Mumbai's favourite reformed Australian convict, Gregory David Roberts, is setting sail for Europe for a spell whilst the film of his book, starring Johnny Depp is under production. He will be returning in November for Diwali for his wedding to fiancee Princess Francoise Sturdza of Switzerland. So if you'd like your book signed, head to Leopolds later in the year...
Monday, March 31, 2008
So long Shantaram
Mumbai's favourite reformed Australian convict, Gregory David Roberts, is setting sail for Europe for a spell whilst the film of his book, starring Johnny Depp is under production. He will be returning in November for Diwali for his wedding to fiancee Princess Francoise Sturdza of Switzerland. So if you'd like your book signed, head to Leopolds later in the year...
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Around Juhu...
On a wander around Juhu you'll find quite a few regulars to greet on the street.
This family live on the pavement behind a bus stop on the banks of the dirty drain pictured below. Now these kids don't attend school which is a shame and most of the time we see them at the lights holding out their little hands. Oblivious to anyone walking by this morning the children were absorbed in their colouring books, which was fantastic to see! Rarely do we see the poorer children sharing in the experiences of the well to do.. Unfortunately once I was seen their concentration jumped from colouring books to of course rupee and wanting to see themselves on camera.
The young fella was especially proud of his drawing...
Should you ever be on Juhu beach and feeling a wee bit parched you may like to try your luck at one of the many drink carts set up for evening walkers...
This family live on the pavement behind a bus stop on the banks of the dirty drain pictured below. Now these kids don't attend school which is a shame and most of the time we see them at the lights holding out their little hands. Oblivious to anyone walking by this morning the children were absorbed in their colouring books, which was fantastic to see! Rarely do we see the poorer children sharing in the experiences of the well to do.. Unfortunately once I was seen their concentration jumped from colouring books to of course rupee and wanting to see themselves on camera.
The young fella was especially proud of his drawing...
Should you ever be on Juhu beach and feeling a wee bit parched you may like to try your luck at one of the many drink carts set up for evening walkers...
Mumbai - It's not that dirty...
It's official, Forbes magazine has rated Mumbai as the seventh dirtiest city in the world!!
Mercer Human Resource Consulting's 2007 Report on Health and Sanitation Ranked 215 cities as part of a Quality of Life report, addressing 29 civic criteria including, levels of air pollution, waste management, water potability, hospital supplies, medical services and the presence of infectious diseases. Bonanza!!!
For the record all cities are positioned against New York, the base city with an index score of 100.
The worst on the latest list is, Baku, Azerbaijan with a score of 27.6, the cleanest goes to Calgary, Canada, with a score of 131.7. Delhi was ranked a few pegs higher than Mumbai at 24th.
The local authorities reject the ranking claiming the survey conducted contacted too many expatriates giving a biased opinion and discounting the city efforts and spending to clean up the city infrastructure and the social needs of the population. Following are some of the survey findings:
Drinking water: Marks: 0 /10
You cannot drink tap water directly — it needs to be either boiled or filtered. The water is filthy and not potable.
Dangerous animals and insects: Marks: 3/10
The city is infested with stray dogs and insects that spread diseases and are dangerous.
(Actually there are fewer dogs now than when we arrived. There is a sterilization program in action. As for the mozzies, Yardaf was a victim of Malaria late in 2007)
Infectious Diseases: Marks: 3/10
Infectious diseases are widely spread among citizens and the population of HIV+ citizens is more than that of foreign cities. This makes dwelling in the city for long periods of time dangerous to one's health. It is also harmful to the environment.
(There are more NGO's making inroads to the HIV epidemic with Hollywood and Bollywood celeb's educating the masses. Unfortunately life is cheap and education is limited)
Hospital services: Marks: 5/10
Hospital services are satisfactory, but most hospitals are located in the island city while the suburbs lack specialised facilities.
(Hospitals are a sight, straight out of the 1950's with some select modern equipment. Bombay Hospital is a large building surrounding a courtyard, trouble is the courtyard is buried beneath building material and waste thrown out of the windows and not removed....)
Waste removal: Marks: 4/10
The garbage collection system is ineffective, and garbage piles are a frequent sight on city roads. However, South Mumbai is comparatively cleaner.
(I would have marked them at 2/10 for this one... check out the pic and some may remember the image of the rubbish washed onto the shore last monsoon..)
