Posts Tagged ‘Mumbai’

 

Goodbye Mumbai, Hello Dubai

April 5, 2009 at 9:55 am in On The Street, Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

With 3 Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenges completed (90 days continuous yoga), I find myself in another country starting all over again. Huzzah only 9 more challenges to go!

It’s bewildering to think I’m a quarter of the way through my journey already and yet I feel it’s all going too fast! 30 days may seem like enough, or even too much time in one city but I only just start to feel it’s pulse, then I’m off on the next adventure.

Looking back I wonder if I have achieved what I set out to do. Same answer for any month in our lives – yes and no. I wanted to produce more video but the time required to shoot, edit, compress and upload is immense, coupled with a slow internet connection and I’m sitting in front of my mac, wishing I was outside experiencing life.

Before leaving Australia I clearly prioritized my goals so one wouldn’t interfere with another. I never realised how important this was until my practice almost fell apart in India. I found it so tough I would end each class, my hands in namaskar thanking myself for just completing my #1 goal: “do the yoga, every day”. I can honestly say, I felt I had only 6 strong classes the whole month. Just getting through each class, practicing every posture without sitting down (or throwing up on myself) was.. well, I guess you’d could call it a challenge!

Thank you so much Rowena, Benn and Maddy (manager & teachers at Bikram Yoga Mumbai) for buying me Bikram’s new book “Bikram Yoga” – just what I needed for focus, inspiration and grounding for the next phase. Also thanks to Rich (teacher, Bikram Yoga Bangkok and Regional Manager True Fitness) for supporting my journey.

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Problems in Australia? You have no idea!

April 4, 2009 at 9:47 am in On The Street | Please subscribe!

As my final days in Mumbai close in fast I seem to be zipping around in rickshaws saying goodbye, attending class or trying to find the elusive wifi cafe that’s never where you’re told it is. Hot tip: The Bagel Shop, Pali Hills, Bandra was only one I could find.

Wherever I was going, whatever time of day and whichever road I traveled, I’d see countless homes set up along the footpath. A single body asleep under a dusty blanket, a mother brushing out dirt from the shelter or a child playing naked on their adventure park (read pile of rocks). I’m not sure if they’re outcast from the slums or a step up but it drains your heart and curdles the chai in your stomach to see the little abodes made with an assortment of sheets and blankets secured with twine constantly relocating as road construction or destruction threatens what little they have.

As I shared a cab ride with Sakina, a local photographer, we chatted about life in Mumbai and what the future held. At one point she asked “There are countless problems with this city but tell me, what problems does Australia have?” I opened my mouth but no words came out… my throat went dry and I made some pathetic joke… we obviously have some but at that moment I could think of none.

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Chor Bazaar aka Thieves Market

April 4, 2009 at 7:05 am in On The Street | Please subscribe!

The saying goes “If you lose anything in Mumbai, you’ll find it at Chor Bazaar”. We hadn’t lost anything but thought it worth a look, especially with such an intriguing name. The market is huge covering several blocks and apparently offering everything from mobile phones to mutton chops.

We found ourselves lost amongst the hub caps and dismembered car section although we did find a barbers opposite an outlet stocking every conceivable horn manufactured in India (and perhaps the rest of the world) just down the lane from a large truck unloading what appeared to be sacks of onions. The market is packed with most shops wares spilling onto the narrow dirt streets and you wonder how the trucks make it inside in the first place.

We saw many goats, none of which appeared to be for sale dotted throughout the market, as happy and unpredictable as goats are and I couldn’t help chuckling as I remembered the one that chased Rowena all over the cricket pitch some weeks before.. but that’s another story!

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Manori Island Getaway

March 25, 2009 at 5:17 am in Everyday, On The Street | Please subscribe!

After a few weeks of the hustle and bustle of Mumbai life, Akhil promised us a little getaway with his extended family to Manori Island.

To get there we zig zagged on rickshaw through the quaint Versova Fishing Village, caught a ferry to Madh Island then set off on a mostly airborne bus ride to the end of the road. We then walked to the end of a whitish sandy beach, climbed aboard another ferry and motored quietly toward Manori Island. From the wharf a 4wd took us to our very basic and hidden away resort.

After lunch we wandered down onto the wide open beach before realizing none of us had brought beach towels! I guess we didn’t expect to swim, however we found a large grass mat hanging over the palm fence, set up camp and before long the girls were fast asleep.

Thankfully Manori beach is a lot cleaner than Juhu so a few of us braved a swim, followed by a little kite flying before lazing around and watching the sun set over the ocean.

More Manori Island getaway pics here!

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Over the hump!

March 19, 2009 at 9:54 pm in Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

Since arriving in Mumbai my classes have been down or sideways with the occasional up day. It’s been the most challenging challenge so far but I’m still managing some breakthroughs!

A few days ago in class,  (Bikram Yoga teacher/manager at Mumbai) urged me to reach down and grab my heals in Ustrasana (Camel Pose), something I’d tried several times before, reaching backward only to grasp thin air where I was sure my heal would be.

