A day in Mumbai

My flight to Chennai from Dhaka was canceled so I got my wish: a day in Mumbai! Even better is that through RZIM Academy, I have a friend who lives there. Priyanka lives with her family by the sea down the street from The Taj hotel, infamous for the site of hostage killings last year. It is a beautiful area and after breakfast in the morning when I met the other guests--apparently their house is always full of visitors, "enriching" described the Canadian Muslim lady who's in India to study yoga--I went to get a pedicure with Emily, an American from Minnesota who is also in India to visit friends and do yoga, only she's interested in Holy Yoga. The pedicure was about 45 minutes and thoroughly cleansing considering my feet have been traveling dusty dirty roads for the past few weeks. I got gold polish. :) And it cost roughly $5USD. I'm going to miss India.

Then we met Priyanka, her sister, and another friend for lunch at Bombay Gym. It's an old club built in the colonial period. Understated charm, airy, casual while still exuding upper class society. Yummy lime juice and chinese food.

Went back to the house with Emily and chatted for a while. Drank tea, admired the view from the terrace and talked with the Canadian visitor about life and suffering and friendships and her daughter. All great opportunities for me to utilize my recent apologist studies.

Then Priyanka came home from work. A bit of household futzing and then we left for a dance lesson for a friend's brother's wedding. Apparently all Indian wedding have dancing, some numbers are rehearsed with close friends and family. This wedding will feature 12 choreographed dances. The one involving the parents was my favorite. The choreographer is a flaming gay man whose jeans were so tight I winced every time he knelt down. Just a bit of randomness to complete my journey in India. The apartment was very posh--like a W Hotel lobby if the bellhops dressed in saris.

So I'm 'home' now at Juanita's in Queens. Will be here a few days before heading to Tucson to visit Olivia. Photos sometime when I can muster the energy to dig out the cable and download them and upload them. Will that chore ever be technologized into quick ease?

Let's see: shout outs to Nomsa, Tiffany, and Darron for reading!