Sewerage system; Marks: 3/10
Fifty per cent of city's waste is dumped into the sea without undergoing any sort of treatment. This poses an environmental hazard.
(For those who have visited, you've seen and smelt it... It's not pretty but 15-18 million people living in such a small space it's gotta go somewhere...there's currently limited ways to pipe it and the big question is pipe it to where! The land is so expensive here... although the BMC promises to have NO human poo to the ocean by 2011)
Mercer Human Resource Consulting's 2007 Report on Health and Sanitation Ranked 215 cities as part of a Quality of Life report, addressing 29 civic criteria including, levels of air pollution, waste management, water potability, hospital supplies, medical services and the presence of infectious diseases. Bonanza!!!
For the record all cities are positioned against New York, the base city with an index score of 100.
The worst on the latest list is, Baku, Azerbaijan with a score of 27.6, the cleanest goes to Calgary, Canada, with a score of 131.7. Delhi was ranked a few pegs higher than Mumbai at 24th.
The local authorities reject the ranking claiming the survey conducted contacted too many expatriates giving a biased opinion and discounting the city efforts and spending to clean up the city infrastructure and the social needs of the population. Following are some of the survey findings:
Drinking water: Marks: 0 /10
You cannot drink tap water directly — it needs to be either boiled or filtered. The water is filthy and not potable.
Dangerous animals and insects: Marks: 3/10
The city is infested with stray dogs and insects that spread diseases and are dangerous.
(Actually there are fewer dogs now than when we arrived. There is a sterilization program in action. As for the mozzies, Yardaf was a victim of Malaria late in 2007)
Infectious Diseases: Marks: 3/10
Infectious diseases are widely spread among citizens and the population of HIV+ citizens is more than that of foreign cities. This makes dwelling in the city for long periods of time dangerous to one's health. It is also harmful to the environment.
(There are more NGO's making inroads to the HIV epidemic with Hollywood and Bollywood celeb's educating the masses. Unfortunately life is cheap and education is limited)
Hospital services: Marks: 5/10
Hospital services are satisfactory, but most hospitals are located in the island city while the suburbs lack specialised facilities.
(Hospitals are a sight, straight out of the 1950's with some select modern equipment. Bombay Hospital is a large building surrounding a courtyard, trouble is the courtyard is buried beneath building material and waste thrown out of the windows and not removed....)
Waste removal: Marks: 4/10
The garbage collection system is ineffective, and garbage piles are a frequent sight on city roads. However, South Mumbai is comparatively cleaner.
(I would have marked them at 2/10 for this one... check out the pic and some may remember the image of the rubbish washed onto the shore last monsoon..)
Sewerage system; Marks: 3/10
Fifty per cent of city's waste is dumped into the sea without undergoing any sort of treatment. This poses an environmental hazard.
(For those who have visited, you've seen and smelt it... It's not pretty but 15-18 million people living in such a small space it's gotta go somewhere...there's currently limited ways to pipe it and the big question is pipe it to where! The land is so expensive here... although the BMC promises to have NO human poo to the ocean by 2011)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Jamie Durie's - Bombay Blitz - Landscape Tips
The Bombay Blitz team have been busy this week bringing a new face to the walls and public spaces around Bombay.
Graffiti or street art in Mumbai is currently limited to the busiest beanbag bloke in Bombay, with nearly every spare space covered with rough aerosol "Beanbags 2640 7329" and glossy product advertising taking up much of the remaining eye height vertical space. For the spaces below waist height, Bombayites have come up with a novel way to achieve not only a well balanced, interesting visual scene but they've also stumbled on a way to keep those pesky pissers from stinking up the place.... Yes, with minimal effort and little spend of the Rupee you too can bring art, religion and a little sanitation to the mases.
OK time for this weeks Blitz tip..
If you have a wall on your property get down to you local religious tile store and grab a few tiles of any faith or following. Don't be shy the more the merrier, Christ, Ganesh, Sikh or God... Mention this article and get 15% off any purchase of 30 or more tiles.
Next get yourself a work gang together and stick your new tiles to the wall!
You'll be surprised how calm you'll feel with all that Godly goodness around you and best of all.. those pesky pissers will eventually run out of walls to piss on and use the public toilets 30m away!
Til next week, good gardening and remember to watch where you walk...
