Fifteen Months in India

Mumbai has it's sights. Mumbai has it's tourist shops and fancy bars and colonial buildings and quintessential cricket pitches. Mumbai has all sorts of different things which speak to the diversity and population all living within (and without) it's city limits.

But my daily life is not the listings on the pages of the Lonely Planet. My life here is not necessarily the stuff of monumental photo collages and glossy postcards. After fifteen months walking back and forth between my apartment and my office, eating the same breakfast idli every day and seeing the same faces, it seems like life in India has shifted to some form of normalcy.

My job placement is part of a larger organization which facilitates young Jewish leaders all over the world to help support communities. It's a one year commitment, which I extended into two. We were given an assignment recently to create a short video to share our daily experience in our communities after three months on the job (or in my case - fifteen).

But as I set out to compile my daily experiences - I realized that my life really is the stuff of postcards. Diversity and vibrancy is all around me, all the time. Outside my apartment, on the train, on my walk to work - Mumbai is more than the Gateway and Dhobi Ghat; Mumbai is the foods and the people and the smells and the marigold garlands strung up and down it's endless maze of streets and sidestreets.

So I hope you enjoy this compilation of the sights and experiences I encounter on a daily basis here in Mumbai. These are all places in my neighbourhood - Mahim, and in the next neighbourhood over - Bandra, where I often spend my weekends. I hope it serves for you - as it definitely served for me - as a reminder to constantly be aware of the amazing things unfolding around us every single day.