Jambo from Mombasa, part Sita!
Written: May 19, 2006
Dear family and friends,
I hope this email finds you in good spirits. I would like to wish those of you who celebrated the occasions of Navroz and Easter, a belated Navroz mubarak and Happy Easter! May you all be blessed with a year of spiritual and material happiness, prosperity, peace, love, unity and the opportunity to serve creation. Ameen.
Its been 5 months from my last email and many things have transpired since. This lengthy time has given me the strength to deal with the loss of our Canadian Hockey Team from the quarter-finals at the Olympics. What happened to our athletes? They were flat throughout and their last game which three of us die hard Canadian fans here managed to miraculously watch, was a little more than just embarrassing to say the least. Let me move on to some better experiences.
My December holiday of backpacking around Egypt with Amirali (my younger brother) was a dream come true. Our journey was busy and intense as we attempted to unearth thousands of years of history in almost 3 weeks. We had a marvelous time and would not think twice if we had another opportunity to return. In another email I will try and share our experience along with our photos with you.
Immediately after arriving from Egypt, our second school term began and finally ended on April 11. This has for me been the busiest term in my two years at the Academy. Let me give you a brief summary of these past few months.
The months of February was a very difficult one for Kenyans and neighboring countries due to the lack of rain fall, sweltering temperatures and compounded with a lack of agricultural planning and preparedness. There were many regions in Kenya that had to deal with issues of famine, especially in the north-eastern province of Kenya that has an additional challenge of dealing with Somali refugees crossing the borders into Kenya because of the lack opportunities in Somalia. The Kenyan government is endlessly criticized for the lack of federal support to this province. But through many good-hearted organizations, the World Food Programme of the United Nations, and numerous individual donors, attempts were made to reduce the impact. There were continuous announcements and humble requests made by various faith based organizations, civil society institutions and the gov’t on radio and television to support this famine. The t.v. programs aired visual images of dying or dead livestock and very ill people because of the large distances traveled in search of water and food distribution.
The shortage of water also impacted many areas around Mombasa, including Tudor, where I live. For a few weeks, I was showering and shaving using (20L) buckets that were filled each day. Sometimes, I was also shaving at school, early in the mornings before our daily staff briefings. It was funny and uncomfortable at times as colleagues would watch. Nevertheless, everyone would know why. It was ‘indeed’ (a very popular Kenyan word) a difficult period for all, but days went on and Kenyans, once again with their strong will managed.
Just about a few weeks ago, during the very initial days of our rainy season, we had a tremendous amount of down pour each day, non-stop for almost the entire week. Over flooding and poor drainage lead to be disastrous in many parts of Kenya, including Mombasa, for the growing crops, store owners, families and street hawkers who dwell on the sidewalks. Even as pedestrians it’s very confusing; you want to use the umbrella to prevent getting wet from the rains above, however, you suddenly realize that walking along the sidewalks you are as susceptible to getting soaked as the cars and matatus driving in full speed have no mercy near the large pools of water…SWHOOOSH!!!!! Instantly, you’re soaked as you let your guard down. Do you hold the umbrella upright or towards the roads?
And last week, I wasn’t feeling well (having a throat infection and a high fever) and went to purchase some antibiotics (with the doctors prescription of course!) at Badur’s Pharmacy – ‘dukka la dawa’. As I waited for the matatu to go home and it was raining hard, turning my head the other way for a few seconds was a dreadful mistake, SWHOOSH!!!! ….I was soaked with the filthy waters of the street. There is no mercy even for the sick!
Our school, the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, was busy and successful on many fronts over the last term. Our school debating team won first overall in the city during the annual Lions Club of Mombasa Pwani's Inter-secondary Schools Debate Tournament. Our students (one of the youngest teams) defeated Coast Academy (3 time champions in the finals). For 3 consecutive weeks, the students at our school worked diligently with the support of our teachers, Mr. Kassam, Mr Dudi and Mr. D’souza to knock out former champions with some fantastic arguments.
