Mumbai.1

Unfortunately Gaurav didn't follow us to Mumbai, and instead we had a new tour guide who made it his mission to show us everything he could in Mumbai in one day. This post is dedicated to some of the sightseeing highlights in Mumbai.

Dhobi Ghat

The first stop of the day was Dhobi Ghat, which is an outdoor washing ground in Mumbai. Dhobi Ghat is government sponsored and set up aside huge water pipelines. Hundreds of little bathtubs were along the pipeline, and clothes of every color were hanging everywhere. It almost looked like a festival was in town from all of the colors.

Doing laundry at Dhobi Ghat

Mani Bhavan

Next, we visited a museum named Mani Bhavan. In the early 1900s, Ghandi stayed in Mani Bhavan whenever he came to Mumbai. He played a substantial role in India's push for freedom, and many of his organized movements were led from this location.

Ghandi's room, where he lived and worked.

Jain Temple

Before going on this trip, I had thought Hinduism didn't have many sects, as Christianity does. I saw that I was wrong upon our visit to the Jain temple. Jain is a smaller sect of Hinduism, in part due to members being discouraged from marrying a non-Jain. As Monica explained, the Jain faith is a bit more strict. Whereas it is commonly known that most Hindus do not kill cows, the Jains do not believe in killing any living thing...even the microorganisms in the air. I noticed many followers wearing a small handkerchief around their mouths to prevent them from breathing in these microorganisms (and therefore killing them).

I also noticed that this temple had a slightly different offering system. Many worshippers brought the traditional flowers or bits of food to place at the base of various shrines, but a few people purchased small amounts of white and colored rice at the entrance of the temple. They used this rice to make designs either on the floor or on a small platform.

Using colored rice to make a tree design on the Jain temple floor.

The swastika, as shown below, was one of the most common symbols made with the rice. As I understood it, it is a symbol of one of the saints in the Jain tradition and is also an auspicious symbol or teaching tool that reminds us of a quality to lead us to enlightenment.

The swastikia: a holy symbol in Jainism and one of the most common symbols made on the rice boards.

Hanging Gardens of Mumbai

After visiting the Jain temple, we headed to the hanging gardens, which had an amazing view of the city.

Some school children that passed by us screaming "Welcome to India".

Right next to the Hanging Gardens, but shielded from view, were the Parsi Towers of Silence. We saw vultures circling overhead, and our guide explained that since Parsis hold fire, earth, and water as sacred, they do not cremate or bury their dead.

Elephanta Island

In order to get to our next stop, we took a ferry from the Gateway of India, which was built to celebrate the visit of King George V to Bombay. I'd imagine back then that it was the first thing that foreign visitors saw from their boat, as they were approaching the city.

Gateway of India

The ferry ride was about an hour to get to Elephanta Island, where there are temples carved into the island's caves. The name "Elephanta" comes from the large stone sculpture of an elephant found near the entrance by the Portugese explorers back in the day. It was a hot day, so the 120 huge stone steps to get to the island caves made for a nice workout :)

Carvings inside the cave.

I just thought this was an awesome picture.

Food in India

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home." - James Michener

Thus far, my posts have centered around the newness of India,the temples, the customs, the people. But not this post. This post, my friends, is dedicated to something else our group experienced in India--food.

I will admit that I was nervous about eating in India, as per the warnings of "Delhi belly". Before going I had a running list of common culprits: no lettuce, no uncooked vegetables, only fruits that you peel, nothing but filtered water, think twice before buying from a street vendor...

By the end of the trip, however, I had a new list, this time of foods that I had enjoyed and would miss when back in the States.

The first place food, the one that takes the cake, the one that I will find myself missing once I am back stateside is actually not a food at all, but rather a tea. Chai masala is an tea made from boiled ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon. At the end of this process, whole milk is added to make this delicious concoction. I'm thinking Starbucks could learn a thing or two from an Indian street vendor on how to make a chai tea.

Here are some other really interesting runners up:

The Indian milkshakes that our group was served at the vegetarian restaurant by the Krishna temple. In this case, looks are not deceiving...the green one tasted as bad as it looks. I didn't quite catch exactly what was in it, but those are fried chickpeas floating on the top. The middle one was vanilla, and was nothing like an ice cream milkshake. It was slightly cooled and was more like a drinkable yogurt. The one on the right was a savory milkshake. The jury's still out on this one.

