Travel 2013: Mumbai

5.22 - Mumbai

I’ve been wondering about race.  It’s clear that race is so connected to class in the U.S., and I’m pretty sure it’s not the same here.  I feel myself surprised to see darker Indians passing similarly (as far as I can tell) as the lighter skinned.  I asked about it during breakfast and received a history lesson/lecture on the caste system in India.  We also talked about the green revolution and GMOs, over a breakfast of small bananas (kela), sweet + mango jelly, mango jaggery + cheese sandwich, and my first chai.

Trying to get on the bus, I notice that Licia and I are not good at queues (lines) because everyone else pushes to the front, in any way possible – including using their children.  We have mostly gotten pushed to the back of the line because we’re too reserved to elbow people out of our way.  Also, personal space is smaller, and this is very clearly evidenced in driving.

Women are less prevalent in public spaces.  For example, on our full bus, there were 4 women. 

The feeling of sitting in the car with a kid tapping the window: a single pane(pain) of transparent glass separating and representing two wholly different worlds. Her barefoot in the street running into intersections with stopped cars, her face clearly dirtied and no sign of any parent/guardian, me sitting in A/C on fake leather car seat on my way somewhere with a $500 camera in my lap.