before final delivery.
Dabbawalas are descended from 17th century Maratha warriors and are recruited through family contacts from a group of villages around Pune.
There is a website, mumbaidabbawala.org, and dabbawalas take orders by SMS, but the delivery system remains the same. Their commitment to service and pride in their logistic system is evident on the website... "we are starving to feed our people on time".

Mumbai's maidans

Maidan comes from the Persian word for town square, meidan.
The Oval Maidan, combined with other open spaces north and south, are available to Mumbaikars for football and cricket matches, and indeed, several Indian cricketing legends polished their skills here. Reclaimed from the sea, this maidan fronts the High Court and University, whose Rajabai clock tower keeps time for pitch renters below.
Operated by the OVAL Trust, this listed heritage place was cleaned up and opened to the public in the late 1990's, after resident's association OCRA fought the state government and won control. Work is ongoing to rehabilitate neighboring Cross Maidan.

Brass blasting out

Popularized over the last 60 years by Hindi films, brass bands (bandbaja) have become a familiar sight at elaborate weddings across India.
Music and military brass bands were used in the days of the Raj, initially to convey orders in battle and to accompany parades. Later came the outdoor bandstand concerts and the sumptuous  dances and balls in velvety tropical evenings.
During their tenure, the British trained Indians to perform band music, first on drums and the shahanai (a two reed oboe). Today, with an expanded repertoire and new purpose, the instruments can include most of those used by brass bands worldwide.
To the Hindu, music is auspicious and produces happiness and energy. So maximum good fortune is spread wide when the lively bandbaja reaches earsplitting volume.

The boys in the band

Not only a team of musicians and bearers, but a horse (sometimes an elephant) and a loudspeaker mounted curiously on a mini car (teli,) form the National Hindu Band.
Similar brass bands feature at many public occasions... today this bandbaja has been playing at a wedding procession in Nariman in South Mumbai. Earlier an expressionless groom sat astride the mare, while  his friends and family danced exuberantly around him to the very loud music.
The band is taking a short break, they will swing back into action several times... we still heard the big drums and the high notes of the brass much later, many streets away, and could feel the good fortune flowing out to us.

Helmet, turban or shako

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This wonderful, military inspired confection is worn by a drum bearer in a wedding procession or barat.
The costumes worn by bandbaja members are based on a combination of historical Indian and British military uniforms, including gold buttons, silk sashes and epaulettes.
The hat's downturned visor echoes the 18th century British infantry shako, while the fanned decoration on top may be inspired by the fan ornament on top of Punjabi turbans. Military rosettes decorate the sides, and there is plenty of red and gold braid and rick-rack.
The final unexpected joy of this headpiece is that it is executed in woven grass, cunningly constructed to evoke its varied martial lineage.

Mad dogs and Englishmen

"At twelve noon
The natives swoon,
And no further work is done,
But mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun!"

These lyrics are extracted from Noel Coward's 1931 song, which he wrote en-route to Saigon from Hanoi.

All across the Asian tropics, the hottest time of day is spent relaxing in the shade. These Bandra auto rickshaw drivers have found a cool, comfortable and secure divan on the backseats of their vehicles, with bare feet protruding to catch the passing breeze.

The gunny sack

Made from hessian or burlap (US) these coarse, strong and breathable bags are woven from jute, sisal or hemp. Once a common sight on the streets of Mumbai, the Indian guni (Sanskrit) bag has now been largely supplanted by plastic sacks.
Home to jute growing, the Ganges delta in Bangladesh and eastern India is still the largest producer in the world. Ironically, after the 2002 closure of the Adamjee Jute Mill, Bangladesh's largest, the demand for this biodegradable, environmentally friendly fibre has been slowly making a comeback. Look for jute in clothing, carpets and furnishings, and in a new role as a substitute for wood in many manufacturing processes.

Roof tiler's nightmare

In this city with an annual rainfall of 100 inches, the roof of a building is its most important element.
The Indian tile industry was founded in Mangalore, on the southern Arabian Sea coast by George Plebot, when the Basle Mission Tile Factory was opened in 1865.
These red, mold formed, laterite clay tiles were preferred over all others by the British for their civic buildings in Bombay.
Today's construction, incorporating secure, low maintenance concrete roofs, has led to a big drop in demand for these tiles and many factories have closed.
For millenia, the ancestor of the Mangalore tile, half round terracotta tiles produced in local villages, have protected homes on the western monsoon coast of India... as repair skills are lost and production ceases, is this the last gasp of the Indian tiled roof?

