Saturday August 1st,2009

Everybody's working for the weekend… The band Loverboy must have had India in mind when they wrote it.People work long hours on the weekdays - but when the weekend comes the whole world is out to have a good time.

On Saturday we headed down to Colaba to do a little site seeing, a little shopping.We were cruising along in a taxi looking for a good place to stop when I spotted a Fabindia store.For the non-Indians reading this, Fabindia is a chain of stores across India which specializes in Indian clothes, western clothes with Indian prints, home décor, food, spices, and jewelry.They have a little of everything and I can usually find something I like.On my shopping list was a new suit - consisting of a long shirt and pants, in cotton and very plain as I was buying it for the express purpose of wearing it when I would go to my internship in the Dharavi slum.This particular location had the largest selection of any of their stores I have been to, and I did manage to find some great stuff.After shopping for a while we went upstairs to their café for a delicious lunch of grilled sandwiches.

With renewed energy from our meal, we headed out in search of Jehangir Art Gallery.Upon getting upstairs and seeing the sad exhibit on display we left somewhat disappointed.However, outside the gallery there were street artists, some more professionally trained than others - all with unique creations.I bought a piece from a Bihari artist, and several small pieces from an artist doing water colours while you wait.Buying original art is a pleasure whether it is in India or in Canada - supporting local talent, and having access to art for an affordable price.

There were other interesting sights, The Prince of Wales Museum, a nice outdoor church, vendors galore… we met one who was quite a character.He owned a shop in the wall of a gully which sold paper goods and trinkets.He insisted I spend lots of time choosing exactly what I wanted, helping only one customer at a time, and he carefully wrapped my purchases when I was done.After I had paid I was looking at the Urdu script on a keychain, and told him I thought it was beautiful.He read it to me, a verse from the Koran, told me to take it with me in good faith as it would protect me.He refused any payment and wished me well.

The main attraction was at the end of the day - the Gateway of India and Taj Hotel…. The Gateway was erected in 1911 to welcome King George V and Queen Mary to India, by Lord Sydenham.It is an impressive structure set alongside the water and we relaxed and enjoyed a tiny glass of tea while looking at it and the Taj Hotel.Despite its repaired exterior, I doubt many are able to forget what took place here nine months ago.Still, it was nice to see wounds beginning to repair and the area being enjoyed by local people and sightseers alike.We had our photo taken all tourist like, and watched in amusement as the camera man took out a small memory stick, stuck it into a tiny printer and within a minute gave us glossy shots of ourselves posing in front of the two structures.After grabbing a dosa at a local south Indian place, it was time to go home.

While I enjoyed the sights of Mumbai, my day really was made by the interesting local people I met.Mumbai-ites are proud of their city and I can see why, it is charmed.