EC-Rider Travels

Once again, having thought everything looked rather sophisticated and together, on my midnight drive into Mumbai, the reality this morning is a little different and perhaps the hotel too. I think I have been rather spoilt over the last couple of weeks, and this is something different – more of a hostel with Indian cleanliness at its best! Having said that, it is in the most perfect location and seems to be doing a roaring trade…. Breakfast was a little testing, I am not sure what they do to their yoghurt, but it is ingusting! Thank goodness for Arun’s raisins!

My lovely guide, Yamini arrived at 10am, once again with a representative from Banyan to introduce us! And we set off to try and see as much of Mumbai as possible in a day. A city of 23 million, spreading across 4,355sq km, it was perhaps a bit of a tall order, but we made a good attempt. It is very hot and being a Sunday, teaming with locals. Yamini explained, that although the international tourist trade is still slow to recover, there has been a huge increase in local tourism, which must be a good thing.

Mumbai or Bombay as the older generation still seem to call it, is made up of seven islands joined by causeways on the Koran coast of West India. Originally home to the Koli people it was first ceded to the Portuguese in return for protection and then from them to the UK as part of Catherine Braganza’s dowry when she married Charles II in 1661. The Brits, not knowing what to do with it, rented it to The East India Company for £10pa in gold. In the 18th century, Bombay was redesigned by the Governor William Hornby, reclaiming land and building the causeway to unite the seven islands into a single island with a deep natural harbour. Together with roads and railways, Bombay became the major seaport of the Arabian Sea and trade flourished. Having been a strong base for the Indian Independence movement, it is now the financial, commercial and entertainment (Bollywood) capital of India attracting migrants from all over the country. It is also where my naughty, young Royal Ballet School student hailed from and some of the places we went to today, I feel sure featured in the film about him.

We first walked to The Gate of India, literally five minutes from the hotel. Being a Sunday, I was not the only one visiting, it was teaming with Indians, every one of them wanting their photo taken, several times over! It was very reminiscent of my Indian friends in Peru! However it is worth the fight, the iconic monument is magnificent. It was built in the early 20th century to commemorate George V’s visit to Bombay – he was the first British monarch to do so. It was designed by Scottish architect, George Wittet originally in plaster for the King and Queen Mary’s arrival in 1911, but later rebuilt in local basalt and completed in 1924. Indo-Islamic in style and 26m high, it continued to be used as a symbolic ceremonial entrance to India. It was where Mahatma Gandhi was received after his return from South Africa and also from where the last British troops left India in 1948.

From the gate we walked through the historic areas, full of wonderful colonial buildings of every style of architecture, including a number of art-deco buildings. There were many truly exceptional buildings such as the University of Mumbai, designed by George Gilbert Scott, with its magnificent Rajabai Tower named after the donors mother. It was built in 1857, apparently modelled on London university and is now one of the largest universities in the world;

The Prince of Wales Museum, designed again by George Wittet was built to commemorate George V’s earlier visit, as Prince of Wales, in 1906. Like most of the public buildings and cities, it now has an Indian name, and is now called the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya!

Most impressive of all is their Victoria Station, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designed by British architectural engineer, Frederick William Stevens. it was apparently from initial designs by Axel Haig inspired by St Pancras. It was completed in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and Stevens received a bonus of 5,000 rupees (£50) for his work. It has the most beautiful tickets hall, or Star Chamber, where there are many charming animals carved into the stonework and pillars. At one time there was a marble statue of Queen Victoria on the main facade, but this was removed (along with most British figures in public spaces) in the 1950s, and no one is quite sure where it is. The Station serves the central line with over 1000 trains a day. Women and men usually travel separately and there are also women only trains!

Victoria station was the site of the horrendous 2008 terrorist attack killing 58 people and injuring over a hundred more. Since then, security has been greatly increased in Mumbai and Government buildings are all heavily guarded, with limited access.

