Clean Mumbai, Green Mumbai.

(Why does Ashley insist on not writing anymore...)

It has become a running joke between me and Ashley... Then also between us and my cousin Karan... The first time I saw, or at least noticed, this sign was in Delhi... "Clean Delhi, Green Delhi" It doesn't get more fabulous than that... The fact that "going green" is a world-wide event. Event? Thing? Something... Is kind of awesome. Then in Jaipur, we saw, "Clean Jaipur, Green Jaipur"... No matter what city I've traveled to within this country I always see that sign. When finally landing back in Mumbai, I began to see it everywhere. The best part is, I would see this sign right next to someone who was littering out their car window. Or the sign would be glimmering next to a heap of some burning trash. But at least they're trying... Advertising the cause is half the battle... Maybe? It is just of interest because in general I do believe Indians are conservers to some degree... Take for example the restrooms in public places and bathrooms in homes... You will not find paper goods to be utilized then thrown away. It is the standard to not have toilet paper, paper towels and trashcans in these places. They just don't use it... Bidet-ish water faucety systems are in place instead. To the westerner this is of discomfort because it is not something one is used to... Perfectly acceptable, so, higher end places of business will indeed accommodate to this need and provide such papery. So here we go, one area where Indians don't waste unecessarily. Next, electricity. This is a pretty big issue in every household I've been invited to... Each light, fan, A/C unit, kitchen appliance and plug has a switch: the normal on and off kind. As in the States, if we want to turn on the light we just click the switch to on, well, that's how it is here. But in the States when we plug in an appliance, we just pop the cord into the socket, turn on the power button and you're good to go. Here, you plug in your appliance. turn on the power button... But it is still not on... Until you turn the outlet's switch to on, it won't work because electricity is all controlled by plate. This is how they save money on electricity. It is very, very rare to find a light on in a room that is not being occupied. And it is a definite no-no to have the A/C unit running if you are not within the vicinity of the cooled air. As for hot water... You won't find it in the kitchen or the bathroom sink. If the house is modern, it will have what they call a "gizzer" which is comparable to the U.S version of a water heater. However it is much, much smaller... It holds probably a few gallons... And you have to turn it on a few minutes before you even think about stepping foot into the shower or else it will be cold as all heck. Then of course you have to plan out your shower and use the water wisely or else, after about five minutes you're basically screwed. I have created a system for myself... I will turn it on, water down, turn it off, soap up, turn it on, water down, turn it off, lather up the hair, turn it on, water down, turn it off, condition, turn it on... Well at this point the gizzer has caught on to my scheme and has stopped producing hot water and instead produces tepid temperatures... Sneaky. So those are a few things... However, when we go back out into the streets, with the exception of the eco-friendly slogan, it seems that the citizens don't really care much about trashing their neighborhood. It is perfectly normal and usually acceptable for people to throw their trash onto the street... Everyone does it. I look around and see there are no trash cans... Not even in the malls or other places of business... So of course people are going to just litter wherever they please- they have not much alternative really... Solution? Installing public trash cans and a good waste management system couldn't hurt. In general, the people here do not generate much garbage as it is, so if there were some organized system then it really would be Clean India, Green India...

(Ashley has left the building...)

I don't think I will ever eat paneer and naan ever again. Enough said... Okay, not enough said cause it doesn't make sense otherwise. If anyone knows me and my taste for Indian cuisine, then you know that the two don't mingle on a regular basis. This is largely due on part of my upbringing. It was the norm to have Indian food brewing in my home, after all, we are Indian. But it got to the point where I was sick of it... Upon reflection I realize that I was never made to eat Indian food, I just didn't like it in general cause it wasn't exotic or appealing to me. I was the kid who ate McDonald's at least four times a week. (I know that is a disgusting admission on my part but ever since I was 14 I stopped eating there.) In any event, when I came to India when I was four (about to turn five) I would not eat anything my family cooked for me... So I starved and died.

