Mumbai, Day 2
- At August 27, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
0
Slightly exhausted from last night's reveling we woke up early to attend a Mumbai Mela. A "mela" can best be described as a cross between a folkloric and a bar mitzvah.
It was great fun! Colorful entertainment, turban tying, bangle making, henna painting, and more.
We rushed back to the ship to shower and eat lunch then off to what was billed as a custom tour of private art collections and high tea at the Taj Mahal Hotel.
Upon returning to the pier, we had the following conversation :
Jessica: I wonder what happened to all the dogs we saw last night.
Eberhard: Check your lunch.
Our first stop after lunch (chicken, not dog) was the city's arts district. There are many cultural institutions here, such as the National Gallery, Institute of Science, and Prince of Wales Museum. The architecture is a mix of Victorian Gothic (late 19th c) mixed with Art Deco (early 20th c). The Prince of Wales Museum was built in 1904 for the then POW's 1905 visit. We saw art and artifacts very steeped in Hinduism. No private art collections. Duped again.
Then we headed to the Taj Mahal Hotel for high tea. Taj = crown, Mahal = palace. The story goes that Jamshetji Tata, an Indian salt, cotton, and opium tycoon was turned away by all the elegant hotels in Bombay despite his vast wealth and prominence. During colonial times these hotels posted the following notice: Dogs and Indians not allowed. He decided he would build his own hotel. The Taj, opened in 1903, was the first Indian-owned hotel in Bombay, the first building in Bombay to have electricity, and the first licensed bar in Bombay (the latter not until 1946.)
Tata traveled around Europe, cherry-picking the best each country had to offer, such as elevators from Germany. The current management proudly boasted that its German equipment is still functioning. Eberhard could say the same.
Lots of famous people stayed here from Alfred Hitchcock to Barack Obama.
George Harrison got guitar lessons from Ravi Shankar here.
This really is the trip of a lifetime. If our ashes are strewn in the Ganges River think we get to do it again?
Not planning to test that theory any time soon!