Graffiti or street art in Mumbai is currently limited to the busiest beanbag bloke in Bombay, with nearly every spare space covered with rough aerosol "Beanbags 2640 7329" and glossy product advertising taking up much of the remaining eye height vertical space. For the spaces below waist height, Bombayites have come up with a novel way to achieve not only a well balanced, interesting visual scene but they've also stumbled on a way to keep those pesky pissers from stinking up the place.... Yes, with minimal effort and little spend of the Rupee you too can bring art, religion and a little sanitation to the mases.
OK time for this weeks Blitz tip..
If you have a wall on your property get down to you local religious tile store and grab a few tiles of any faith or following. Don't be shy the more the merrier, Christ, Ganesh, Sikh or God... Mention this article and get 15% off any purchase of 30 or more tiles.
Next get yourself a work gang together and stick your new tiles to the wall!
You'll be surprised how calm you'll feel with all that Godly goodness around you and best of all.. those pesky pissers will eventually run out of walls to piss on and use the public toilets 30m away!
Til next week, good gardening and remember to watch where you walk...
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Team India of the future...
The Indian boys love being in photos... We're not sure who these young blokes from Kerala thought they were, but bets are on that they see themselves as India's cricketing future..
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Been an' gone to Goa.
A few weeks ago "Ram Krupa" played host to a final few guests. Jane, "Mata Ray Jane", passed through on her way to Thailand and Vietnam before heading back to Western Australia. Jane had a crack at the life in Mumbai, experiencing being a 'first class lady' on the trains before heading to Kerela to soak up the relaxed South Indian way. A day after Jane was off in the rickshaw, Darren "Sharpie",arrived fresh from bringing in the year of the Rat in Hong Kong. What a contrast, HK to India.. He to took on the peak hour train experience, a Mumbai must!
Whilst Sharpie was here we were able to finally get to Goa, crazy that is only a 45 minute flight and this was our first time.. We stayed at Candolim Beach at the quiet end of town and did a lot of very little for a few days. Actually as Sharpie described, it was like an English retirement village, and from their accent and array of tattoos on the lads, they were all from the same part of England. Now the beaches of India are nice and the culture is moderate to say the least so it is normal/respectful for the women to keep their tops on.. Well.. not the English ladies and we think some of the Russians.. It was a boobs out blitz. Actually in the ladies defence I think there was a standard set by an older gent, who had a lovely all over leather look with his modesty limited to a leopard print lap. I would call it a lap lap but there wasn't that much fabric..
The beach was well tended by countless beach shacks serving rough tucker and cool beer to your beach bed. What better way to round out a day of sun than to retire to one of the choice shacks with some decent tunes for happy hour!
As luck would have it our good Bombay buddy Ash flew down and joined us for his birthday.
Ash was popular on the beach, the ladies gave hime massages and pedicures and there was also this Indian bloke in white budgie smugglers sipping a tin of Fosters through a straw keeping a watchful eye on him...
We headed up to Baga Beach in the evening to check out the more lively part of Goa, with its many, beach shacks, bars and restaurants. The Goan beaches are busting at the seems, these once quiet now villages packed with tourists, screaming along on rented scooters or walking on the side of the busy rural roads doing their best to navigate their way from shop to beach to restaurant to pub..
Goa has a rich history with links to Roman times and 400 year rule of the Portuguese.
Apart from the many churches we went past, Fort Aguada, a Portuguese installation was the only historic site we explored. From our guest house on the beach it was a nice walk sown the beach to the fort which took us past the rusting hulk of the River Princess, a 240m long ore carrier which went aground off Candolim in a storm in 2000. Each year there are renewed promises to salvage and re float the ship but with mother nature doing her worst, the ship looks like it'll be there quite a while.
As usual the cows take centre stage and these ones looked particularly fresh in the early morning light....
Whilst Sharpie was here we were able to finally get to Goa, crazy that is only a 45 minute flight and this was our first time.. We stayed at Candolim Beach at the quiet end of town and did a lot of very little for a few days. Actually as Sharpie described, it was like an English retirement village, and from their accent and array of tattoos on the lads, they were all from the same part of England. Now the beaches of India are nice and the culture is moderate to say the least so it is normal/respectful for the women to keep their tops on.. Well.. not the English ladies and we think some of the Russians.. It was a boobs out blitz. Actually in the ladies defence I think there was a standard set by an older gent, who had a lovely all over leather look with his modesty limited to a leopard print lap. I would call it a lap lap but there wasn't that much fabric..