Rajasthan horse dance

Kachhi (underwear) Ghodi (mare or horse) is a traditional folk dance from Jaipur.
Depicting cavalry or a robin hood style mounted bandit, this vibrant, fast paced dance is often performed at weddings to entertain the groom's family.
The full range of the Rajasthan textile tradition is employed to decorate the wood-frame horse including tie dye, mirror embroidery and fringe work.
Drums and flutes set a brisk rhythm, mimicking the pounding of hooves.
This Kachigodi was performed at the recent Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in downtown Mumbai.

Handloom heaven

There is an extraordinary range of fabrics, colours and patterns employed in Indian textiles or handlooms.
This dupatta (shawl), is made from tussar or kosa silk, which is naturally gold in colour, and has more texture and is more breathable than normal silk.
It is produced by tusser silkworms, living wild in the forest, eating leaves from trees other than the mulberry.
The fibre length of tussar is shorter than other silk, so the woven cloth is less durable.
Traditional block printing and lovely colours combine in this dupatta to create a shawl that had to come home.

Rusticating matkas

These two age-worn water jars or matkas (hindi for pots) are propped against the stone foundation of Jenkins House, an old colonial building of offices and apartments, tucked into the side streets behind the Taj hotel in southern Mumbai.
For thousands of years, matkas have been placed along Indian roadsides, providing a ready source of cool water in the heat.
Even today, many families still use smaller, evaporative terracotta water jars called surahis to keep their drinking water cool at home.

Corner shops alive and well

Apparently oblivious to the debates raging at the highest levels of government about multinational retailers opening in India, this small shop owner thrives, and his business remains deeply embedded in the life of his community.
There is stiff opposition in Cabinet to the direct entry of the likes of Carefour, Walmart and Tesco. Hard fought regulations protect small shopkeepers and ensure that international retailers source much of their merchandise locally.
Up to 40% of Indian farm produce is wasted through spoilage due to lack of appropriate temperature controlled handling; so refrigerated supply chain infrastructure and other necessary support is also being legislated.
Currently these multinationals are on the verge of opening their own shops in India, in which they will hold 51% ownership and use their own brands.
Things move slowly in India however, so for now, life on Mumbai streets will continue to revolve around these tiny corner nooks.

Bandra gasping for breath

Battling out of the early Sunday morning smoke and pollution, the sun struggles to light up Bandra. Recently identified as the most polluted place in Mumbai, home to Bollywood stars and the wealthy, life in this Arabian Sea-shore suburb comes at a price.
The building on the right with a cross on the roof is exclusive Lilavati Hospital, witness to the often tragic result of this city choking itself. Largely ignored by those with the power or wealth to do something about air quality, it is ironic that this privileged group is the very one breathing in the worst of this muck.

Worli's white beauty

Joined to the mainland by a long, flood prone causeway, Haji Ali Mosque's domes and minarets dominate the southern end of the Worli seafront. By 2009 when repairs started, this reinforced concrete memorial to a Muslim saint was severely corroded. New construction is in white marble, sourced from the same quarries in Rajasthan that supplied the stone for the Taj Mahal. The towering minaret is complete while other work continues. A local fishermen mends his nets, apparently oblivious to the rising beauty behind him.

Getting the Mumbaikar's goat

Astoundingly cute and very gentle, goats of all colours, shapes and sizes are seen in local streets. Most are kept to be slaughtered during the annual Bakri Eid festival.
Commemorating Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son, before God intervened to provide him with a ram to kill instead, this festival creates a massive annual demand for goats.
They are controversially trucked in from all over the country. This was protested by both animal activists and religious groups last November, and many of the goats were confiscated en-route, to the ire of local Muslims.

Antique Kalighat painting

Pilgrims visiting the temples of Calcutta in the mid 19th century would have been tempted to buy a souvenir painting of their favourite god. Kalighat paintings were executed boldly and quickly, with dynamic shapes and bright colours, the poster art of their day. An exhibition of these vibrant images has been gathered together from the V&A in London and the Victoria Memorial Hall in Calcutta. They are on show in Mumbai at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalay or CSMVS museum. This photo, taken at the museum, incorporates a promotional poster for the show.

Waiting for the chai wallah

Abandoned by thirsty visitors at the seaward end of the Haji Ali causeway, these tea glasses sat on this rock overnight, outside the gate of the mosque. The chai wallah has yet to make his first run to pick up the empties, before the day's business of selling tea can get underway.

