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January, 2000

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Lonely Planet describes Mumbai (formerly Bombay), "Mumbai is the glamour of Bollywood cinema, cricket on the maidans on weekends, bhelpuri on the beach at Chowpatty and red double-decker buses. It is also the infamous cages of the red-light district, Asia's largest slums, communalist politics and powerful mafia dons." I add to that description - horrendous traffic. While sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highway, a person passed us on the back of an elephant, which gives a whole new meaning to the H.O.V. lane. At night, Nupur showed me the town. While sitting at a bar we saw an Indian soap opera star. I can't recognize American soap stars, so I had no idea. Apparently, Mumbai is India's version of LA - a lot of glamourous stars walking around.
Mumbai.
(Left) Blending in with the local scene. (Right) Near the elephant caves, a famous site in Mumbai, Nupur and I decided the local village could be more interesting. We met some nice people who showed us their homes. This man was a leading member of the village - he shared his house with an over-extended family, at least 12 people lived in his house.