The three amigo milkshakes

An Indian breakfast usually includes baranta bread, which is like a potato pancake, with some spicy chutneys, pickles, and yogurt for dipping. My breakfast food, thought, was the spicy tomato.

Tomatoes...my favorite food!

Vegetarian Appetizers at the restaurant by the Krishna temple. This restaurant, along with many others does not use onions or garlic in the food. Why is this? Many Hindus follow a diet in which they only consume foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, legumes, and some herbs. Onions and garlic are not in this category, but instead are classified as tamasic foods that increase heat in the body, which disturbs meditation. Onions and garlic are also considered unfit to use as an offering to a god.

From the top left: Indian version of a cheese curd, sweet potato wedges, and fried cauliflower with peppers.

The samosa was my plane buddy's recommendation. They remind me of turnovers filled with potatoes, peas, spices, and sometimes nuts. You can't beat them when they are served piping hot.

Chicken samosas

One of the sweetest desserts was Rava Ladoo, which we also had at the vegetarian restaurant near the Krishna temple. These cookie-like sweets are made with semolina, butter, sugar, raisins, and saffron, and taste graham cracker pie crust.

Rava Ladoo

Indians love their sweets, and another popular one is the orange mush on the left, called Gajar ka halwa. It tastes like carrot cake.

Gajar ka halwa

Paneer dishes, shown on the top right. Paneer is a type of cheese traditionally used in Indian cuisine, and is a typical source of protein in a vegetarian diet. Mattar Paneer, on the top right, is a popular example made of paneer and peas with a sauce that is both spicy and sweet.

Mattar Paneer

The unidentifiable...foods you just have to try. Preferably with naan.

From top left: yellow mush, orange mush, green mush, rice, naan.

And the worst food award goes to...anise seeds. At the end of the meal, they passed around anise seed, which is a black-licorice flavored seed. There was a green sugar coating, and it is used to cleanse your palate after a meal. I tried it just to say I had, but won’t be reaching for it again anytime soon.

Anise seeds

Some side notes on dining in India:

• Be wary of peppers. These aren't your average jalapeno.
• Ketchup! Everywhere. We had a corporate visit at Infosys, and they served ketchup with potato chips and sandwiches for dipping.
• Anything vanilla flavored is worth your while.
• Milk is simply milk. One kind. If you ask for 2%, they'd probably think you're bargaining for a 2% discount on your breakfast.
• Your eyes will nearly always be bigger than your stomach. Indian food is filling.
• It's a bit of a social faux pas not to finish food, so take small helpings.

Delhi.2

January 9th

Akshardham

My body has officially adapted to India's time zone...this morning my body didn't protest for more sleep. We headed out early for Akshardham, a beautiful temple made of marble and pink sandstone, surrounded by expansive gardens and walkways. After 35 years of planning, the building process took only 5 years with the help of 300 million volunteer hours. The project was funded largely by donations, and it is currently operated volunteers whose sole objective is to teach about their faith.

The main temple is intricately carved, providing visual reminders of spiritual messages. For example, the base of the temple is a trim depicting the elephant's relationship with nature, man, and the divine. The carvings read a bit like Aesop's fables, each with its own message of purity, harmony, or faith.

Our group was free to walk about the campus for the morning. It was so peaceful that I wish we could have stayed longer.

ISKCON Temple

After walking around Akshardham's grounds, our group headed to the ISKCON Temple in Delhi. ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) dedicated this temple to Lord Krishna, an incarnation of another Hindu god, Vishnu. Krishna is a source of joy and love and destroys sin.

Monica's family joined us at the temple for a quick tour and lunch. A noontime worship was in session, and we were invited inside amongst the music and clapping. I felt like the tourist stamp was blazing red on my forehead, so I took to the walkway that encircled the temple. Unlike the outdoor walkway at Akshardham, this one was inside and not nearly as elaborate. As I found out, the walkway is around all temples--visitors walk clockwise around the temple as a means of preparation for prayer. At Akshardham, there were mantras played over a speaker system inside the covered walkway; here, at the Krisna temple, there were paintings along the walls.

Management Development Institute (MDI)

Our last stop before flying back to Mumbai was at MDI, a post-graduate business school. Our group met with a group of their students and discussed challenges and stereotypes associated with the BPO model.