Rowena is an amazing teacher, so with complete trust I reached behind me and there I was… bending it like Bikram! Well maybe not quite, but I was in the most powerful backward bend in Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class after 2 weeks of being unable to do any back bends without feeling dizzy and nauseated!

Then last night I made it into Padangustasana (Toe Stand) on the left side! I’ll be checking in with the other Yogis doing the challenge and let you know their stories soon.

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Beachside at Juhu, Mumbai

March 16, 2009 at 10:01 pm in On The Street | Please subscribe!

My first venture onto the beach in Mumbai drew conflicting emotions, alien from any I expected and typically feel – I love the beach and if I don’t visit regularly I go a little stir crazy until I throw myself into the clear blue to be cleansed and invigorated once again.

It was shortly after sunset when I’d met Anne for a Masala Chai at Mocha cafe, Juhu beach. After the Chai I was drawn towards the faint sound of small waves caressing the sand; it had been more than a few weeks now and I was frothing quietly.

Here the hassle is not from competing surfers amongst the waves, it’s before your toes (or still covered feet) touch the sand, beginning with little tapping hands against your leg followed by the more savvy, ignoring your repeated “naheen” hoping to break your false indifference.

As we walked I felt a tingling up my spine, the chai gnawing holes in my stomach and a loss of something that wasn’t mine but for all the world to enjoy.. our oceans and the way they should be respected, nurtured and enjoyed. Knowing I couldn’t run barefoot and swim for fear of getting sick was upsetting but in a few weeks I would again be moving on while the majority of Mumbai, trapped by class and poverty, left behind, unable to enjoy the simplest but most powerful of pleasures the oceans can bring.

Rest assured the clean up has begun with the beaches apparently more environmentally friendly than several years ago. Several campaigns are launched but the task is massive and who knows how long it will take. A quick google search will show students leading the charge with localized beach cleanups trying to keep the awareness high.

Several days later I returned with Andrea to witness the beach by daylight, relieved to find couples walking hand in hand, youngsters braving a swim and smiles on faces – telltale signs of the potential everyone can see. At the end of the beach I paused, looking out to sea and realized that even standing amongst the garbage I could appreciate the beauty and draw peace from an empty horizon.

FYI, the plush green lawn was less than 100 metres from this beachside slum.

For more pics, check out my Flickr.

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Through the Gateway

March 9, 2009 at 5:15 pm in On The Street | Please subscribe!


After a midday Friday class I tucked into 3 scrambled eggs and a side of baked beans (sorry but it was only my 3rd western style meal since Australia) then Ben & Maddy (Bikram teachers at Mumbai), Andrea (Bikram teacher visiting from Vancouver) and I jumped in dueling ricskhaws and galloped towards the train station, recharged for an afternoon exploring South Mumbai.

South Mumbai has a different feel, featuring as many old buildings from it’s colonial past as the north has sprouting shopping malls. It appears more open and developed, a little cleaner maybe but just as hectic as everyone goes about their work – just surviving or making a million.

Whether it was a change of scenery, the great company or spying the Arabian Sea through the Gateway of India, I felt relaxed and quiet at home. As the simmering afternoon traded places with a gentle windy eve we found ourselves strolling along the bay in the quiet company of so many Mumbai locals drawn here by the promise of an empty skyline and soothing peace of the ocean.

Check out more pics at Flickr.

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lost in Mumbai, India

March 6, 2009 at 6:31 am in On The Street, Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

I watched “Slum Dog Millionaire” a few weeks before leaving Australia hoping it would give me an insight into what was waiting for me in India and Mumbai in particular. I walked out of the cinema quivering a little inside and sporting a nervous grin, “yeah I’ll be OK, it’s just a movie right?”

Well here I am, 3rd day in and getting lost at least once every day and I’ve hardly been out of my own neighborhood! It started with the prepaid taxi from the airport; I’d been told it would take 30-40 mins but some 2 hrs later, after midnight and 8 stops to ask for directions, I rock up at my new home; wide eyed, still sporting that nervous grin into the welcoming arms of my new host, Akhil Bali, a fellow Couch Surfer and film industry freelancer.

It’s been a crazy first few days and late nights. I’ve barely sat down and when I have it’s been on the back of Akhil’s motorbike, weaving through dusty lanes, popping out onto rickshaw crammed roads, stopping only to sip small glasses of chai tea and discuss the days business. Then grab a quick bite before arriving with 3 mins to spare before yoga class! 

 

I’m struggling big time in class; for some reason I’m finding the heat almost unbearable. I’ve felt like walking or crawling out of every class and the only thing keeping me going is the smiling bunch of yogis beside me. Everyone is so friendly but what I find truly inspiring is knowing that 30 other yogis have signed up to join me for the 30 day challenge at Bikram Yoga Mumbai / True Fitness!

For now though I have to get some shut eye. I haven’t been to sleep before 2 am since I arrived, not due to insomnia, just out and about in this city that doesn’t sleep. So stay tuned, I’ll try and have you experiencing as much as I can through my lens this month. 

 

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