This is the Gateway to India arch. It is the first sight to see in Mumbai.
Here are some cricketers on a big green called the Oval Maidan. I knew I’d forget the name of the building in the background.
Back up a little, pan to the right, and this is Bombay University.
I’ve been doing at least one cool thing a day. Since last writing, I took the Lonely Planet walking tour, which was mostly through Colaba, the area I’m staying where the arch and Angie’s place is, and to the north. Yesterday I walked through a market and the docks. Whew, the fishing boats were long since in and the fish in the market were getting ripe fast. It wasn’t too picturesque down there. Basically it’s developing country docks in the old part without containerization.
No, I didn’t take any pictures of fish doing what they do in 90 humid degrees. One kind, bombil, are dried on purpose, then batter and fried. It’s called Bombay Duck. There were all kinds of fish there. I was surprised to see barracuda and shark, and happy to see they didn’t seem to be selling anything less than 6 inches long. This contrasts with Sooutheast Asia where they fish bomb, rake up everything that floats to the top, and sell it no matter how small, like one inch.
Today I went to Elephanta Island. That’s an island about one hour’s ride west of the city where there are World Heritage Site 6th and 7th century Hindu cave scultures. It was common, especially at that time and a few centuries before and after, to make statues and reliefs out of the backs of caves. Some caves, like on Elephanta, are not much more than recesses in the rock. Others, like Ajanta, are in deep caves, and require a flashlight to see. I’m going to Aurangabad tomorrow night to look at the caves of Ajanta and Ellora. You’ll be seeing more pictures like this, so I’ll only show a couple at this time.
Actually, if you’ve seen or know about these cave sculptures, you will know that this is really a spectacular example, remarkable well preserved and of artistic merit. This picture does not do the detail merit. In these caves, it’s this particular relief that got Elephanta listed as a World Heritage Site.
Here’s a closer look at one of the other images in the cave.
As I said, I’m shoving off to see other cave sites. I’m sure there will be internet access in Aurangabad. So, I’ll talk to you in a couple of days. Be well.
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