Stereotypes

• A decreased integrity of company data and/or customer personal information when it is outsourced. In reality, many Indian firms with outsourcing contracts have more stringent security procedures than US firms. Employees at the larger firms had to walk through metal detectors before entering the facility.
• There is a perception that only men work at outsourcing development centers. In reality, there are plenty of women employed there, although they represent only about 30% of the workforce.

Challenges

• Overcoming the dire warnings from the media and campaigning politicians that outsourcing is "bad" and will result in the loss of thousands of US jobs. Outsourcing, they claim, will ultimately put a whole class of the wage-earning service sector in competition with their highly skilled overseas counterparts. This viewpoint ignores the benefits to be realized by BPO. One of the most important benefits was highlighted in an article of the Wall Street Journal, written by Douglas A. Irwin:

"As many businesses themselves purchase services, their lower costs will result in savings that can be passed onto consumers. If a capable radiologist in India can read x-ray pictures at a quarter of the cost of doing so domestically, important health-care services can be delivered at a lower cost to everyone, putting a brake on exploding medical costs."

Just some food for thought...

After our visit with MDI, we headed to the airport to fly to Mumbai.

Delhi.1

January 8^th

Jaipur to Delhi

Today, we traveled from Jaipur to Delhi. On the way, we stopped for tea, and I tried my first samosa! Plane buddy was right…they are delicious.

Apart from this newfound treat, I was amazed at the dichotomy that exists between the quality of life in Jaipur and Delhi. Here, there was very little garbage on the streets, people lived in homes rather than slums, there were sidewalks, and I saw children coming home from school. I saw more people coming and going from work, and less people begging off the streets.

Traffic was especially bad, and our group had to quickly check into the hotel and get dressed in order to make it to HCL on time. Standard check in procedure at hotels in India requires that they make copies of each guest's visa and passport before issuing room keys. But in the IT capital of the world, these copies were made on a machine that was about to croak. This is just one of the many things that demonstrates the dichotomy I was talking about earlier...that one of the largest players on the global IT landscape is still lagging behind internally.

HCL Visit

The HR department gave an interesting presentation about HCL's position in the Business Process Outsourcing business. Below are some of my key take-aways from the presentation:

1. Coding used to be 50% of IT exports to India. Now, it’s data centers, networks, and infrastructure management that are being exported. As these new processes are being exported, there is a greater standardization. Custom application design has been decreasing yet it represents 34% of HCL’s revenues.
2. The United States and United Kingdom represent 80% of IT exports. Indian countries are now focusing on attracting business from Nordic countries. These Nordic countries represent an under-penetrated area for IT outsourcing contracts. Others include Japan, healthcare, government contracts, and infrastructure services.
3. IT and engineering services are projected to grow 5-6 times the current market size; global sourcing and BPO services will grow 7-8 times.
4. Not only is there is a trend toward smaller deal sizes (now typically around $25-50 million), but also there is an increased demand for global delivery. A few years ago, only about 20% of HCL’s employees worked onsite with the client. Today, this has increased to 30%, and is projected to rise further.

Dinner at the Parashars' home

After the HCL visit, we were invited to dinner at the Monica's parents' house. The dinner was delicious, the hospitality warm-hearted, and they had hired hena artists for all of the girls (and some of the boys) in our group.

Waiting for the henna to dry.

I learned a lot about Indian culture through my conversations at this dinner. First of all, it is customary for the host to give the guests gifts, rather than the other way around. The significance of this gesture is two-fold. First, it is a token of appreciation for coming to their home, or in our case, more generally to India. Secondly, it is a gift to the god within. The word "namaste" means "I bow to the god within you", and Hindus believe that gifts to their guests also represents an offering to the god within the guest.

Secondly, gemstone studded jewelry is popular among Indians. These stones are worn according to astrological charts. Some stones are believed to have healing powers, others are meant to protect against poisonous substances, and still others are worn to ward off evil spirits. Different colors of diamonds have connections with different gods and their attributes; for example, green is associated with Vishnu and preservation. Aside from the benefits of the stones themselves, Indian women love to decorate themselves, especially if they are married.

We had talked about the Hindu god, Ganesha, which has an elephant's head and is a very popular god. He offers protection against obstacles and is the god of all things auspicious. Hindus pray to the Ganesha before big life events, like starting a new job or getting married.