Arabian Sea photo op

Momentarily marooned in the early morning sea, three sari clad women pose for a photo. In the foreground, cloth offerings are trapped by barnacles and wrap the basalt rocks.
On these same island rocks, in the 15th century, legend tells us that a saint's casket was trapped. Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari was on a pilgrimage to Mecca when he died. After his coffin was cast into the ocean at his request, it floated back to Mumbai. The Haji Ali mosque and tomb were later constructed on this spot to commemorate him.

Campaigning Mumbai style

Mumbai municipal elections will be held on February 16 2012. Expenditure by the candidates is strictly controlled, so you can see that all supporters are welcome.
In Worli's fishing village Koliwada, the granting of fishing licenses to international trawlers, with the resulting depletion of fish-stock, is one of the big issues.
Also, upgrading versus redevelopment of this ancient village is a hot topic, prompted by the new vantage point provided by the recently opened Sealink.
Citywide, questions have been raised about the "slum" homes now highly visible in the village. Local residents fear that redevelopment will destroy the community that they love, as families are arbitrarily relocated.

Worli koli village

"The fishermen were here first ... when Bombay was a dumbbell-shaped island tapering, at the centre, to a narrow shining strand beyond which could be seen the finest and largest natural harbour in Asia" says Salman Rushdie in Midnight's Children.
These fishermen of central Mumbai's Worli Koliwada are folding their nets after returning from the day's work. In Marathi, koli means spider and fisherman, aptly connecting these two weavers of nets.

Sari shopping

Perched on a bench in a Worli village street, a young woman follows her ancestors in the 5,000 year old hunt for the perfect sari.
In 2005 the New York Times said of the sari "Weave, color, design and manner of tying reveal the wearer's caste, community and even language. Orthodox, uneducated village women wear it one way; their modern, educated urban sisters have opted for a style created in the early 20th century by the wife of the first Indian to breach the all-white bastion of the Indian Civil Service."

A sticky wicket

In 1721 there is a record of sailors on shore from East India ships playing the first match of cricket in India. Today, although not the official sport of India... that is field hockey... cricket is played everywhere. No relatively flat piece of land is overlooked as a possible pitch... roads, footpaths, vacant lots, beaches, the list is endless. On a sunny Sunday afternoon Mumbai's Juhu beach yields up hundreds of pitches once the tide is out... or before... for the most eager players.

A tiny turned toy Ganesh

Spotted in a craft expo in Bandra, this Ganesh and all the toys around it are examples of a 225 year old craft-form utilizing turned wood, natural dyes and lacquer.
These sturdy toys of Etikoppaka village in Andhra Pradesh have found favour with children worldwide. However, bureaucratic red-tape, both here and overseas may see this craft die away in the next few years. In India, the toy makers cannot get permits to source sufficient quantities of Anduku wood to use in these wood-turnings, whilst overseas, certifications and eco-friendly compliance proof are increasingly required.

Barefoot on Vaikunthlal Mehta Road

In the traffic chaos of Vl Mehta Road in Juhu, auto rickshaws, and BMWs jostle with a hand drawn push-cart bearing a mobile shrine to a religious guru. This family ekes out an existence from donations given to them by worshipers as they drag this vibrantly decorated cart through the western suburbs of Mumbai.

Elephanta Caves

Set deep in a many columned cave, the inscrutable faces of the Trimurti or three headed Shiva, dwarf visitors. This 6m sculpture is the most important carving in the basalt hewn Elephanta Caves complex, which was created before 800AD. No inscriptions naming the cave excavators have been found, so the origins of the complex remain lost in time.
A one hour boat ride from the Gateway of India transports visitors from 21st century Mumbai to this ancient and mysterious world of Hindu legend and worship on Elephanta Island.

Sunset at Juhu

Standing with their feet in the water, thousands of Mumbaikars are drawn to the sight of a great golden orb sinking into the Arabian Sea. Stretching north from Mumbai's western suburbs, Juhu Beach is a place to catch your breath and stroll with the family, away from the noise, confusion and crowds of the city. Accessible to all, this vast strand is, at low tide, one of Mumbai's few open spaces, and is shared equally by joggers who live in the luxury apartments overlooking the beach, and families from the slums, in search of clean air and the great outdoors.

Kerrs to Mumbai

And so, once again we leap eastwards, to find ourselves engrossed in the world's oldest culture.
Most of these photos will be from Mumbai, a place full of startling curiosities.
This 20 million plus megalopolis is as exotic today as it once was for Rudyard Kipling, who described it as lying "between the palms and the sea, where the world end steamers wait."