Cows

I've spoken before about the streets of Mumbai and I've noticed that sometimes cows are left to wander. I asked my colleague why and was told that small dairies own a cow to milk. They are not tethered or placed in a secure place and they go where they please. Apparantly they know where home is and don't wander far and their owner can always track it down. To India's millions of Hindus, the cow is a holy animal that cannot be harmed so the cow is perfectly safe. No-one seems to bother much or attempt to stop the cow from eating food from stalls or even resting in the middle of the road.

Today is my final day of work here and the atmosphere in my training room is one of excitement. Hopefully not because they won't see me anymore but their new roles will begin! I must say that I will miss them very much and have grown fond of them all.

Tomorrow I am going to catch up on some rest before my two flights and the long haul home.

The weather

I've already mentioned that the weather is extremely warm here even if the sun isn't shining. The rains are officially over and they don't expect to see any 'proper' rain until the next monsoon. On Monday the weather caught everyone out; it poured all day. It was a bit like Britain being caught out by snow. It threw everyone into chaos. The roads (which have a few pot-holes!) filled with water and the traffic ground to a practical halt. I was blissfully aware of this because I was collected by car (which parked under the hotel entrance canopy) and taken to the office and dropped off in the underground carpark. I had 'just' missed the traffic jams on the roads.

So, there I was at work, with just one other person in the training room, waiting for people to arrive. They arrived in dribs and drabs and were soaked to the skin. Everyone turned up but the training room was draped with clothing that was drying out. I've never trained bare-footed people before!

In England if we have several days of hot weather we can guarantee that we'll have a storm that will clear the air. End of summer? Here in India the rain did bring the temperature down. However, the day after it was back to being scorching hot.

Another full day

Today was a day off. Nadir and I visited a Roman Catholic Church, Mount Saint Mary. The Mumbai traffic meant that we missed the service but I did manage some quiet time there. Outside was very interesting because there were some steps leading to a statue of the Virgin Mary and in front of it was a fire burning with what looked like candles. There were some stalls selling goods and I noticed that many of them were selling what looked like white wax figures, just like the burning 'candles'. It seems that the wax is made to represent things you need to pray for like parts of the body, or money (if you have problems) or houses. See photo.

Seetha joined us and we had a very pleasant lunch with terrific views of the water. Afterwards we went to the Gateway of India to catch a boat to Elephanta Island. Another trainer, Gita joined us. She was very knowledgable and gave me lots of history and information. We caught a small train to take us to the entrance and then started making our way up lots of steps. The heat was intense and we were rather hot and sticky! There were wild monkeys everywhere and they were very bold and snatched Gita's bottle of pop.The caves themselves were fascinating and date back 2,000 years. The island is named after the life-size stone elephant that was found there. The carvings in the rock take some believing as they were carved without modern-day tools and are enormous. I tried some of the stall food which I can't remember the name of (I may edit this later when I have the name) which was very nice. I tried some sliced under-ripe mango sprinkled with spices but it was a bit sharp for my taste.

As usual, my trainer friends looked after me so well and the day was brilliant.

Thali and Indian pancake

Last night (Friday) I was taken to a very nice restaurant where I experience a Thali meal. We were welcomed and a tikka mark was made on our foreheads. The waiters were all dressed in traditional dress and we were taken to a table where each place setting was laid out with an empty tray containing lots of small bowls. A waiter came around carrying a bowl and a pitcher of warm water where we each washed our hands. Then we were 'bombarded' with dish after dish of differents dishes which were placed in the small bowls - all vegetarian. The waiters seemed non-stop as they kept bring different breads and re-fills. The food was delicious and Seetha, Sharin, Nadir (my trainer colleagues) and myself had a really good time.