Later in the night, Monica started showing us pictures from her wedding ceremony and explained to us that most of her wedding pictures were taken of men hugging. These snapshots of male affection as well as men walking with their arms around one another is not viewed as weird, nor are the men perceived as homosexual. Instead, it is a sign of friendship. In the event of a wedding, the men are pictured hugging because it is the first time the men in the extended families meet. The hugs are meant as a welcome to the joined family.

Jaipur

January 6^th

I can’t believe that this is only our second day in India; it feels as though we’ve been here for a week already. After sightseeing in Agra, we took another 5-hour bus ride to Jaipur and fell asleep as soon as we arrived at our hotel.

Amber Fort

After breakfast the next morning, we loaded on the bus on the way to Amber Fort. The fort was up on a hill, and we rode elephants up the steep path. Amber Fort is known for is its mix of Mughal and Hindu artistic styles. Inside the fort, the walls are covered with mirrors, mosaics, and carvings.

Mirror mosaics in the Jai Mandir, the Hall of Victory inside Amber Fort

Hawa Mahal

Our group stopped at various tourist attractions in Jaipur, Hawa Mahal among them. Hawa Mahal was basically a way for royal women to watch processions in the streets while still remaining hidden from people on the street. It’s kind of odd to think that women took such a subservient role in society because in the Hindu religion, there are many female gods, and the womanly figure is celebrated.

Hawa Mahal

General Observations in Jaipur

1. Public urination: acceptable and common.
2. The garbage: In some places, it looked as though someone had dropped the contents of an entire dumpster along the block. There was an obvious lack of a waste management system in the more rural cities.
3. The fog, especially in Delhi: Monica told us that before the switch to unleaded fuel, her nostrils would turn black by the end of the day from the thick smog.
4. Temples. Everywhere. On the side of the road, in the middle of the street, on the roof of our hotel—you name it. I suppose that the 330 million gods in the Hindu religion merit the large amount of temples. Some were extremely small, barely accommodating one person, and not looking at all like a temple. Others were large and ornate, and drew large sums of money in donation for their construction.
5. Shopping on the streets of India is like walking into a car showroom. You are profiled from the moment you step foot in the shops for the markup you are most likely to pay. Shopping also comes hand in hand with bargaining.
6. Conversation etiquette: Don’t praise Pakistan, don’t criticize the Indian cricket team, and Slumdog Millionaire was not a good movie.
7. There are three things you need for driving in India (according to our taxi driver): a good horn, good brakes, and good luck.
8. The class/caste system in India sill heavily influences social interaction. Gorab was telling us that you can’t change your caste, even if your economic position changes, or you adopt a different profession. For example, Gorab was of the warrior caste even though he’s never wielded a weapon.
9. Dogs and cats are not pets and are treated as vermin. Stray dogs are everywhere, as are cows. The cow is sacred in the Hindu religion, so it is not farmed or killed. Instead, they roam free among the streets and metropolitan areas.

Agra

January 6^th

The alarm went off at 4:15 AM in order to make the morning train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. When Monica greeted us in the lobby, she shared our first setback—the train was three hours behind schedule because of the fog. At first, the idea that fog could cause a three-hour delay in the train schedule seemed ridiculous, but after looking outside I was shocked. I can’t see more than 5 feet in front of me.

Plan two is to take our tour bus to Agra, which was originally just supposed to drive our luggage in the next city. Traffic is still noisy and the fog is still here, and we have a five-hour ride ahead of us.

Before departing from the YMCA, Gorab, the tour guide, encourages us to ask questions at any time. “Do not assume that things are the way they are for a reason,” he said. “Here in India, things are illogical. One has to be a good observer.”

Taj Mahal

The fog persisted during the rest of our trip to Agra. When we arrived in the city, a bunch of rickshaws were lined up waiting to carry us to the Taj. As part of a government effort to preserve historical landmarks, vehicles are not allowed to approach the Taj Mahal and have to park beyond a specified distance.

Taking a rickshaw to the Taj Mahal

As it turns out, the train delay and 5 hour bus ride to Agra bought us enough time for the fog to clear out. The sky was clear, and our group was able to get great pictures of the Taj. I can see why it is one of the seven wonders of the world (bonus points if you can name the six others). It makes you stop in your tracks and just stare, and wonder how anyone could dream up anything that beautiful.

