Namaskar Mumbai Se!

And on the first few days I saw:

1 vulture
1 lizard
3 Cows (1 of which was hitched to a cart at the beginning of the evening rush)
Several bats
Dozens of stray dogs

Mumbai is wild and for a city of its size – we’re talking 20 million – it certainly has a lot of wildlife. There are bats with 2-3 foot wingspans nesting in the trees outside of my room. The bats aren’t menacing at all. Kind of pretty actually. But when you first realize what they are, it’s pretty freaky because they’re bigger than crows. Much bigger. I’m fairly positive I saw a vulture yesterday, but
upon looking this morning, I think it may have been a very large hawk. Not sure about all the birdlife here, so I’ll learn.

I’ll be uploading photos momentarily. I haven’t been able to, as I’ve been using someone else’s computer for a while. Can’t wait to share them.

Of course, I’m also keeping a mental log of stories on the people of Mumbai, which I’ll share as my thoughts come together.

This city was hella scary the first day, then better. It’s becoming quite pleasant the more I learn and the more Hindi I pick up and use. There is madness all around, sure. But there are also many diamonds in the muck. I feel that first impressions can be a bit dangerous, and I don’t want to be quick to judge. So, I’m just going to let it all flow until I can figure it out and share it with you.

Again, my photos will tell the stories better than I will be able to.

Until then…namaste.