The debate topics included:
Round One: Globalization is a form of imperialism.
Round Two: Spending resources on space research is not justified.
Finals: Electronic media are a threat to societal stability.
In March, the school also hosted the Mau Mau Film Festival to promote the culture of Human Rights in our daily lives. This festival – free to the public is usually held in Nairobi and organized by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), was brought to Mombasa for the first time with the support of our IB Coordinator, Ian Rutherford (he’s also Canadian), some of our IB students, Awaaz Magazine (Magazine promoting South Asian History in Kenya) and the KHRC . The film festival was held over 4 days and received an overwhelming response by the Mombasa community. Our library was the venue for the opening night reception and our lecture theatre showcased films such as: White Terror (a BBC documentary), In My Country, Malcolm X, Fidel Castro. The closing was held at the Nyali Cinemax and showcased the film 100 days. The KHRC as agreed to try and make this film festival an annual event in Mombasa with the partnership of the Aga Khan Academy. The Mau Mau atrocity is taught in the Kenyan Secondary History Curriculum and therefore, our school and the students of 4K also hosted nearby schools to discuss this historic event. For me this was a great learning opportunity about some of Kenya’s history. Within the school there was also a draw for a recently published book titled: Britain’s Gulag – the brutal end of empire in Kenya by the Author Caroline Elkins, a Harvard University professor who spent 6 years doing research in Kenya for this book. I was the fortunate winner of this draw. At the opening and closing receptions there were several other books on sale to the public at a reduced cost. I purchased Nelson Mandela’s autobiography titled Long Walk to Freedom, which I am currently reading.
Also in March our students were involved in 2 clean up projects that were being conducted in Mombasa. The first one was a clean up of Mama Ngina drive – named after the first lady of Jumo Kenyatta (founding father of Kenya – first president). It is located on the coast of Mombasa, the road near the infamous light house and the Likoni ferry. It is here where families come and enjoy a tasty madaf (fresh coconut juice) and grilled or fried mogo (cassava or yam) with a view of the Indian Ocean. This area is considered to be the starting and finishing line for the World Cross-country Running Championship to be held in 2007. Upon winning the bid to host these world championships, the government has promised to upgrade this heritage site. The community is really hoping to see some infrastructural changes for the better! This opportunity is a blessing in disguise. Imagine the world class cross country runners trying to avoid the pot holes…it would be like the steeplechase events!
The same day, as a tribute to the UN World Water day, our students were also involved in the clean up of Tudor Water Sports located near Tudor Creek and the area near the Historic Fort Jesus, located in the old town of Mombasa. I assisted with the clean up in old town. There were a few hundred members of the community all helping to clean up. We were sent to clean up a site which we were told once was a major entry into the old town. Fisherman and many other traders would gather and do business with merchants from all over the place. This place was a now a dumping site for people living in old town. As we dared to pick up the ‘garbage’ we had discovered much more than that. Additional to the garbage we found, pillow cases, bed sheets, more home furniture, shoes, needles, human waste etc…it was nasty site! Many of the things we picked up were non-biodegradable and were being dumped into the ocean. We also unearthed a staircase leading down to the beach. We were afraid that all our efforts would go to waste after we left that day, as the community in old town would just continue to throw their waste here. We hope that the community leaders will do much more to educate the residents and find an appropriate landfill site. I would also blame the local government for not doing enough to support the clean up and removal of waste more frequently.
Last week, I had the opportunity to accompany the year 8 students on the annual trip to Nairobi, in particular to visit Kibera. The Kibera area is known to be the largest slum in Africa with close to 1 million residents. The students had finished reading African Diary by Bill Bryson. The book is a 10,000-word record of his travels in Kenya, including visits to CARE International's poverty-fighting projects. Mr. Bryson has kindly donated all the royalties from this book to CARE, an international NGO. As part of year 8 English course, the students get an opportunity to visit Kibera and other places described in the book to get their own perspective of what it’s like visiting these places. I have taken many pictures of Kibera and will share with you the experience in a later email. By the way, the Kibera area is also featured in the movie the Constant Gardner. It’s a must see movie that touches on the exploitation of vulnerable people by corrupt governments and rich conglomerates. This movie, based on a novel is produced in Kenya.
