Out the Window

Land is at a premium in Bombay, not surprising
considering it's one of the most populated cities
in the world. My real estate agent just told me
that a 3-bedroom apartment in downtown sold for
640million rupees ... or about 18 million USD.
One square foot of the place cost more than I
earn in a year. Part of me staggers to think
of this sort of wealth in an area of such poverty.
How can anyone justify that sort of expense
when they look out their window to see people
sleeping in hammocks in the trees as their children
take baths in puddles on the road? I, as ever,
remain hypocritical to the extreme --- I still
spend money at restaurants and on frivolous
purchases for my children, so indeed this is
the pot calling the kettle black.

The drive from the office to home is approximately
20 miles. On clear days we arrive in 40 minutes, on
traffic-filled days we take 2 hours, one day during
a particularly bad monsoon day it took a friend
24 hours to drive home. The route offers new
sights every day and I find it hard to concentrate
on my book when such diversity is in my view.
The shanty towns intrigue me as I think about how
hard life must be there, austere, gray apartment blocks,
towering above, invariably have lines of bright washing
hanging out to dry on patios, a particular field must
always be ignored as it contains never less than 15 people
squatting down and relieving themselves of the
previous day's indulgences, and of course watching the
drivers disobey laws of physics as they squeeze into
spaces smaller than their vehicle is a constant
source of entertainment. I wish I had 8 pairs
of eyes so as not to miss a single thing.

Here are some other exceptional sights for which
I really wished I had my camera:

* A bus without a front windscreen driving as normal

* A motorcyclist using a polo helmet for protection

* Well-dressed ladies riding motorcycles side-saddle

* A Muslim lady dressed in full black and burkha
with her arms wrapped around the motorcycle driver

* 10 kids crammed into a 4-seater taxi

* A truck full of chunks of asphalt with an
exhausted laborer fast asleep atop the jagged
pieces of rock

* Chunks of concrete used to divide the north vs.
south running traffic on a 6-lane highway

* An emaciated man dressed in rags walking 3 gorgeous,
well fed breed dogs

The list never ends ... so much dichotomy just
from the windows of your car.