"I think it would be a good idea."
-Mahatma Gandhi, when asked what he thought of Western civilization
Nadine and I had a fun day in Mumbai together, a day of visiting famous homes...
We were just a short taxi ride from Ramesh Balsakar's house, so Nadine joined me for the morning talk at his place. He mostly focused on the laments of a Spanish woman, who seemed to be having a spiritual crisis, so he incorporated God into his teaching to accommodate her Catholic background. He told her basically that we are like actors performing the script that God has written and there's not really anything we can do about it but accept it and go along without worrying.What ever happens to us, our children, our friends is already planned. Personally, I wasn't at a place in my understanding where I was interested in listening about God, so I found it a bit confusing. Nadine wasn't very impressed but she hadn't really heard of him before and wasn't interested in hearing about God either. I think we just had bad timing going on this day. The first time I joined the talks they were more in line with his books in terms of the way he explained things.
Next, Nadine wanted to visit the hanging gardens in the Kamala Nehru Park, which was also near by so we headed there. It was nice but a bit more dusty than lush. We walked through the dirt paths and enjoyed the butterflies which were an interesting shade of green. I'd never seen a butterfly that color before. From the edge of the hill, we were also able to get a nice view of Chowpatty beach below. (I know, the name doesn't sound very appealing, does it?)
The highlight of the park, though, was across the road from the hanging gardens where there is a full-sized replica of the Old Woman's Shoe (as in The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe), a popular attraction especially for students. Nadine attracted quite a crowd of students (and men), herself, but at least there were no kisses this time...
The most interesting place of the day was just a couple blocks from where we were staying. Mani Bhavan, the house where Gandhi live from 1917 until 1934. He initiated the Non-Cooperation, Satyagraha, Swadeshi, Khadi and Khilafat movements, as well as the Civil Disobedience movement while he was a resident here and it was also the place where he was arrested in 1932. The building has been turned into a museum, with the walls covered in photographs of his life and a library in the back displaying a collection of the books that Gandhi owned and read, as well as many others. Upstairs, his room has been preserved, along with his sleeping mat, a few small pieces of furniture, and the spinning wheels he became so famously associated with. There was also a well crafted miniature display depicting important scenes from his life, which I found interesting to peek into. It was the most touching experience I've had in India so far...
Then, it was time to go off on my own once more, as Nadine and I bid farewell. She will fly to Bangkok in the morning and I head to the bus station (well, more of a row of buses along the side of the street). Apparently, (I use this word a lot, I'm noticing. I guess life isn't always how I think it 'should' be...) the buses keep an only slightly better schedule then the train, but I should be surprised by this, really. Finally, a big pink tour bus pulled up and one of the men on the street who'd asked where I was headed told me it was mine. It had gotten very dark in the time I'd been waiting, so I was glad to be going.
The seat on the bus is much more comfortable than the stiff train benches. There aren't many people on the bus, either, so I have some room to myself. I'll read about Aurangabad and the Ellora caves, then hopefully get some sleep. There's something about the name, "Aurangabad", I don't know, doesn't sound very friendly...
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