Once again, can you imagine, it’s already May! I think only students and teachers can really understand this context. And here at school we are well into the third and final term of the academic year. I will soon have completed my Second year as a teacher. I have also signed on to continue for at least another year and inshallah a few more. Strangely enough I have been thinking a lot about my lesson planning and the various activities I would like to do in the different classes. But this is happening a lot while I’m sleeping. Now, you could say, it’s a good sign that I really love my job and I am always looking to improve the learning of my students. Or you could say, I’ve only taught for 2 years and I am over working myself if all I can think about is my classroom! If there are any experienced teachers reading this, I would really appreciate some advice or explanation please!
I will be coming home for my summer holidays in July and August for about 6 weeks. However, I will be working hard to prepare to teach the IB Biology course in September. I will definitely make some time to meet as many of my friends and colleagues as possible and to attend any important celebrations. My brother, Amirali just got engaged, so I am looking forward to the formal ceremonies, AND of course getting harassed by other family members about my own personal situation, being the elder brother. If any of my friends want to meet up, I don’t mind getting together at MOXIES, I have been craving their white chocolate brownie…yummy!
Let me now tell you a little bit of what my experience of going to Mumbai, India last March (2005), for about 10 days was like. It was the only the second time I was returning to my birth place since I left in 1983 for Toronto. The previous trip was in 1989. So it was after 16 years I was returning. And because it was only going to be for 10 days, the sole purpose of this trip was to spend time in Mumbai to see both my maternal and paternal family.
I had a great time while I was there. My only regrets were not being able to travel around all of India. But I have vowed to do that soon given the appropriate time.
But seeing my first cousins who are of or near my age was wonderful. To learn from them what their experience has been like and the challenges they have had to face given the circumstances made me realize how many other stories similar to theirs must exist around the world. And how easily situations can change from moment to moment, because I was also born in Mumbai like them, but my family had made a decision given the opportunity to leave for Canada not knowing what lay ahead, only high expectations for a better educational opportunity for my brother and I. Now my cousins and I were sitting together after such a long time, my life completely different from theirs because of different opportunities. Questions such as what if my family didn’t leave Mumbai? What would my life have been like? What educational opportunities would I have had? What things would have occupied my mind? What would my day to day activities been like? were racing through my mind. Getting together with them was important for me to see them again face to face and make that connection in person. All these times we have been speaking to each other on and off, or hearing about each others successes and challenges. After many lengthy rickshaw and train rides and dinner talks, I realized that our thinking was much similar, even though our physical circumstances varied. There was an immediate connection between a few of my cousins and I, we had the same aspirations and thoughts about the world and its purpose and the reasons for its current divergent and appalling state. And we had some really deep conversations about these ideologies. We soon realized that it was our faith that had provided us with a common world view – our philosophies and the big questions about life were similar. But many of these ideas required the understanding of universal values. I had so much fun analyzing and deconstructing our thoughts and conversation, it was intellectually invigorating. I was able to bond with these cousins much more. From those enriching moments our relationship and conversations took on a deeper meaning.