Lies. All lies. Not all lies, just that last part. I don't know what's wrong with me, I don't know why I joke of things of that sort- I'm stupid. Growing up, I learned that I didn't like the particular style of cooking that my family is used to, and I figured out that the style I like is more from the northern region of the old country. This time around in India, at my aunt and uncle's house, they have cooks so I've been eating just whatever but very sparingly. Then my family noticed my birdish habits and started asking what I wanted. When we went on the trip up north, I found my paneer and naan in abundance and immediately jumped on the tandoori clay-bandwagon. But when you're eating the same meal twice a day everyday for a week you're bound to feel kind of sick and perhaps a little fat? Fine I won't say fat or else there will be many rolling eyes, but I feel my insides lining up with cholesterol. Is that better?

But I shouldn't complain, the prices here beat the restaurant prices in America. If you want to feel full or at least have a good, hearty meal, it will cost you about two dollars or under. And if you splurge you top five dollars. It's the best feeling when you can pick up the bill every time and say, "I've got this one." This is a lie. I have to admit this now before Ashley catches me... We all take turns paying the bill but what is great is that you don't feel like you're putting anyone out by letting them treat you to dinner... All in all, I hate cumin, cardamom and mustard seeds.

Compliment of a Lifetime

I smiled. It's true. What he said... 

Ashley and I took probably millions of pictures . Maybe I should stop exaggerating... But then I wouldn't make an interesting storyteller, would I? We were in Agra, following the night of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and basically the thing to do is visit the Taj Mahal... Apparently it's a wondrous place. An anomaly perhaps? One of a kind. Unique. Architectures best use of symmetry ever! One would even go as far to say that you could split the Taj Mahal in half and you would find it to be a mirrored copy of each other. Or something. That's what they say. Okay, no one said that, I made that up.

Walking the pathway toward the monument is a weird feeling because you think, Wow this is it, I'm going to see the Taj Mahal. Then you go through the gate and there it is, looking fake as ever. That's how I felt about the Grand Canyon. 

Needless to say, if you know anything about us, you know that we love taking pictures so we started clicking away, getting every possible angle and shot we were capable of. We were in the center of the garden getting some shots, and like usual, the Indians wanted pictures with Ashley. She's a queen over here and reigns in pictures, especially with the younger ones. And funny, for the first time I was asked to be in a picture with some white dude. Hilarious. But this story really has nothing to do with me. This one Indian man asked Ashley to be in a picture with him and his family. She agreed. Afterwards they were so grateful and the man's departing words were, "You make the Taj Mahal all the more attractive." And Ashley and I looked at one another and go, "Oh. Wow." I turn to Ashley and go, "That was nice. Best compliment ever." and she started laughing, "That's probably nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." This stranger basically told my best friend that if it weren't for her, his picture with the Taj Mahal would just be ordinary and because of her being in the photograph it became extraordinary. Oh him. 

Terrorism?

We were in Delhi when we got the call. Actually, there was a secret call placed to my mom by my aunt. At what time, I'm uncertain but it was around the time of the first attack at the Taj Hotel. My mother didn't tell any of us... Us includes me, Ashley and my mom's sister. Oddly enough, my mom was expecting something of this nature, and this is what had her on edge, and I had no idea. She had already told herself and us that she was going to stay awake for the twenty hour train ride from Mumbai to Delhi. She said it was so no one would steal our things but in reality she was stressed out thinking there might be some terrorist attack. I love this. I love that my mom was expecting terrorism and it happened. She's always had good instincts and that's probably where I got it from, if I do say so myself. 

Before we got to Bombay Central, which is the train station, we toured more of the highlights of Mumbai... This included the Gateway to India, which is right across from the infamous Taj Hotel, which is right next to the dock, where the terrorists came through. I actually had foreknowledge of this famous hotel chain and especially about this hotel in particular. I was inclined to stay at the hotel but there was no reason to spend the money as my family lives in the city as well. My cousin, while he was scouting for a film, stayed at that hotel and loved it. I was definitely going to go in and spend some time in there. At the time we had passed by there wasn't any parking and we were in a hurry to catch our train so we couldn't drop in. But I remember looking out onto the docks and seeing all the boats and I felt strange. I didn't know why, I just thought it was odd for some reason. We moved on ... Got on the train and were miserable for some time until we got to Delhi. 

