A few hours in Bombay.
I know it is now called Mumbai, but for me it will always be Bombay, and our guide spoke of the city using both names. We were told that many people living in Bombay still referred to their home city as Bombay.
As we sailed closer to the harbour we overtook an Indian naval vessel.
The skyline that I remember from fifty years ago.
Gateway to India and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel on the left of the Gateway.
We saw many war ships alongside, including an aircraft carrier and these torpedo boats.
A touch of the old days with a double decker bus.
A street full of second hand books – they are never packed away just covered with sheets at night.
There must have been thousands of books. The blue tint is due to the windows of our bus.
Victoria terminus built by the British.
Health and safety – scaffolding held together with string and rope.
We also saw men on the roof, and of course they didn't have safety harnesses or hard hats.
Basically they worked as the older members of my readers worked in the late 50's & 60's.
Gateway to India, it hasn't changed since the 1920's.
It was the gate that the last British troops symbolically marched through as they left India in 1947. This is the hotel that suffered a terrorist attack some years ago, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The hotel is located across the road from the Gateway to India. An interesting day out on a boat ride for the locals – all full of colour.
Next stop was the 'Lunch Box', near Church Gate railway station.
The lunch box delivery system is unique – a business man's wife produces a hot mid-day meal, which is collected by dedicated people and then 'trained' to the city centre. Outside the railway station others co-ordinate the final delivery to the office of the business man.
Late in the afternoon the meal 'box' is returned via the same system to the lady of the house, and the whole thing is repeated the following work day.
There is a very good commercial film called 'The Lunch Box', which is part in English and part in Hindi (with sub titles) that explains the whole process much better than me and is quite funny in parts.
The above picture shows the 'lunch boxes' being coordinated for various delivery people.
Some are delivered via trolly.
Most are delivered via bicycle.
and it can be hard work.
Next stop is the laundry, also called Dohbi ghats, where the laundry of Bombay is cleaned.
But first we have to catch a train. The Indian lady is our guide and we were warned to disembark the train quickly at our destination, because the train only stopped for about 30 seconds.
Our window – without glass.
Dohbi Ghat from the road.
Each of the stone areas, within Dohbi Ghat, is passed down through the family generation after generation.
Drying clothes – they do say that less than 0.1% of the laundry is lost, because each Dhobi walla has his own mark, which is placed in an unseen area of the clothing.
I wonder what happens to a person's feet when they are in water all their working life.
Of course we have the crowds and the hawkers.
We did see the occasional horse and cart.
and the cows in the street are common.
Our last visit was to Gandhi's house – the above is the room where he worked and slept.
The outside of his house.
Back to the ship and two days at sea before Muscat in Oman.
Intriguing photos! Goodness, a 30-second train stop would definitely keep you hopping!