Mumbai, the Capital of Maharashtra State, is a city of contrasts; between the rich and poor and tradition and modernity. With a population of almost 15 million and growing, it is India’s largest city. And it may also be largest city in the world by population. It was an incredible feeling to arrive in Mumbai. I was finally old enough to try and understand ‘Mumbai’. It was full of generosity, religious plurality, love, fashion, bollywood, hustle and bustle on every street and corner, endless places of worship for every type of believer, the city was alive during the day and night, food stalls and restaurants everywhere, clothing and jewelry stores, tailors, shoe stores, sweet shops on every street, music stores, customs, traditions, internet cafés, many new developments, cricketers everywhere, slums, families, billboards, taxi drivers, rickshaws, pollution, full of cat’s and other animals including cattle and of course people everywhere you looked! Nobody ever seemed to go hungry despite the poverty, many people and restaurant owners generously would feed people each night. There was so much entrepreneurship amongst the people, whatever you needed you could find in Mumbai. Even on the same street you would see shops selling similar products and I often wondered how each store survived with such stiff competition, but I soon realized that because of the large population, almost every store would see some customers, enough transactions would take place for everyone to get by or even do extremely well! I would see everyone working in Mumbai, trying to make an earnest living anyway possible.
The currency is the Indian rupee (INR) which is valued at about 45 INR to 1 USD. I was able to take advantage of this throughout my visit. And as a recent graduate with a student loan, the lower currency value was much appreciated and needed. But I was very mindful of bargaining with the locals, knowing my advantaged point.
I saw some really nice malls and movie theatres. Getting around Mumbai was not a problem; there are many many rickshaws, taxis and buses, or even the train if you are daring! If you want to travel by road then you better make sure you know when there is traffic, which is almost all the time. I was lucky that I wasn’t in a rush anywhere. It can easily take you 2 hours to travel about 10 Km.
After watching the madness of the train, I had to experience it for myself. There are sections for ‘first class’ and ‘second class’. In first class there is room most of the time. However, in second class, much cheaper for the average Indian, its pure chaos! I had to experience second class and my uncle insisted that I don’t. However, I wanted to prove to myself that I can handle it. I actually used it two times. The first time you get on and off is a euphoric feeling! I just couldn’t wait for the second time. After that, I had enough. In second class, imagine standing with about 50 adults in minute space of 2 m by 4 m, its hot, sweaty, full of perspiration, and violent as elbows are flying by people trying to get in and out at every stop. It’s a burglar’s hangout! Hold on to everything tight! What can be disastrous or even fatal is losing ones ‘champals’ or sandals. Just forget about trying to reach down and getting them, or you’ll risk being trampled by a heard of people. And yes, it’s just like what you see in the bollywood movies, as people are hanging outside. Imagine going to work like this in the morning and traveling for about two hours with these conditions. But you know what; Indians do it because they have no other choice. Even with the trains being over capacity, there is still traffic on the roads! The overpopulation of Mumbai is mind-boggling and always leaves you amazed at how life goes on.
One night I also made it a point to go clubbing. With the advice of my cousin I found a better than average place to visit. I paid a hefty cover charge, at 800 INR, almost 2o bucks USD. But when I walked in, the value of my cover was given back to me in coupons to purchase any sort of beverage. I don’t drink alcohol, so after having four glasses of various fruit juices, I still had 600 INR left over, which I just gave to the bartender on my way out. By 10:30 pm the club was full, the bar and dance floor was crowded and the entire place was filled with smoke. I was really missing out on the smoke free laws that have been enforced in Toronto.
On more observation I must not forget to mention here. If you thought that for couples to make out in public was a taboo in Mumbai because that’s what you’ve seen in the bollywood films, forget it! Not even in the garden, but along the stretches of the highways of Mumbai, you will see parked motor bikes and cars, and then couples sitting on the concrete barriers and just making out. Hello, do you know what will happen if your mother and father drive by!
You can also checkout my own e-blog site: http://azizbatadatraveling.blogspot.com/
I hope you enjoyed reading this email. I look forward to your comments, good wishes and updates. Stay tuned for further email updates and pictures of Ethiopia, Egypt and Kibera!
Warm regards,
Aziz
p.s. Go Barcelona!
p.p.s. Tonight’s the BIG CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL MATCH between
Barcelona and Arsenal. The atmosphere in school has been wild, with not only students, but also all the faculty, support staff and even the askaris (security guards) talking all day about tonight’s game.
I can’t believe I am missing the NHL playoffs again for the 3rd straight year!