The beach was well tended by countless beach shacks serving rough tucker and cool beer to your beach bed. What better way to round out a day of sun than to retire to one of the choice shacks with some decent tunes for happy hour!
As luck would have it our good Bombay buddy Ash flew down and joined us for his birthday.
Ash was popular on the beach, the ladies gave hime massages and pedicures and there was also this Indian bloke in white budgie smugglers sipping a tin of Fosters through a straw keeping a watchful eye on him...
We headed up to Baga Beach in the evening to check out the more lively part of Goa, with its many, beach shacks, bars and restaurants. The Goan beaches are busting at the seems, these once quiet now villages packed with tourists, screaming along on rented scooters or walking on the side of the busy rural roads doing their best to navigate their way from shop to beach to restaurant to pub..
Goa has a rich history with links to Roman times and 400 year rule of the Portuguese.
Apart from the many churches we went past, Fort Aguada, a Portuguese installation was the only historic site we explored. From our guest house on the beach it was a nice walk sown the beach to the fort which took us past the rusting hulk of the River Princess, a 240m long ore carrier which went aground off Candolim in a storm in 2000. Each year there are renewed promises to salvage and re float the ship but with mother nature doing her worst, the ship looks like it'll be there quite a while.
As usual the cows take centre stage and these ones looked particularly fresh in the early morning light....
Mumbai living...
Our new neighbours, the road workers, seem to have made the our 6th Road corner their new home. Their works have inched up the street a wee bit which has moved the 3 pumps they are using to dewater the drainage trench right outside our bedroom window. Lovely.. I've never seen one of the workers wear a watch but somehow the pumps fire up at 6.30 each morning before the sun has had a chance to say hello. This is just a bit early for the late night Indian lifestyle. Dinner is still 9-10pm and the feature movie on the tube doesn't come on until 11pm... It's late in the afternoon and I'm having a bit of a tired rant.. But we do have to thank the workers for a few things, the way we see it, the pump that roars non stop from early morn, jolting us from our slumber is a warm up for the sleep deprived days, weeks months that are yet to come. At the insistence of the pump were also given the opportunity to make the most of the morning, heading down to the beach for a walk or challenging our calm to block out the noise with some yoga.
A truck arrived the other day to drop off some backfill for the trenches.. Pavers, large hard objects are not traditionally the best at filling in the small gaps around pipes, but this is India... For those who haven't been here, above is Yardaf our smiley watchman.. This is the fella who gives Noddy, our car, a tub each morning and keeps a vigilant watch over us in the evenings, from under his blanky.. Actually we're certain he is stoned nearly every night.. His English is a limited as our Hindi but we all smile and have a go..
Juhu Beach offers us a place to escape the industrial drone of Mumbai. The only noise to interrupt the sound of the small waves is roar of the flights from the nearby Mumbai airport. We walk past a few nice homes but the one above is one of the choice bungalows on the beach, it's on land a 5 star hotel would be envious of, making it worths equivalent to at least 50 beach front homes on the Gold Coast $$$$... lots a rupees.. Actually Wikipedia touts Juhu to be comparable to the Bel-Air, Malibu and Beverly Hills suburbs of Los Angeles. Hmmmm wonder who wrote that...
Unfortunately the only time you can tell where the horizon is in Mumbai is at sunset... The amazing purple pollution particle sunset we like to call it. There is always a haze of smoke, pollution and dust which hangs in the air which extends beyond the city for 100km. We don't experience the bright blue of the Australian sky but the ladies always brighten the scene with there colourful everyday wear, walking with ease even carrying large loads on there scones.. Oh scones.. I'd love a fresh scone. Actually we had a great Aussie fix the morning between the alarm pump and the sun rising to head to the beach.. HBO was showing Getting Square, an Aussie movie shot on the Gold Coast.
It was great to get a butchers hook at some Aussie humor at 7am, not sure how many Indians would have been watching though...
