2012-04-19 09:54
Book Review: Last Man In Tower by Aravind AdigaIt was a curious sensation, reading this novel. Had it been specifically written, I wondered, for me to read? It was one of those novels… Read More
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An Englishman In Mumbai Blog
englishmaninmumbai.blogspot.com
The experiences of an Englishman who has now left Mumbai (aka Bombay) after living there for a while until 2008 and loving it.
*** A record of being between two cultures, and struggling to understand both from both points of view.
*** Philosophy? To reflect without prejudice or favour on what I see, of interest to me, in the city.
*** Written for: those intrigued by the differences between this land and my homeland; and Indians curious to read an outsider’s view.
2012-01-14 14:21
This is the story of a boy from the village, who becomes a driver, is sickened by India's rich class, murders his master, and yet then ‘graduates’ to become one of the "India Shi… Read More
2012-01-14 13:05
In the fairy-tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes, everyone pretended that the king was fully clothed when in fact he was naked. It was a sort of mass delusion. Something similar it seems… Read More
2011-11-25 15:19
Books about the ‘real’ Mumbai/Bombay are less available than one might think for such a major and interesting city.I thought Gillian Tindall’s one (City Of Gold) was fascin… Read More
2011-11-19 12:12
As you go around in a different culture, many things that were puzzling to you at first either become explained or … well, you just get used to them. You accept them.In fact, you acce… Read More
2011-11-08 20:16
Let me introduce you to a phenomenon that afflicts people from Mumbai when they travel elsewhere – it’s particularly related to ex-pats (like me, when we go back to Britain). It… Read More
2010-12-28 23:51
The trick (for me) in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was to spot the join in the fusion of author Vikas Swarup’s idea of India and director Danny Boyle’s idea of India. Yo… Read More
2008-11-15 08:49
There are many stray dogs in Mumbai, most of which have a proprietorial air despite their starved and down-at-hell looks. They compete for the same food and resources (I suppose) as the… Read More
2008-10-07 22:42
I know this is entirely predictable, but sometimes that traditional heterosexual male in me just WON’T be suppressed…. so it came to me that there just seems to be no contest o… Read More
2007-09-14 18:21
It’s said that the Eskimos of the Arctic regions live and work so much with snow that they have over fifty-two words with which to describe it. If this is true, then visitors to Mumba… Read More
2007-09-14 18:04
It is early July 2007. On the way to the village of Sumur in the region of Ladakh, driving across the rocky desert plain, we see men constructing a simple prayer gate across the road. It co… Read More
2007-09-14 17:57
Living as a foreigner, in any society I suppose and not just Mumbai, means that life is just one long series of startling revelations. Because you are learning from scratch, you are constant… Read More
2007-09-14 17:52
Though Bombay is a city that is all-inclusive, that does not mean that there are not quite firm divisions between communities. These different communities may meet and barter on the street w… Read More
2007-09-10 15:58
If there’s one thing I have not got used to while living here it’s eating with my fingers. None of my Indian friends makes a big deal of my choice, and I think they even prefer… Read More
2007-09-10 15:55
I’ve been living here over a year now, but sometimes it takes another person’s view to make you see properly what’s been in front of your own eyes all this time.By a weirdl… Read More
2007-08-31 17:47
It’s hard to explain this, but sometimes one gets tricked by Mumbai’s own description of itself. Mumbaikers, rich or poor, are so, well, self-conscious of their place on the glob… Read More
2007-08-17 18:41
I must admit it was the oddest thing – while the world celebrated a very significant Indian Independence Day (“Sixty Years of Freedom!”), Mumbai remained, er, silent.And, w… Read More
2007-06-21 11:01
Mumbai – whatever you think of it – can never be described as sterile. Most of it has all the life and hustle of a city bursting at the edges, and is almost overwhelming.But the… Read More
2007-06-21 10:56
I had only been in the city a short time, when I went to the far north end of Mumbai, to a slightly touristy seaside resort called Uttan. After a late afternoon shack-meal, I went to rest on… Read More
2007-06-06 08:18
If anything is confusing to the long-term visitor in Mumbai, it’s the question of sex.Within weeks of my arriving here, it became clear that, in public, Mumbaikers generally like to be… Read More
2007-05-17 18:08
In England, I like sometimes to send a parcel of T-shirts and books to my nephews in Italy. I put the stuff in a small cardboard box, wrap it in brown paper, take it to any post office, sig… Read More
2007-05-17 18:06
There is a political joke here, which goes like this...Q. What's the difference between American democracy and Indian democracy?A. In America, you can kiss in public, but not pee in public… Read More
2007-05-17 16:25
Every morning at seven, I get up to look at my view of the sea. In a high-rise I may live, but it does overlook the Harbour bay of Bombay, and at that time the sun is reflecting off the wat… Read More
2007-05-04 08:31
One should never be confused by Mumbai’s international status into thinking that it is an international city where international behaviour applies.For instance – in Mumbai, stari… Read More
2007-05-01 11:11
On arriving in Mumbai’s arts quarter, one of the most powerful prods to the imagination of the visitor is the sight of a beautiful domed building hidden away in its grounds, behind hig… Read More
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