Bombay Baby!

View of Chowpatty Beach from Hanging Gardens
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Getting off the plane in Mumbai (Bombay), I immediately felt the intense heat rising from the tarmac. The smell of the ocean was in the breeze as it swept over the Arabian Sea. Palm trees and coconut trees surround me like a jungle. I am in paradise!

We are staying in Northern Mumbai at the Kalina University in guesthouses. Bombay is actually a 30 min drive south down the peninsula. Our first day in Bombay included traveling around at all the different sights.We drove past Haji Ali's Tomb which is a Muslim shrine in the middle of the ocean connected to the mainland by a large walkway that gets swallowed by the sea everyday when the tide is high. We went by the Parsi Tower of Silence where sky burials are performed before walking around the Hanging Gardens, which offers amazing views of Chowpatty Beach.

Looking back at South Bombay on the way to Elephanta Island
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On a free day, a couple of us headed to Juhu Beach in Northern Mumbai for some sun and relaxation. Except, we were constantly hounded by touts and curious locals. We had some of the best pav bhaji from one of the stands along the beach. At night, we headed to the trendy hookah cafe called Mocha.

Our classes here in Bombay are obviously on Indian cinema which take place at the brand new film institute called Whistling Woods Institute in Film City. This is the place where aspiring filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, etc... come to study in hopes of becoming the next star in Bollywood. A high income is definitely a requirement for this posh institute.

Entrance to cave on Elephanta
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Our classes consist of watching Indian films and having a discussion with a person who has worked on that film as most of them are faculty here. For example, we watched The Making of Mahatma, and had a discussion with Ravi Gupta who was the director for the movie as well as the director for the award winning movie, Gandhi.

We made a daytrip to Elephanta Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to see the caves of rock art dedicated to Lord Shiva. The caves contained huge stone carvings of deities and lingam shrines. I made my way up Cannon Hill which was a 15 minute hike up the mountain that offered spectacular views of Bombay and the surrounding islands.

Rock art in Elephanta caves
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Sunday, March 4th marked the rowdy Hindu festival called Holi, where people throw colored water and powder at each other. The festivities started off nicely as people walked up to us and gently marked our faces with colored powder. But, once we arrived in Film City to Whistling Woods, where our friends from the school were "playing" Holi, the festival took a sharp turn. We were quickly attacked with water bottles filled with inky water and bags of powder. Everyone joined in the fun of smearing this colorful and sticky paste all over each other's faces. There were even eggs being cracked over people heads. Very amusing. This "fun" continued for hours and hours. The only downfall was that my skin was stained for a couple of days from the powder. I later learned that the trick is to put oil all over your skin so that the powder doesn't absorb into the skin. oops!

View from Cannon Hill
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My stay in Bombay so far has been amazing. I am in love with this cosmopolitan city located on the ocean. One of my favorite things to do is go up to the rooftop of our guesthouse and watch the exotic birds flying around the palm trees before the sun sets. I am also enjoying the selection of fresh fruit available here in India. Fresh pomegranates, pineapples, Chinese pears, tangerines, juicy papayas and delicious coconuts are some of the delicacies I have been enjoying in Bombay. I could live like this....