A truck arrived the other day to drop off some backfill for the trenches.. Pavers, large hard objects are not traditionally the best at filling in the small gaps around pipes, but this is India... For those who haven't been here, above is Yardaf our smiley watchman.. This is the fella who gives Noddy, our car, a tub each morning and keeps a vigilant watch over us in the evenings, from under his blanky.. Actually we're certain he is stoned nearly every night.. His English is a limited as our Hindi but we all smile and have a go..
Juhu Beach offers us a place to escape the industrial drone of Mumbai. The only noise to interrupt the sound of the small waves is roar of the flights from the nearby Mumbai airport. We walk past a few nice homes but the one above is one of the choice bungalows on the beach, it's on land a 5 star hotel would be envious of, making it worths equivalent to at least 50 beach front homes on the Gold Coast $$$$... lots a rupees.. Actually Wikipedia touts Juhu to be comparable to the Bel-Air, Malibu and Beverly Hills suburbs of Los Angeles. Hmmmm wonder who wrote that...
Unfortunately the only time you can tell where the horizon is in Mumbai is at sunset... The amazing purple pollution particle sunset we like to call it. There is always a haze of smoke, pollution and dust which hangs in the air which extends beyond the city for 100km. We don't experience the bright blue of the Australian sky but the ladies always brighten the scene with there colourful everyday wear, walking with ease even carrying large loads on there scones.. Oh scones.. I'd love a fresh scone. Actually we had a great Aussie fix the morning between the alarm pump and the sun rising to head to the beach.. HBO was showing Getting Square, an Aussie movie shot on the Gold Coast.
It was great to get a butchers hook at some Aussie humor at 7am, not sure how many Indians would have been watching though...
Move along...
Nothing to see here....
Unless you're a Hopewate fan....
Yes, the victorious Indian "Bravehearts" are all over the news here and all I can do is make fun of an unfortunate digit up bum photo... We did have a thought this morning though. While walking on the beach amongst the many cricket games were a Sikh father and young son. They were playing happily, the boy tapping the ball, the father smiling at his sons achievements. It was at this moment a ball was hit in our direction, Sharon grabbed it, and we looked at eachother... Should we throw it into the sea and make a monkey gesture and say "this one's for Symonds!!" ?
Na.. Shaz tossed it back to the father's hand there'll be time enough for the Aussies in the seasons to come... Although if you read the paper here the balance has shifted to the Indian's favour for ever!!
The media has picture of fans burning flares instead of effigies of Ponting, picture of players mothers kissing photos of their sons, stories of courageous battles fought and won against aggressive play, abusive fans and poor umpiring. In fact they've gone as far as to claim the Test series also, in the face of the umpiring decisions seen as only made against the Indian team.
To make things worse for us, the Indian Under 19 team only a few days earlier claimed the U19 World Cup....
Here's a few of the headlines; Indians Rule the Roos, Smells like team spirit, Having the last laugh... and they go on..
Alright enough about Cricket... Sorry for you Gilly, well done to the Indians for the Tri-Series win.. The Super 14's rugby is on the Australia Network and the NRL and AFL seasons are soon to return. Time to bring back the Biff!!!
Yes, the victorious Indian "Bravehearts" are all over the news here and all I can do is make fun of an unfortunate digit up bum photo... We did have a thought this morning though. While walking on the beach amongst the many cricket games were a Sikh father and young son. They were playing happily, the boy tapping the ball, the father smiling at his sons achievements. It was at this moment a ball was hit in our direction, Sharon grabbed it, and we looked at eachother... Should we throw it into the sea and make a monkey gesture and say "this one's for Symonds!!" ?Na.. Shaz tossed it back to the father's hand there'll be time enough for the Aussies in the seasons to come... Although if you read the paper here the balance has shifted to the Indian's favour for ever!!
The media has picture of fans burning flares instead of effigies of Ponting, picture of players mothers kissing photos of their sons, stories of courageous battles fought and won against aggressive play, abusive fans and poor umpiring. In fact they've gone as far as to claim the Test series also, in the face of the umpiring decisions seen as only made against the Indian team.
To make things worse for us, the Indian Under 19 team only a few days earlier claimed the U19 World Cup....
Here's a few of the headlines; Indians Rule the Roos, Smells like team spirit, Having the last laugh... and they go on..
Alright enough about Cricket... Sorry for you Gilly, well done to the Indians for the Tri-Series win.. The Super 14's rugby is on the Australia Network and the NRL and AFL seasons are soon to return. Time to bring back the Biff!!!
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