India and Mumbai Calling

"In a better society, with more understanding people, nobody will change you. Everybody will help you to be yourself — and to be oneself is the richest thing in the world. To be oneself gives you all that you need to feel fulfilled, all that can make your life meaningful, significant. Just being yourself and growing according to your nature will bring the fulfillment of your destiny." Osho [quote inspired by Ushma thnx]

I’m reading up on Mumbai, well it’s about time that I did some investigative research and understand the region and place that I am visiting. I’m reading up on its heritage, culture, landmarks, history, architecture and infrastructure or at least that’s what the book is laying out for me.

What’s interesting to note is that I am looking for a different experience that goes beyond the external sights, I’m heading there in part for the inner journey so often romanticised about and with less personal focus on the history and architecture.Mumbai and India currently represent a personal opportunity to explore the human, humane, cultural, poverty, diversity and emotional architecture that lies beneath the surface. Often for holiday makers this lies unseen, unnoticed and hidden.

I have a sense that India is to become a place for me, somewhere that I’m able to be me, express my creative thoughts and journey, learn, explore, make a difference and grow. I have a childlike innocence, intrigue and interest in the place, a sense of potential naivety…….. I don’t think so, more a case of playing in the natural child space, that place for all of us that enables us to play with ideas, create, if you like the zone within us that allows for purposeful play.

India may well represent my cathedral thinking space – regardless of the outcomes, I know that this journey is set to align with my personal version of a lifelessordinary a journey of a 1000 miles. These next 20 days represent an opportunity for me to venture on my own personal quest, to understand my truth and truly find my authentic voice, whilst living towards my purpose and vision.

Looking forward to the exploration, to see, feel, touch and be touched by the contrast of this beautiful country, see and meet people who survive, thrive and grow in this challenging environment….It is a rapidly developing country that in many ways is on an explosive growth trajectory with all of the growing pains you would expect.

The bottom line is that I am seeking to get under the skin of Mumbai and equally allow its voice, rhythm and experience to permeate, seep into and through me, I want to know, feel and experience it – journeying through the full range of emotions of love for a place and its people to loathing aspects that relate to poverty, deprivation and social injustice.

We should never cease to forget that our liberty, access to education/money/options and personal freedom are fundamental human rights shared by all and yet I have a sense that I will prize them with a deeper sense and see them as even more precious after my Indian adventure.
Some compelling stats, well if you are like me, you may find them interesting:

• Whilst the Indian economy continues to boom, so to do the predications of increasing numbers of children from low income families dropping out of school to support the families meagre income
• India has the largest number of diabetes sufferers with predications estimating that the figure will be over 100 Million in the next few years
• 1996 was when Delhi became Mumbai officially
• Slum dog millionaire was filmed in Dharavi slum, it is estimated that 60% of Mumbai’s population live in shantytowns and slums
• Dharavi covers 1.75 km and is home to over 1 million people. Its not all bleak news with many people showing entrepreneurial flair and it’s estimated that the annual turnover
• Many of the families living here have done so for generations
• Mumbai has over 5000 Dabba-Wallahs (tiffins) delivering lunch and food all over the city, it estimated that 200,000 are delivered on a daily basis through an intricate colour scheme, many of the people who do this are illiterate – estimates are that a mistake is made once with every 6 million deliveries
  
  Anyway, food for thought peeps Best wishes D