You wake up in Bombay

Some thoughts about Bombay:

• The food is amazing.   And super heavy.
• The weather is warm.  There are (what look like) palm trees across the street from my hotel. 
• The streets are very very crowded near my Hotel in Juhu beach.  There’s no sidewalks.  Traffic rules are followed loosely.  People are everywhere.
• Slums.  Everywhere.  There’s trash and stray dogs everywhere.  The water next to my hotel is a sort of murky blue.  And in a ‘trash everywhere’ sort of way.  Not a ‘reflecting the clear blue sky’ way.  I was photographing a slum on the way to my hotel yesterday and was shooed away by a guard.  I guess everyone cares about India’s international image.
• I saw my first kid taking a shit in the middle of the street today.  
• Dudes. Holding Hands.  On the street.  I’m told it’s not a gay thing.
• The majority of folks in Mumbai are small business owners.  It’s kind of charming.  There are small street shops everywhere. Everyone’s a hustler.   
• The culture is socially conservative relative to New York City.  
• The smell.  You get a whiff of these absolutely putrid smells every once in a while.  I’m told that eventually you barely notice.
• There’s like 12 bars in all of Bombay.  I miss the East Village, where there’s 12 bars on my block.

In Praise of Rain

Over time, rivers scope the land.  Civilizations evolve to reflect their geography.  Your country defines your identity & culture. People evolve to reflect their habits & rituals.