The first thing I saw as I stepped onto the streets of Mumbai was Jesus, at least a truck named Jesus, and I was moved; moved to get out the way as Jesus was clearly on a mission that did not involve slowing for the people as is most of the traffic here.
Mumbai, or Bombay until 1997, was settled in 1509. The British East India Company took over Mumbai in 1689 and set up adorning it with massive Victorian buildings to prove that the sun never set on the British Empire.
India has a population of over 1.2 billion with 14 million living in Mumbai.
A most humbling experience was a long visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s home and now museum. In times of major global upheaval Ghandi was a living role model of persistence, moderation and acceptance. I was moved by one particularly astute observation made by Ghandi in 1921;
A most humbling experience was a long visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s home and now museum. In times of major global upheaval Ghandi was a living role model of persistence, moderation and acceptance. I was moved by one particularly astute observation made by Ghandi in 1921;
“To call women the weaker sex is a libel;
It is man’s injustice to women….
If by strength is meant moral power then woman is immeasurably man’s superior…
If non violence is the law of our being the future is with women.”
Ghandi also wrote to Hitler in 1939 asking him to reconsider his war effort on behalf of humanity but received no reply.
Today was a busy day, The Taj Hotel, Gateway of India, Ghandi Museum, dobi Ghat (outdoor laundry), Elephanta Caves, Prince of Wales Museum, shopping, and a haircut & shave for $2. To absorb local culture and blend in we chose a traditional horse & buggy for part of our travels and tuk-tuk for the rest.
A macabre tour we took was to follow the killing trail of Muslim terrorists that set fire to the heritage listed Taj Hotel and killed many people along the way. We began with lunch at the Leopold Café where Muslim terrorists lunched and then began their bloody massacre and then onto the Taj and Oberoi Hotels to see where the massacre continued. There are red circles at each point where a person was killed or injured. The hotels show little sign of the fire and machine gun damage from the Muslim terrorists but security is now incredibly tight to gain entry.
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