This morning I was pleased that my alarm didn't go off at 6am and I was able to have a leisurely breakfast in the hotel restaurant. I've mentioned before that the waiters are looking after me and they seem really pleased when I try the food that they suggest. This morning they suggested that I try an Indian pancake. They look enormous because they are crispy and rolled which fills most of a plate. They served it with a tomato dish and a coconut one. Then you tear the pancake and eat it with the side dishes. It was very pleasant but not something I would normally eat for breakfast but when in Rome(!)..............

Today I plan to work to prepare for next week's courses but also plan to take some time out and perhaps have a lunch and a couple of hours by the pool (in the 35 degree heat) - 'mad dogs and Englishmen.......!'

Tomorrow I am going to a church in Bhandra (South West Mumbai - I think) and then going to visit Elephanta Caves.

New experiences

Yesterday I had a short walk (in the sweltering heat) to a local shop. It was a bit like a small supermarket. I'm really glad that I went with a couple of colleagues because I didn't know the routine. We had to queue up at the entrance in order to have our bags sealed with a plastic tie-wrap. Then we helped ourselves to goods, as normal and it was when we got to the checkout that our bags were unsealed so that we could pay for our goods. Then on our way out there was a man who checked the bags and stamped the receipts. Just imagine if we had to go through that in our supermarkets?

It was Sharin's (one of the trainers here) birthday yesterday and there was a cake to celebrate. Just as in England, we sang happy birthday. Then people smeared cream from the cake over Sharin's face (urgh...sticky, sticky , sticky)! This tends to happen and isn't a one-off. Then the birthday girl (or boy) cuts the cake and taking a piece, lets everyone in the group take a bite. Then everyone gets a piece of cake (as normal). If Sharin had been a boy she would've had the birthday bumps. They lift the person with arms and legs and then kick the person on the back.

The weekly routine doesn't present much interesting 'blog material' as the routing is pretty much the same each day. Shower, breakfast, drive to office, work at the office, drive to the hotel, dinner, work at hotel, sleep (like a baby). It's Thursday today and I'm looking forward to the weekend. I'm going out for a traditional North-Indian meal on Friday night and then will be sight-seeing over the weekend, so hopefully the blog will be a bit more interesting to read. I'll try and get some photos/videos.

Pani puri

Yesterday some of the group invited me to join them in the canteen for 'Pani puri'. Pani puri is like small round, hollow fried ball. It can be filled with an assortment of ingredients and has liquid poured inside on top of the mixture. The idea is that it all goes into the mouth at once. A small counter is set up in the canteen early evening each day and you can choose how hot you would like your filling. The man serving the pani puri makes each one up individually. I noticed that everyone was really interested to see how I went on! I did ok but I think they were kind to me by not making them too hot. I think they plan to gradually make them hotter each time I try it. I'll try to get a photograph of me eating one, in the meantime here's a photo from the internet.

Tuesday

There are some roadworks at the front of the hotel and so yesterday the driver took me on a different route to the office. It was much more interesting and we passed through a section of slum area. Although I just get a glimpse as I pass by, I find myself fascinated by these places. They tend to be areas of 'make-shift' housing, held together with plastic sheets, stones and anything to provide some shelter. The gaps between these shelters are narrow, providing little alleyways and ginnels. It's a vicious circle for the majority of people living there because they can only focus on survival and don't understand the value of education, hence their children are only shown the basics of survival, as their parents were.

Now I'm probably talking rubbish because I won't get the opportunity to see these places up close. There's a great divide between the rich and the poor. Here in India, I am rich. I have a private driver who makes sure I reach where I want to go. Everywhere I go I am treated with the utmost respect. In fact I feel about a 100 because everyone seems to call me Ma'am. In the hotel, if I want anything at all, I just sign a little slip and it will be charged to my room. And everything is so perfect; not a crease in the sheets, not a smear on any glass and food that is prepared by Mumbai's best chefs.

It makes me feel ashamed because I am living in this place of luxury, surrounded by absolute poverty that we just can't comprehend in the UK. Even the poor in the UK are rich in comparison.