Dear family and friends,
I hope this email finds you in good spirits. I would like to wish those of you who celebrated the occasions of Navroz and Easter, a belated Navroz mubarak and Happy Easter! May you all be blessed with a year of spiritual and material happiness, prosperity, peace, love, unity and the opportunity to serve creation. Ameen.
Its been 5 months from my last email and many things have transpired since. This lengthy time has given me the strength to deal with the loss of our Canadian Hockey Team from the quarter-finals at the Olympics. What happened to our athletes? They were flat throughout and their last game which three of us die hard Canadian fans here managed to miraculously watch, was a little more than just embarrassing to say the least. Let me move on to some better experiences.
My December holiday of backpacking around Egypt with Amirali (my younger brother) was a dream come true. Our journey was busy and intense as we attempted to unearth thousands of years of history in almost 3 weeks. We had a marvelous time and would not think twice if we had another opportunity to return. In another email I will try and share our experience along with our photos with you.
Immediately after arriving from Egypt, our second school term began and finally ended on April 11. This has for me been the busiest term in my two years at the Academy. Let me give you a brief summary of these past few months.
The months of February was a very difficult one for Kenyans and neighboring countries due to the lack of rain fall, sweltering temperatures and compounded with a lack of agricultural planning and preparedness. There were many regions in Kenya that had to deal with issues of famine, especially in the north-eastern province of Kenya that has an additional challenge of dealing with Somali refugees crossing the borders into Kenya because of the lack opportunities in Somalia. The Kenyan government is endlessly criticized for the lack of federal support to this province. But through many good-hearted organizations, the World Food Programme of the United Nations, and numerous individual donors, attempts were made to reduce the impact. There were continuous announcements and humble requests made by various faith based organizations, civil society institutions and the gov’t on radio and television to support this famine. The t.v. programs aired visual images of dying or dead livestock and very ill people because of the large distances traveled in search of water and food distribution.
The shortage of water also impacted many areas around Mombasa, including Tudor, where I live. For a few weeks, I was showering and shaving using (20L) buckets that were filled each day. Sometimes, I was also shaving at school, early in the mornings before our daily staff briefings. It was funny and uncomfortable at times as colleagues would watch. Nevertheless, everyone would know why. It was ‘indeed’ (a very popular Kenyan word) a difficult period for all, but days went on and Kenyans, once again with their strong will managed.
Just about a few weeks ago, during the very initial days of our rainy season, we had a tremendous amount of down pour each day, non-stop for almost the entire week. Over flooding and poor drainage lead to be disastrous in many parts of Kenya, including Mombasa, for the growing crops, store owners, families and street hawkers who dwell on the sidewalks. Even as pedestrians it’s very confusing; you want to use the umbrella to prevent getting wet from the rains above, however, you suddenly realize that walking along the sidewalks you are as susceptible to getting soaked as the cars and matatus driving in full speed have no mercy near the large pools of water…SWHOOOSH!!!!! Instantly, you’re soaked as you let your guard down. Do you hold the umbrella upright or towards the roads?
And last week, I wasn’t feeling well (having a throat infection and a high fever) and went to purchase some antibiotics (with the doctors prescription of course!) at Badur’s Pharmacy – ‘dukka la dawa’. As I waited for the matatu to go home and it was raining hard, turning my head the other way for a few seconds was a dreadful mistake, SWHOOSH!!!! ….I was soaked with the filthy waters of the street. There is no mercy even for the sick!
Our school, the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, was busy and successful on many fronts over the last term. Our school debating team won first overall in the city during the annual Lions Club of Mombasa Pwani's Inter-secondary Schools Debate Tournament. Our students (one of the youngest teams) defeated Coast Academy (3 time champions in the finals). For 3 consecutive weeks, the students at our school worked diligently with the support of our teachers, Mr. Kassam, Mr Dudi and Mr. D’souza to knock out former champions with some fantastic arguments.
The debate topics included:
Round One: Globalization is a form of imperialism.
