it rained all day and night.

until this past week (from thursday on) i had been working on a nice tan, thanks to doxycycline and the abundance of sunshine that the locals were blaming on global warming.
there was really no rain in mumbai, or in the majority of the state, for almost a month following the first initial weekend of downpour. its been hot, humid, and blazingly sunny.
perhaps the monsoon is back? its been pouring since thursday.
this weekend is the three year anniversary of the horrible rains that devastated mumbai in 2005, killing over 400 people and accruing over 3 million (usd) in damages. there has been press recently debating the city's preparation if such a disaster should occur again. researching the water distribution system has led to lots of tangents on disaster management, stormwater management, and sea levels. not to mention daydreaming about large scale ecological disasters. basically, mumbai should not exist in the state it does: its a city of reclaimed land that has been filled in from a chain of seven islands.

improper drainage, shifting of natural river beds, and depletion of essential wetlands has only reinforced the fact that its a miracle that the city has not fared worse. but these practices show no signs of stopping. the last remaing parcels of open land are being developed, mangroves are to be cleared to make room for transit connections to navi mumbai, and there is a continual mission to de-silt and widen the mithi river. sometimes the similarity to what was done to new orleans is scary.
it makes one wonder how long the present state will last. and if there were to be another massive cloud and meter of rain, how would the city respond? that would be the immediate disaster. project the current rise in tides into the next 10/20/30 years and what will the city look like?

hit or miss?

its been a while. now its time for dessert.

gelato italiano. i will happily eat frozen desert any time of the day. and in quantities that make me blush. india has been good for this. its too hot to buy it at the grocery, and servings are nice and small, therefore consumption is limited to absolute necessity. and almost exclusively at ice cream shops. although most places will pack 'take away parcel' or deliver. which seemed like such a good idea on a rainy night with hours of work ahead. gelato italiano is conveniently located around the corner from the office. the quantity of free samples usually makes up for the less than amazing taste, and in this case, location is a hit.
oh no gelato. i do love that you packed my two small cups neatly, and even stuck them in the deep freezer for the walk home, and i love that you had yogurt wildberry, and that the fer rocher was not terrible.
but i do not love flies. i do not love them especially when they are disguised in berry swirl.
damn you gelato. what was once borderline is now most definitely a miss.



ps. your competitor, naturals, is far superior. in every way.

philly pulls a mumbai.

the public utility and infrastructure sytems in mumbai are definitely curious.
one of the most eye-opening situations ive had here, as a concerned citizen, is that the reason there are so few public dust bins is that they are typicaly stolen and re-sold on the grey market. same with light posts, and manhole covers. according to the times of india, more than 1500 manhole covers have been lifted from the streets and each would sell for about 5500 rs, about 130 usd. its scary enough that the manhole covers are officially opened during times of flooding (with no warning, no marker, walk at your own risk) but the city would obviously intend to put them back. stealing them is another matter. its pretty scary to walk down a street in knee deep water not knowing if there is road to step on.
so it was sort of alarming to read this about philadelphia. it seems that no place is really immune to the opportunities of the high price of metal these days. fingers are pointing at china, but after the olympic building rush, will this behavior even stop? it seems like a pretty good racket. if there were any left on my street...

busywork.

so this next month will be a slight change of pace, and shift in focus. (although its part of a transition already in place). my host org has some events coming up that will hopefully encourage a public discourse on development issues concerning mumbai's eastern waterfront. the eastern waterfront was a site for a studio class in graduate school, one of my favorites, and in many ways, the reason i am in mumbai today.
the debate on what to do with 1800 acres of under-used land (owned by the bombay port trust, and largest continuous open land area in the island city), has been in and out of the media, interest group propaganda, public events for almost a decade. the key players are developers, port representatives, bureaucrats, preservationists and environmentalists, as well as academic institutions (the site has been the target of student focus over the years).
and i should also add local residents, but unfortunately they are rarely invited, or even notified of these supposedly public fora. and not that many people live there, as the land is honestly sparsely developed.
there are compelling arguments on all sides.
im looking forward to it.

sirens and clouds.

after a long hiatus, the clouds are back.
not recurring were the morning sirens, a sound i dont remember hearing in mumbai before. its strange not to hear what i would normally consider to be a fairly standard city noise. then again, this is not the standard city.
anyway, on a moderately related tangent, the disaster management plan for individual wards of mumbai, and the city whole, can be looked over here.
its an interesting read, defining areas of probable flooding, population situated in land slide zones, water timings, and solid waste disposal networks.
ive only witnessed a fire truck in action once, and have never seen a police vehicle in hot pursuit, except in movies. i honestly dont know how an ambulance would get through the traffic here. all of which makes the term 'disaster' somehow relative.
its a rain boot kind of day.

i miss home.

today the new york times had this guy in the top headlines, complete with picture:

"'The Jersey tomato is a nondescript red, round tomato,” said Mr. Rabin. “And I use nondescript as a term of respect.'

