Mumbai Madness

Gateway to India

I have been in the city of Bombay for three days now. The only word that I can think of right
now is insanity. I was told that this city would be an assault to my senses, or a punch in the gut... it has been. However, the sudden rush of stimulation is leaving me almost numb. It is as if some sort of adrenaline rush kicked in the moment the plane touched ground. Everything is coming at me so fast I don't think I have been able to process anything until right now.

On top of the jet lag and the culture shock my professor has had the group on a schedule that is really knocking me off of my feet. We have been on a tour and heard an amazing lecture, we've been walking and shopping and interviewing, we've been eating, and taking taxis from here to there... it's been a going, going, going.

With all that said I am not even going to attempt to go into much detail about the last few days. I will talk about the Bollywood movie we went to though. It was called "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na."

The movie was in Hindi (no subtitles) I found it so much fun trying to figure out what was going on. Although most times it was quite obvious. The acting is reminiscent of Telenovela soap operas. Extremely over expressive so you always know how distraught people really are. Bollywood movies are also very long. It began at 10:30 and we did not get out of the theatre until after 1 o'clock. It is something you plan and make a day of; there is even an intermission.

There was a group of children at the theatre celebrating one of the little boys birthdays. It made me so happy to hear all of their little giggles throughout the movie. Bollywood is such a large industry over here and I understand why. Outside the walls of the theatre is a city that is dirty and ugly. These movies that are created to glamorize the streets and the landmarks. I almost did not recognize the streets that the scenes were taking place on; no street vendors, no dogs, no beggars, no trash. There was nothing that said Bombay. A day at a Bollywood movie is a simple escape to make sense of all the madness that is going on outside.

No matter how overwhelming this whole experience is right now I really love Mumbai. This city has sort of seeped into my veins and is flowing through my entire body. Even though it smells, and it's ugly and dirty I can't help but have a constant fascination with the way things work. I'd like to think of it as an organized chaos.

...and it's only day four.

*Today we are going to hear a lecture from an author/ journalist. It should be very interesting. He has been amazing and made forced change with his writing. (truly inspirational)