Round Two: Spending resources on space research is not justified.
Finals: Electronic media are a threat to societal stability.
In March, the school also hosted the Mau Mau Film Festival to promote the culture of Human Rights in our daily lives. This festival – free to the public is usually held in Nairobi and organized by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), was brought to Mombasa for the first time with the support of our IB Coordinator, Ian Rutherford (he’s also Canadian), some of our IB students, Awaaz Magazine (Magazine promoting South Asian History in Kenya) and the KHRC . The film festival was held over 4 days and received an overwhelming response by the Mombasa community. Our library was the venue for the opening night reception and our lecture theatre showcased films such as: White Terror (a BBC documentary), In My Country, Malcolm X, Fidel Castro. The closing was held at the Nyali Cinemax and showcased the film 100 days. The KHRC as agreed to try and make this film festival an annual event in Mombasa with the partnership of the Aga Khan Academy. The Mau Mau atrocity is taught in the Kenyan Secondary History Curriculum and therefore, our school and the students of 4K also hosted nearby schools to discuss this historic event. For me this was a great learning opportunity about some of Kenya’s history. Within the school there was also a draw for a recently published book titled: Britain’s Gulag – the brutal end of empire in Kenya by the Author Caroline Elkins, a Harvard University professor who spent 6 years doing research in Kenya for this book. I was the fortunate winner of this draw. At the opening and closing receptions there were several other books on sale to the public at a reduced cost. I purchased Nelson Mandela’s autobiography titled Long Walk to Freedom, which I am currently reading.
Also in March our students were involved in 2 clean up projects that were being conducted in Mombasa. The first one was a clean up of Mama Ngina drive – named after the first lady of Jumo Kenyatta (founding father of Kenya – first president). It is located on the coast of Mombasa, the road near the infamous light house and the Likoni ferry. It is here where families come and enjoy a tasty madaf (fresh coconut juice) and grilled or fried mogo (cassava or yam) with a view of the Indian Ocean. This area is considered to be the starting and finishing line for the World Cross-country Running Championship to be held in 2007. Upon winning the bid to host these world championships, the government has promised to upgrade this heritage site. The community is really hoping to see some infrastructural changes for the better! This opportunity is a blessing in disguise. Imagine the world class cross country runners trying to avoid the pot holes…it would be like the steeplechase events!
The same day, as a tribute to the UN World Water day, our students were also involved in the clean up of Tudor Water Sports located near Tudor Creek and the area near the Historic Fort Jesus, located in the old town of Mombasa. I assisted with the clean up in old town. There were a few hundred members of the community all helping to clean up. We were sent to clean up a site which we were told once was a major entry into the old town. Fisherman and many other traders would gather and do business with merchants from all over the place. This place was a now a dumping site for people living in old town. As we dared to pick up the ‘garbage’ we had discovered much more than that. Additional to the garbage we found, pillow cases, bed sheets, more home furniture, shoes, needles, human waste etc…it was nasty site! Many of the things we picked up were non-biodegradable and were being dumped into the ocean. We also unearthed a staircase leading down to the beach. We were afraid that all our efforts would go to waste after we left that day, as the community in old town would just continue to throw their waste here. We hope that the community leaders will do much more to educate the residents and find an appropriate landfill site. I would also blame the local government for not doing enough to support the clean up and removal of waste more frequently.
Last week, I had the opportunity to accompany the year 8 students on the annual trip to Nairobi, in particular to visit Kibera. The Kibera area is known to be the largest slum in Africa with close to 1 million residents. The students had finished reading African Diary by Bill Bryson. The book is a 10,000-word record of his travels in Kenya, including visits to CARE International's poverty-fighting projects. Mr. Bryson has kindly donated all the royalties from this book to CARE, an international NGO. As part of year 8 English course, the students get an opportunity to visit Kibera and other places described in the book to get their own perspective of what it’s like visiting these places. I have taken many pictures of Kibera and will share with you the experience in a later email. By the way, the Kibera area is also featured in the movie the Constant Gardner. It’s a must see movie that touches on the exploitation of vulnerable people by corrupt governments and rich conglomerates. This movie, based on a novel is produced in Kenya.