Is there nothing unique about the legendary Jersey tomato? Ask seven New Jersey farmers and you get the same answer: a perfect balance of sweet and acid. But everything from lemonade to lollipops can be described that way."

we used to grow tomatoes in the backyard. it was always fun to mix up the dirt, give them their stakes and cages to stand up, and watch them grow. to this day, i have never tasted tomatoes as delicious as the ones out of that backyard garden. the simple, plain, standard ones that we got every year, nothing fancy, just all tomato. and they grew so well that we would have endless salads, grilled tomatoes, fresh tomato sauce, blt's, etc. and they tasted so good it was hard to eat anything else.
to the city's credit, i have not really had a bad tomato in mumbai. but i really wouldnt mind digging around in the dirt and having one of these again.

three is a crowd

bang BANG

the walk home today was punctuated by air rifles.
i thought wedding season was over? its been a while since ive seen colorful bunting and party lights. and i miss it.

a week or so ago, the mirror reported that the cooperage ground will be available for weddings now. apparently the residents association had complained about noise in the past, so it was off limits for a while. but its a lovely place for a wedding, and if youre willing to spend the Rs, noise regulations can be overlooked.

so i guess it will be a kaleidoscope of lights, fireworks, and marching bands from now on.
and gunshots.

je suis américaine

how to have a celebration of independence*

have a fantastic breakfast of toast, coffee, and girl talk.
speak at an orientation session for indian students getting ready to study abroad in the states.
talk about roomates, snow, and 'use your best judgement'.
listen to questions about pressure cookers, luggage, and picking up the bill.
get an unexpected bonus, then blow it, american style, playing consumer on the causeway.
drink chai inside a parsi baug, and eat grilled paneer on the street, then drink cold kingfisher while listening to rock of the early nineties.


wake up early and clean house. by yourself.
find a drycleaner. then find a tailor that directs you down an alley, around a corner, to a jean mender.
know that next week, the best blue jeans ever will be fixed.
buy the world calling card with the special american rate.
work at work.
explain to colleagues that yes, america was once under british rule as well.
join a gym on the way home.
take a train to the 'burbs for unlimited grilled skewers.
talk about what its like to live in india.
crave a good slice of watermelon... or, even better, a s'more.
eat gulab jamun instead.
and save the fireworks for next month.

*over two days

13 days

on 9th june, the united states consulate published a warning to all american citizens in mumbai to stay clear of flood zones, the sea face, streets with open manholes, and rain:

Dear American citizens: The monsoon has arrived in western India, and Mumbai is experiencing the season's storms. With these come the possibility of heavy flooding. Heavy rains and associated winds can, at times, have the same intensity as a tropical storm. The rains during monsoon are significant and, in July 2005, led to heavy loss of life. You should follow common sense precautions, avoiding low-lying areas that appear to be flooded. Also be extremely cautious when driving or walking during flood periods. To ease flooding in Mumbai, Bombay Municipal Corporation workers will open manhole covers on roads, and there may be no markers. Tree branches upright on streets sometimes serve as caution signals. In reduced visibility conditions, you could drive into one of these open manholes. You should also pay attention when walking, since sidewalks are non-existent in some areas or used for other purposes in most parts of the city. It's possible that you could inadvertently step into an open manhole.

During the monsoon, most flooding occurs during high tide. Mumbai's drainage system is designed to run off into the Arabian Sea. If a major storm occurs during high tide, the rainfall backs up and flooding occurs. Particular concern should be paid during the days listed in the table below. During these 13 days, high tide is expected to raise water levels over four meters (13 feet) and, if there is heavy rain, the possibility of the city flooding is very high. Sluice gates, which funnel floodwaters from the city to the sea, are also closed on these days, increasing the possibility of flooding if there are heavy rains. Please be alert if there are heavy rains during the afternoons.

THE 13 DANGEROUS DAYS OF MONSOON

DATE	TIME	WAVE (Height of the wave in meters)
2 July 2008	1152 hours	4.57
3 July 2008	1237 hours	4.74
4 July 2008	1325 hours	4.83
5 July 2008	1410 hours	4.84
6 July 2008	1454 hours	4.75
7 July 2008	1537 hours	4.57
1 Aug 2008	1220 hours	4.68
2 Aug 2008	1302 hours	4.8
3 Aug 2008	1341 hours	4.79
4 Aug 2008	1420 hours	4.65
30 Aug 2008	1158 hours	4.59
31 Aug 2008	1220 hours	4.66
1 Sep 2008	1307 hours	4.58

the bmc took offense at the press release, suggesting that the consulate was invoking unnecessary alarm.

on 12th june, reuters published this:
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation rejected the statement, and said it had e-mailed the U.S. consulate on Wednesday stating it had cast the city in a bad light.
Jairaj Phatak, the municipal commissioner, estimates that 10 people or fewer have died in such a manner in recent years.
Elizabeth Kauffman, a spokeswoman for the consulate, said they did not mean to hurt anyone's feelings. The consulate has since added a single sentence to its online advisory, saying open manholes are sometimes marked with tree branches.

sorry mumbai, but ive never been so alarmed to see the condition of the ground under the water. walking to churchgate knee-deep in runoff was fine. it was walking back after the water had drained that scared me. open gutters, missing pavers, uncovered manholes, rubbish that i dont really need to detail, loose planks of wood... not the best adventure for a saturday afternoon.