First morning in Mumbai

We are officially walking, sitting tourist clichés – I am typing this at Leopold’s Café, one the central locales in Gregory David Roberts’s ‘Shantaram’. It is also the second site we’ve seen this morning that fell victim to the 2008 terror attacks, the first being the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel which still bears the scars, coated from head to foot in scaffolding and protective sheeting. That said, for a city of 16 million plus people in the wake of bowel-shaking terrorism, there is a sense of peace and tolerance. All religions seem to walk among each other without animosity; Hindus greet Muslims with the latter’s welcome, both cultures wear their traditional garb with pride. The Hindu women, of all ages, are stunning. They are beautifully dressed from head to toe, with thought given to every accessory and appointment. And this is whether they are shopping in boutique fashion stores or wandering through streets where the poor literally sleep on the road.

The poverty is, however, very confronting. I did see a withered man, perhaps only 40 years old, sleeping on the road in an alleyway, with nothing between him and the hot bitumen. We have also seen the deliberately crippled asking for money to support their wasted lives, and perhaps to feed the greedy mouths of their assailants. For this reason we are torn as to whether to give charity: to do so might help the individual, but does it also perpetuate the crime against humanity?

With the observations out of the way, our morning has been lax. We were up earlier than expected and enjoyed a more-than adequate breakfast of masala omelettes in our hotel. Bizarrely, the breakfast area is on the first floor right outside people’s rooms. We have since then taken a walk past Apollo Bunder, the Taj, the Gateway of India, a few statues and other buildings of varying significance before stumbling on Leopold’s. Next stop is an internet café to get in touch with our contact here.