Once again, can you imagine, it’s already May! I think only students and teachers can really understand this context. And here at school we are well into the third and final term of the academic year. I will soon have completed my Second year as a teacher. I have also signed on to continue for at least another year and inshallah a few more. Strangely enough I have been thinking a lot about my lesson planning and the various activities I would like to do in the different classes. But this is happening a lot while I’m sleeping. Now, you could say, it’s a good sign that I really love my job and I am always looking to improve the learning of my students. Or you could say, I’ve only taught for 2 years and I am over working myself if all I can think about is my classroom! If there are any experienced teachers reading this, I would really appreciate some advice or explanation please!
I will be coming home for my summer holidays in July and August for about 6 weeks. However, I will be working hard to prepare to teach the IB Biology course in September. I will definitely make some time to meet as many of my friends and colleagues as possible and to attend any important celebrations. My brother, Amirali just got engaged, so I am looking forward to the formal ceremonies, AND of course getting harassed by other family members about my own personal situation, being the elder brother. If any of my friends want to meet up, I don’t mind getting together at MOXIES, I have been craving their white chocolate brownie…yummy!
Let me now tell you a little bit of what my experience of going to Mumbai, India last March (2005), for about 10 days was like. It was the only the second time I was returning to my birth place since I left in 1983 for Toronto. The previous trip was in 1989. So it was after 16 years I was returning. And because it was only going to be for 10 days, the sole purpose of this trip was to spend time in Mumbai to see both my maternal and paternal family.
I had a great time while I was there. My only regrets were not being able to travel around all of India. But I have vowed to do that soon given the appropriate time.
But seeing my first cousins who are of or near my age was wonderful. To learn from them what their experience has been like and the challenges they have had to face given the circumstances made me realize how many other stories similar to theirs must exist around the world. And how easily situations can change from moment to moment, because I was also born in Mumbai like them, but my family had made a decision given the opportunity to leave for Canada not knowing what lay ahead, only high expectations for a better educational opportunity for my brother and I. Now my cousins and I were sitting together after such a long time, my life completely different from theirs because of different opportunities. Questions such as what if my family didn’t leave Mumbai? What would my life have been like? What educational opportunities would I have had? What things would have occupied my mind? What would my day to day activities been like? were racing through my mind. Getting together with them was important for me to see them again face to face and make that connection in person. All these times we have been speaking to each other on and off, or hearing about each others successes and challenges. After many lengthy rickshaw and train rides and dinner talks, I realized that our thinking was much similar, even though our physical circumstances varied. There was an immediate connection between a few of my cousins and I, we had the same aspirations and thoughts about the world and its purpose and the reasons for its current divergent and appalling state. And we had some really deep conversations about these ideologies. We soon realized that it was our faith that had provided us with a common world view – our philosophies and the big questions about life were similar. But many of these ideas required the understanding of universal values. I had so much fun analyzing and deconstructing our thoughts and conversation, it was intellectually invigorating. I was able to bond with these cousins much more. From those enriching moments our relationship and conversations took on a deeper meaning.
Mumbai, the Capital of Maharashtra State, is a city of contrasts; between the rich and poor and tradition and modernity. With a population of almost 15 million and growing, it is India’s largest city. And it may also be largest city in the world by population. It was an incredible feeling to arrive in Mumbai. I was finally old enough to try and understand ‘Mumbai’. It was full of generosity, religious plurality, love, fashion, bollywood, hustle and bustle on every street and corner, endless places of worship for every type of believer, the city was alive during the day and night, food stalls and restaurants everywhere, clothing and jewelry stores, tailors, shoe stores, sweet shops on every street, music stores, customs, traditions, internet cafés, many new developments, cricketers everywhere, slums, families, billboards, taxi drivers, rickshaws, pollution, full of cat’s and other animals including cattle and of course people everywhere you looked! Nobody ever seemed to go hungry despite the poverty, many people and restaurant owners generously would feed people each night. There was so much entrepreneurship amongst the people, whatever you needed you could find in Mumbai. Even on the same street you would see shops selling similar products and I often wondered how each store survived with such stiff competition, but I soon realized that because of the large population, almost every store would see some customers, enough transactions would take place for everyone to get by or even do extremely well! I would see everyone working in Mumbai, trying to make an earnest living anyway possible.
