Firstly, I pay my respects for those who laid down their lives for freedom for the rest of us. Your day will be very sombre, and serious. My family like yours was profoundly affected by conflict. Now, pause for a moment: Diwali is here. The emotion of love, and joy and peace abound in Mumbai. It is Christmas if you will. Today I slept in, and did the blogs, and my personal yoga practice in the AC. I bought pastries, sweet and savoury at Gaylords across the road, for ridiculous prices. I give thanks, as it is Diwali, for this.
Great architecture....English colonial. OH....huge cracker outburst right now...plumes of smoke!!They don't wait for night fall for crackers and fire!!
Diwali marigold decoration
All dolled up for Diwali...so cute
Merry Diwali motor bike...taxi's are bedecked too
Gaylords bedecked in yellow and gold marigolds
My server at Gaylords said his "tikka" was a special Diwali tikka in red and white.
Burn out from making marigold decorations
Books on the side walk: Dave and Kathy take note!
On the sidewalk.....
Diwali lights, and more ornate decorations in an upscale store
Wear your best outfits at Diwali.....they did!
Garlands ready for sale
Marigold outlet
Men in coloured kirtas.....they all love having a pic. I will wear mine on return.
Inside the store, flowers of different kinds.
Ready for distribution from sidewalk
Ambassador hotel staff: too fancy a place for me....can't afford it. Some of the hotels here are world class of course.
The lift attendant. His life is vertically correct. How does he sleep at night? There is a fan in this very very tiny lift.
It took all four guys to clean my room today!!!!!!!
Victoria station.....architectural masterpiece
Couldn't believe it
Hmmmm....
Law courts I think
All aspects of the same building complex
Time for a young green coconut
Soft when sliced
He cut the hole, popped in a straw
Would you believe this is the Police Station??
The taxi took me to the cottage industries....exotic, costly, spectacular
Kashmiri carpets.....some wool, some wool and silk.
I fell in love with them. Lots of haggling over prices, lots and lots of pressure to buy. Man it was very hard to resist. I couldn't imagine being an owner of one of these Kashmiri masterpieces. The 6' by 4' was $760 delivered......hmmmm
Loved this 5' by 3'...a huge trail of crackers went off....huge fire and smoke....quite dangerous, and I stayed in the shop....this was the aftermath....not quick enough to capture the blast.
I am honoured. Tonight is the main night of Diwali. The hotel manager placed two candles outside my door, and one below, on the balcony . This invites Lakshmi into the hotel room to sweep out the darkness and old habits, and usher in the new with light. She is the goddess of prosperity. Shukriya ( thank you in Hindi). I am adding more. So much happened on this day. The place suddenly exploded with people, in their thousands, all dressed up, millions more on the roads, and fireworks like I never seen before. Fireworks went till 1 AM constantly. The explosive noises were too much and I retreated back to the hotel, but returned. I met some lovely Indian scientists, and physicists there, believe it or not, and such lovely people. They were from Kerala. So I'm adding more pics now. Below is the stair decoration of dried marigolds and lamps.
This single light was on my balcony to bring in the light and ward off evil. Also below that is a Diwali light in reception. The hotel reception is on the fifth floor: that's where I am.
The guys insist on a pic with the decorated hotel entrance.
The food below is complimentary with every meal at the vegetarian restaurant that I go to. Love the onions and lemons....not so much the green chilli sauce and mango chutney .
Vertical Diwali lights on store front.
Fireworks....very spectacular. Could view from my balcony. My pics don't do justice.
Way too loud like bombs, so I went back to hotel. Sparklers were popular with families sitting on the Promenade sea wall.
Everyone brought their own fireworks.
Hey Dave. Thanks for all your words and photos including the books being sold on the sidewalk. I noticed I Am Malala along with Harry Potter.
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