Laundry Anyone?

Dhobi  Ghat

Mumbai boast the worlds larges open air laundry in the world. We were amazed as we stool on a platform high above the city looking down on the Dhobi Ghat. The Dhobi Ghat laundry has about 700 washing platforms where about 200 washer-men have been washing clothes for decades. Only the men do the wash. Much of Mumbias laundry goes here to be washed including all hospital sheets etc. The water has never been changed. Many of the people living in this area do not have running water so this is the only alternative to clean clothing. The Dhobi ( workers) go to each individual house and pick up the laundry and deliver it back to the home when clean. Very humbling to think that most Americans have access to individual washing machines.

Rags to Riches

 Rags To Riches 

The plethora of assumptions made about how people live in India is an excellent example of the way we limit ourselves in our thinking. By reading and watching the news we assume we understand India. Only by experiencing the daily life that is lived in India can one really appreciate the vast differences culturally between poverty and how the rich live.  This challenges the notion that anyone in America can live in a poor economic state. The poor in the US are richer than around 70% of all the people extent.

                                                   

Dabba Wallahs  - Lunch anyone? 100 year old lunch delivery-

Every day in Mumbai some 500 men called Dobba Wallahs hand deliver 200,000 hot lunches to doorsteps across the city from home kitchens.  The century old service is a staple for the city's office workers.  The Dabba Wallahs have a huge network and intricate system by which the lunch packed from the home is picked up each morning in thousands of homes  and strapped to a bicycle that is ridden and hand delivered to the train station. The lunches are then put on a special train cargo for fish , lunches and suitcases only and shipped to the city. The lunches can be transported several times before reaching their prospective area and then they are sorted on the street for delivery to the office where the owner can enjoy their lunch. Before he leaves , the delivery man collects yesterdays container and the process starts all over again for tomorrow.  The Dabba Wallah receives about $10.00 per month to deliver the lunches each day per person. We were able to observe the sorting of the lunches in the city as well as have our picture taken with one of the Dabba Wallahs. Crazy- why not pick up your lunch kit and carry it to work yourself, right!

Animal Farm

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While all my life I thought cows were put on this earth for a protein source- or at least thats what my best friend a dietitian has told me, we were both wrong. In India cows are sacred. It is against the law to eat beef-banned-forbidden! The cow in India is revered as the symbol of life and may never be killed. Most Hindus respect the cow for the gentle nature which represents the main teaching of Hinduism. The cow also represents butter (ghee) and strength.  The cow is often adorned with jewels and fed fresh corn on the cob in the streets.  Best to rethink sinking your teeth into a juicy hamburger if in India or you could end up behind bars for up to 5 years.  Goat is a common staple of India. As we traveled South of Mumbai, I was excited to see all of the cute little goats lined up and tied in front of a shop until my friend told me it was a mutton shop and all of the cute little goats were waiting for slaughter.  Needless to say I did not take a picture of this as it made me never want to remember the cute little goats lined up again..... Chicken on the other hand is abundant. Fresh chickens are at the meat market in little cages waiting for slaughter for the freshest of meat. There are many prepared chickens waiting for purchase as well.... covered in flies! No thank you- We could turn to fish... however after seeing the fish being scaled and shrimp peeled by women adorned in beautiful clothing sitting in blood and fish water  we decided to pass on this as well. Needless to say I think we will remain without meat on this trip.

Hello world- India from Inside

The smell of curry holds a whole new meaning after walking the streets of India.  The undeniable difference seen between poverty and the most rich, show no bias when it comes to the Indian way of preparing and distributing food in this foreign land.  As we boarded the plane to Mumbai India in March 2016 we could not help but feel the excitement of traveling half way around the world for the first time.  We were enamored with the way of the Hindu life and the vibrance that the city of Mumbai held. This is the recollections of the journey taken as we walked and lived among the people of India and the experiences that have shown to be such an undeniable change in the way we view life after India.