The currency is the Indian rupee (INR) which is valued at about 45 INR to 1 USD. I was able to take advantage of this throughout my visit. And as a recent graduate with a student loan, the lower currency value was much appreciated and needed. But I was very mindful of bargaining with the locals, knowing my advantaged point.
I saw some really nice malls and movie theatres. Getting around Mumbai was not a problem; there are many many rickshaws, taxis and buses, or even the train if you are daring! If you want to travel by road then you better make sure you know when there is traffic, which is almost all the time. I was lucky that I wasn’t in a rush anywhere. It can easily take you 2 hours to travel about 10 Km.
After watching the madness of the train, I had to experience it for myself. There are sections for ‘first class’ and ‘second class’. In first class there is room most of the time. However, in second class, much cheaper for the average Indian, its pure chaos! I had to experience second class and my uncle insisted that I don’t. However, I wanted to prove to myself that I can handle it. I actually used it two times. The first time you get on and off is a euphoric feeling! I just couldn’t wait for the second time. After that, I had enough. In second class, imagine standing with about 50 adults in minute space of 2 m by 4 m, its hot, sweaty, full of perspiration, and violent as elbows are flying by people trying to get in and out at every stop. It’s a burglar’s hangout! Hold on to everything tight! What can be disastrous or even fatal is losing ones ‘champals’ or sandals. Just forget about trying to reach down and getting them, or you’ll risk being trampled by a heard of people. And yes, it’s just like what you see in the bollywood movies, as people are hanging outside. Imagine going to work like this in the morning and traveling for about two hours with these conditions. But you know what; Indians do it because they have no other choice. Even with the trains being over capacity, there is still traffic on the roads! The overpopulation of Mumbai is mind-boggling and always leaves you amazed at how life goes on.
One night I also made it a point to go clubbing. With the advice of my cousin I found a better than average place to visit. I paid a hefty cover charge, at 800 INR, almost 2o bucks USD. But when I walked in, the value of my cover was given back to me in coupons to purchase any sort of beverage. I don’t drink alcohol, so after having four glasses of various fruit juices, I still had 600 INR left over, which I just gave to the bartender on my way out. By 10:30 pm the club was full, the bar and dance floor was crowded and the entire place was filled with smoke. I was really missing out on the smoke free laws that have been enforced in Toronto.
On more observation I must not forget to mention here. If you thought that for couples to make out in public was a taboo in Mumbai because that’s what you’ve seen in the bollywood films, forget it! Not even in the garden, but along the stretches of the highways of Mumbai, you will see parked motor bikes and cars, and then couples sitting on the concrete barriers and just making out. Hello, do you know what will happen if your mother and father drive by!
You can also checkout my own e-blog site: http://azizbatadatraveling.blogspot.com/
I hope you enjoyed reading this email. I look forward to your comments, good wishes and updates. Stay tuned for further email updates and pictures of Ethiopia, Egypt and Kibera!
Warm regards,
Aziz
p.s. Go Barcelona!
p.p.s. Tonight’s the BIG CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL MATCH between
Barcelona and Arsenal. The atmosphere in school has been wild, with not only students, but also all the faculty, support staff and even the askaris (security guards) talking all day about tonight’s game.
I can’t believe I am missing the NHL playoffs again for the 3rd straight year!
posted by Batada's Traveling Adventures... at 5:30 AM
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