Mumbai day 2 - Happy Diwali

I read about the latrines issues in India, or should I say lack of latrines, lack of education around safe defecation (sanitation), widespread disease, abuse risk (i.e. putting oneself at risk of sexual assault/violence while defacating in an open field), and challenges with people accepting the idea of being in a confined space with feces. Modi claims "total sanitation" by 2019...how can we make this a realistic goal?

Morning chai and the newspaper came again at 6:45. Birds singing and outside a man walking a leashed dog...first one I've seen! This at the same time I was reading about street dogs (oft referred to as Indian pariah dogs). I heard a scamper on the A/C and saw a pigeon standing there. I opened the curtains slightly and played hide and seek with it...probably confused it a little, but often animals love this game (!), so I continued for a bit :) 

Camilo continues to enjoy his sleep. I've been awake since chai and reading about this wild, fascinating place. Somehow I know there's a way I can make a difference while I'm here (even if it's just making avian friends).

We grabbed a late morning snack at Gulmahar cafeteria: idli wada mix and paneer pakoda. Then Mukta cooked French toast and served it with cut papaya, watermelon, and the guava we bought yesterday, mmm.

After eating we went for a walk around campus. Did I mention we're staying in the Jalvihar Guest House at IIT Bombay? This campus is a gorgeous array of wildlife: tropical plants and trees; fauna like geese, ducks, [really loud] squeaking chipmunks, turtles, cows, dogs, a kitty, lizards, snakes, large crows (a lot of them), caged rabbits; and on the path we read a sign that warned of panther sightings (i.e. avoid walking here at night...and we've been told it's actually a leopard, not a panther, that's been sighted). We then saw a monkey (add that to the list above) in the trees overhead. It might have been at least 3 feet tall standing! A second one tree-hopped toward the first, then a third...a fourth, and once I counted 5 aloud Supreet said, "Ehh, okay, I think we can go now." :) He and Mukta have had a monkey come into their apartment in recent weeks. When they leave the door open for a cross breeze, he comes in and takes something...maybe opens the fridge and grabs something to go, or finds another bite in the kitchen. They're a little freaked about this intruder and also didn't want the monkeys above to come down for a curiosity visit or to snag my camera.

We walked down a side path to the pier (more of an overlook to the lake), where 2 security guards were sitting relaxing. They exercised their authority by asking who we all were and proceeded to have an animated discussion with Supreet about a local construction mogul who's building a slew of upscale high-rises downtown and dumping all the construction waste water into the lake we were admiring. There were a few guys in handmade boats - barely floating, but not sinking - who were laying out fishing nets by hand from these small rafts (imagine a guy on an inner tube fishing with a thin, long net). The guys speculated that this gorgeous lake will die within 10 years due to the pollution. Despite efforts in recent years to clean up the lake and surrounding wildlife area, this self-interested construction mogul is mucking it all up again. They mention that the fish are less tasty now than in the past, that they are looking more black than before, and that people who know their source no longer buy them at market.

We said goodbyes and walked back towards the guest house. Grabbed a couple items and then walked to the staff mess hall in M&S's building. They "temporarily" (read: more than 1 year now instead of a few months) live in staff housing vs. faculty housing due to lack of space on campus. Their building's in really bad shape, something you wouldn't typically put your faculty in. For lunch we had: fenugreek paratha, mix veg, toor daal, mix veg rice, and a sweet milk/milk fat dessert. "Salad" is sliced cucumbers, carrots, onion, and lime wedges. Mukta and Supreet took the moto to get items at the market for tonight's gathering and we returned to our room to relax. It's been very hot and humid the last two days, so on went the A/C and out went the humans into naptime land.

After a few hours and a call from Mukta, we unstuck ourselves from the mattresses, dressed, and went to their place to help prepare. I was in charge of grating cucumber for raita and beets for a veg sauteé. I then carved a Hindi "Happy Diwali" message into half a watermelon for the fruit bowl!

I hopped on the back of Supreet's moto and we went to pick up Tandoor chicken he'd ordered. We also got 1/2 kg of Naturals chickoo (sapote) ice cream - wow, delish! Other flavors include: kala jamun (black berry, different from blackberry), anjeer (fig), kaju kismis (cashew raisins), and kesar pista (saffron pistachio). These Hindi words don't seem too difficult to me! Kaju actually sounds like cashew and pista like pistachio ;) We brought the foods home as the naan order was being delivered and a few friends had already arrived. Mostly fellow professors at IIT and a few of them brought their majorly-cute kids. Food we ate was: fruit bowl (decorated by yours truly), plum cake, mini samosas, kachoree; followed by mixed paneer and veg sauteé, warm beetroot with raisins, the Supreet chicken special (did not try), amazing naan; dessert was caramelized yoghurt (a Bengali special). Everyone enjoyed the Johnnie Walker double black and Amaretto that Cami brought over.

Sometime in the middle of the festivities a street dog came through the front door (and we're on the 4th floor!). Mukta tried to shoo her away and screeched at her a bit, but we figured with all the rockets and crackers being set off in the streets that she was likely scared and seeking refuge. She beelined to M&S's bedroom where she hovered in the corner below the ironing board, panting heavily. It was also still quite hot at this point. I checked on her through the night and, at first, we thought we could bribe her out with a chicken bone. Once everyone was leaving and the crackers settled a bit outside (sometime after midnight), Supreet successfully shooed her out.

'Twas a late night - went to bed around 2:30 am after chatting with Cami about the day...4 hours of sleep to ready me for my 6:45 chaiwakening the next day ;)