Another amazing building was the Bombay High Court, which dates back to 1871 though not completed until 1878. It was designed by British engineer, Col James Fuller. It is again gothic in style with two octagonal towers to the west of the central tower. However these were difficult to see, as the public are no longer able to pass through the gates.

We met this gorgeous girl waiting outside the High Court. She had travelled for six hours to do a ten minute typing test in the hope of securing a Government job there. We saw a queue of hundreds who were coming to do the same. Fingers crossed for her, though if she is successful she will have to leave this little munchkin with her mum, who was also with her.

We continued walking passed Flora Fountain, built in 1864, depicting the Roman goddess Flora, and on to St Thomas’s Cathedral which is a lovely white neo-gothic building and the oldest church in Mumbai. It has a stunning vaulted roof and a beautiful understated interior – my best. It is named in honour of Thomas the apostle who is thought to have brought Christianity to India.

Next we went to the Mahalakshmi Dhobi Ghat, which is similar to the one we saw in Kochi, but about a hundred times the size and claims to be the world’s largest outdoor laundry. About 7,000 people work there, once again in concrete wash pens with their flogging stones (as I learnt they are called), washing, drying and ironing up to 750,000 pieces a day. All you could see was miles of sheets, shirts, tablecloths and endless pairs of jeans getting the pre-wash treatment we all like. Many of the working families also live here and, being a Sunday, there were masses of children running around the very dodgy looking structures. The dhobis collect from all over the city, largely from laundries, clothes manufacturers, hotels, clubs, caterers and wedding planners.

Our last stop was the Mani Bhavan Gandhi museum which is housed in one of his friend’s home where he used to stay when he was in Mumbai. This modest two story house, was Gandhi’s Mumbai base for about seventeen eventful years (1917-1934) as he grew in stature and strength and became a world figure introducing satyagraha (non violent protest) as a new way to fight injustice. It is here, he was taught to spin and indeed there were a number of different spinning wheels around the house which he is said to have used. The building was dedicated as a memorial to Gandhi in 1955 and now houses a comprehensive library, posters, articles and letters (including the one to Hitler which we saw incorporated into a piece of art at the Biennale). His small room is apparently how it was, with a thin mattress on the floor and his spinning wheel in the corner. There is a charming presentation of Gandhi’s life in a twenty-eight piece tableaux of miniature figures, all made by one lady, Sushila Gokhale-Patel. What an extraordinary person he was. Did you know he was married at 12!

There was a particularly lovely quote he wrote about women:

Pretty exhausted and with my little grey cells buzzing, I returned to the hotel for a short break and a little later decided to brave the streets to see if I could find a cotton dress for the heat of SE Asia. Yamini had told me where to go so off I went, risking my life at every turn. I did not feel threatened, but crossing the roads was another matter. I cannot describe how busy they are, you literally take your life in your hands as you attempt to cross. I went to all the places Yamini suggested and no pretty block-print dresses, like we all buy in the UK. Indeed, not many shops, just small boutiques selling Indian clothes for Indian women. Interestingly with few exceptions (Zara, H&M, Rolex) western fashion brands don’t seem to have found their way to India, not even to a big city like Mumbai. Needless to say the big fast food chains have, KFC, McDonalds and Starbucks …. and the people of Mumbai are very much rounder!

Having seen little begging, I was approached by a few this evening and was horrified to see young girls being forced to perform on high tightropes to try and get money. At the other extreme there were a couple of Bollywood photoshoots going on in the little streets I was walking in. I wandered back along crowded pavements, passing endless people sitting on the ground, illegally selling t-shirts, fake watches, sunglasses etc, past some wonderful floats being prepared for yet another festival (Gudi Padwa) to celebrate the Hindu New Year, later this week and somehow found my way home.

I had supper in a rather upmarket Chinese restaurant, literally next to my hotel. Eating out is unbelievably cheap, you are pushed to spend more than £10! Underneath our hotel is the poshest shop I was yet to see in Mumbai …. a pet-shop! I had to go in, not that I wanted anything, but I am missing Beanz – people in the shop thought it was very funny, particularly when they saw her picture!