I saw the Gateway of India, a behomath monument built for one of the British queens just on the Bay, and the nearby Taj hotel (above photo), a truly beautiful structure built by a Parsi in spite, after the Brits wouldn't allow "a native" into one of their own luxury hotels. Make no doubts this is a very luxorious place. They had pictures of such guests as John and Yoko Lennon, Bill Clinton (in Indian dress), Jacques Chirac, and others. The Irish Prime Minister and delegation are staying there now and I actually saw him while standing outside the loo. There was a hilarious photo of him and other cabinent leaders, with their wives, standing on a beach and wearing Indian khurtas and saris. It was like a scene from a strange Bollywood movie! W. Bush will be staying here March 1-3. Heard rumors the advance security team is taking up many rooms this week already. Also had some delicious food along the way and checked out the market stalls.
Then chanced my way into an old synogoge and was greeted by an older Indian man inside. I asked him how long he traced his own family's Judiasm, thinking the British Raj must have somehow been involved. To my shock, he said 2,200 years!!! I was to find out that the Indian Jewry really does go back that far (the Old Testament actually makes reference to India). Two sects from around that time have been historically established, the older one called Bene Israel. Other Indian Jews trace their ancestory from 1-2 centuries back, from the Middle East. I met one elderly man whose grandparents came from Iraq. And many now had children or grandchildren settled in Israel. I drank some chai with this one man and marvelled at seeing this truly Jewish and yet truly Indian man before me.
After leaving I added to my foreign country haircut list by visiting a barber and getting a trim. After it was over he offered to give me a head-massage that ended up being like a very exotic interpretation of a noogie. It left me more than a little perplexed but also, strangely enough, invigorated. I later stopped inside a "Vipassana hotel" I'd heard about and then, while crossing a street, felt a tap no my chest and looked up to see Louis, a French Canadian I knew from Toronto! He had been at Dhamma Giri for some time and was in their Pali workshop. We went to a cafe and I got a fresh lime soda as we caught up.
After that I decided to head back to the synagoge for Friday night services. Very traditional-- women on the top level and men below as Hebrew was recited. Jet lag was kicking in somewhat now and I was wondering if I should have given myself a rest-- as it turned out, I'm glad I didn't! After the prayer session ended, the rabbi invited us all to his home for a Friday shabbat meal. I spoke with some members of a New York tour group before leaving-- they were on a two week tour called "India through Jewish Eyes." We walked a kilometer or so and past the Taj again to go to the Rabbi's rooftop apartment that overlooked the Bay and the ships on the water. An amazing Jewish food spread was laid out as I met Jews from Israel, Holland, UK, Hawaii, and other places. Many were in India through an American organization that provided young Jews with community service in NGOs in developing countries.
The meal was long, interspersed with various prayers and stories in English and Hebrew. The rabbi and one of the New York members apparently seemed to question my commitment, offering some pointed advice and leading questions at times. They seemed pretty skeptical of what kind of first name I was carrying and I didn't bother to offer up the last...! What they would have thought of that! The rabbi cautioned us against being in a country of idol-worshippers and exhorted us to start conversations telling the locals that our One God has explained this is not correct, and the New Yorker encouraged me not to search in a quest of other cultures in place of my own. I smiled and thought something like be happy. :) The rabbi, through the night, liberally adminstered shots and small glasses from the 2-liter bottle of Chivas Regal he was holding-- ah, rites and rituals, and everything in between!
But what can I say, what a special opportunity and what an experience. It reminded me of one Paris night I was standing on the corner and was similarly invited to a shabbat meal.
Bombay certainly is a different city than that of the north-- I enjoy it. :) Less hassles, less wild and scary packs of dogs, less scams (though still the random whisperers trying to hawk you drugs from time to time). I leave here after the weekend to go to Igatpuri and Dhamma Giri/Tapovan. Still no word if Goenkaji will be there. But it should be very quiet with a 45 day course going on at the site in the meantime. Today I went to the Prince of Wales museum, another absolutely fantastic British building that left me in awe at every turn. Some of the exhibits were in typically Indian style rather wasting away behind dust or dirt, some 2000 years old art wasn't protected in any way. The only thing security seemed to care about is if you took a photo without first paying the 30 rupee charge. The most fascinating thing for me here were the Buddhist sculptures about 600 years after his death. Below a photo of sun setting just outside my room...
And some ice cream waiters-- labor costs are so cheap here, usually adds up to dozens of people being employed and not having much to do but play Centerball most of the time...
For photos of Bombay, click here!
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