Beauty, as Gorab explained, was the goal of the Taj’s creator, Prince Khurram the 5^th son of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir. As he grew up, he far outshone his brothers in talent and charisma, earned the name Shah Jahan or “King of the World”. When his father passed, he battled with his brothers, eventually killing them to assume the throne.

He ruled during a peaceful and prosperous time. However, three years later, his beloved bride died giving birth to their fourteenth child. Legend says that her dying wish was for Shah Jahan to build a mausoleum more beautiful than anything in existence. After grieving for his wife, Shah Jahan threw himself into fulfilling his late wife’s request. The Taj Mahal was designed to be architecturally perfect and stunningly beautiful, so that whenever he strolled the grounds, Shah Jahan would be reminded of her.

No more fog! Wohoo!

In addition to the story behind the Taj, Gorab pointed out the following:

1. The symmetry of the gardens. I could have gotten out my ruler.
2. The Moghuls must have been exceedingly wealthy. There were a variety of semiprecious stones from all over the world set in the marble and calligraphied verses of the Quran along doorways and borders.
3. The spires tilt to the left by 12 degrees. This is a precautionary measure so that, in the event of an earthquake, the spires would fall away from the building rather than on the masoleum.
4. The amount of gardeners whispering “secret” camera angles to tourists…and then demanding a tip in return.

Red Fort of Agra

After lunch, we headed to the Red Fort of Agra, near the Taj Mahal. Made of red sandstone, it was the imperial city of the Mughal rulers. Inside are many smaller palaces, and audience halls.A lot of the buildings are made out of marble, with hollow walls filled with running water for a cooling effect.

Monkeys hanging out outside Agra Fort.

Women could not attend public hearings, but could listen through lattice work in the marble. If they had suggestions or comments on the hearing, they could pass their written suggestions through the gaps in the lattice.

Agra Fort was where one of Shah Jahan’s sons killed his two brothers, and imprisoned his father. Shah Jahan endured a life of isolation in a room from which he had a view of the Taj, a constant reminder of his late wife.

Welcome to India

January 5^th

The past couple of hours have been a sensory overload. India is colorful and loud, the air smells different, my taste buds are burning, and I feel like the girl who dropped out of the sky with “TOURIST” stamped across her forehead.

Our plane took off yesterday at 7:15 PM, and by the time we landed and passed through customs, it was 11:30 PM. Monica’s parents greeted us at the airport, and a bus was waiting to take us to the YMCA, where we’d be staying for the night.Before boarding the bus, our drivers gave us leis and welcomed us to India.

Excited!

I thought we’d arrive pretty quickly at the YMCA and that I’d be able to crash soon, but it took the bus a few hours to bob and weave through the fabled traffic. By fabled I mean epic, and by epic I mean insane—there are no speed limits, and even if there are, no one follows them. Semis share the road with rickshaws, and most taxis look like glorified go-carts. In the US, your horn is the audio equivalent of flipping the bird, or like saying “I’m about to hit you”. In India, it’s more of a language. Honking a horn is a hello, an alert, a request for you to move, a “ha ha sucker…eat my dust”. I’m convinced some people lay on it just to make sure it still works.

By the time we reached the hostel, and checked in, it was late. While packing, I was a fool to have forgotten that India is also the northern hemisphere and has their winters when we do. After a freezing shower and discovering that the space heater was out of commission, I went to bed with cold wet hair, and shivered to sleep.

I dreamt I was stuck in India.

It Begins...

Quick note: The following blog entries are based on my journaling while in India. I hope you don’t mind hearing about it in retrospect J

January 4^th

On the plane and can’t sleep. Part of me is uncomfortable (I was lucky enough to be sandwiched in the middle seat for 15 hours), but a bigger part of me is awake in anticipation. I’m sitting next to someone from Punjab, India, and from our conversation earlier I have some pre-trip advice:

1. Seriously…Don’t drink the water.
2. Even if you don’t drink the water, you will most likely get sick once during your trip.
3. Be open and receptive, your travel norms from Europe will not apply here.
4. The American poor have coach bags, and attitude of entitlement, and use welfare to pay bills. The Indian poor scavenge for food and have meager shelter.
5. Because of this, it is a social faux-pas not to finish food.
6. Your host/esse will try offering you food after you have finished. If you refuse, they will offer you half. Be firm, but polite when you are full.
7. Try a samosa. Better yet, eat plenty of samosas.