We basically never got a chance to sleep because our first night there was the night of the terrorist attack. Like I said, my mom already knew about it but never told us. In hindsight, this may not have been the best decision because Ashley's cellphone blew up (figuratively speaking) at around one thirty in the morning. Call after call, everyone back in the States were stressed out and extremely worried. The news in America was very different from what we were being told by the locals and my family in Mumbai. This is how you know media works in strange sometimes skewed ways. Nonetheless, there was still reason to be on edge. In no time, all of us were awake and sitting in our hotel room, which by the way was in a temple and we had no television or internet so we couldn't figure out anything on our own and relied on outside cellular forces to relay messages. That experience alone was very frustrating- feeling cut off from the rest of the world and having an overwhelming sense of the unknown looming over you. I called the American Embassy several times and every time they said they did not have any instructions for us. So we all lie around waiting for something to happen. This is about the time we started thinking about what we should do next... Do we go back to the United States? Do we swathe Ashley in sheets so she can pass as a Muslim? I felt like we should've taken this as the opportunity to fly to Europe and go have a merry time over there... No one else agreed. We also knew that at some point we were to return to Mumbai and how safe was that going to be if they were in fact targeting Americans. I said some dramatic things, which I will let Ashley divulge or else I would feel dumb talking about myself even though that's what I'm doing right now... 

Anyhow, that day we left for Agra with a sense of nervousness lingering in ourselves. And it was strange because when we looked around us, our environment showed no signs of there being a terrorist attack just south of us. When we drove into Agra, we were still paranoid since we were visiting the Taj Mahal, that being the main landmark of India couldn't necessarily help the situation. However, if you weren't aware before, the Taj Mahal is very much Koran-oriented and infused with Islamic influence. I thought, Good, we're actually safe for a change. The Taj Mahal is also sandwiched between two identical mosques. Maybe it's ignorant, but really, if the terrorists are in fact Muslim, why would they come after something that "belongs" to them? 

When we got back to the hotel we got to look at the newspapers and they were calling it the "9/11" of India... That didn't sound so good. I tried to hide it from my friend so as not to add further fuel to the fire and we went to bed. Next on the trip was Jaipur, another popular touristy city. But they just got bombed so maybe the terrorists were through with that area for now...? For the next couple days I relied on the Times of India, a newspaper to obtain news, who would ever think? The headlines read "Terror Reigns" until finally, when it all came to an end "Terror Eliminated".

In any event, we tried our best to enjoy the adventures and for the most part we did a good job. But there was this constant reminder that we were unsafe. And it's not like being back in America makes you any safer, but still, you feel safe at home. 

I remember checking my phone to check the time, hoping morning was close because I couldn't sleep. I look at it and see that I have 16 missed calls. I instantly get nervous thinking something bad happened at home. Just as I'm about to dial, I see my brother-in-law's number and I pick it up. He tells me that there has been a terrorist attack in Mumbai (Bombay). I talk to my sister and she's in tears because she thought I may have been hurt. My brother Chris heard about it first. He got worried and called my mom and the American Embassy. Now, let me just tell you, my brother never freaks out, and if he freaks out, we basically know something is very wrong. And he was freaking out. I felt so terrible that my family had been so upset and we had no idea what was going on. By this point, all four of us are up now, getting second hand information, due to the fact that we have no television, internet or radio.
During all this, Mila is very calm, she rolls over and falls asleep for about an hour. We all still talk trying to figure out what to do, my mom wants me to come home naturally. I say "This is what the terrorists want mom! They try to incite fear into the people. I won't give them that" Probably not the best thing to say to your mother. But that's how I felt. After deciding to finally get up, we try to figure out if I should cover myself and try to look un-touristy. Well, that's not really going to work. I mean, all I have are my red converse, jeans and t-shirts. Mila rolls over and says "Don't worry. I will die before I let them take you." Amazing. We both started laughing at the intensity and passion behind the statement. But you know what, we ARE best friends. And best friends say these things. It's what we do.