Study India Mumbai

2009-09-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

Programme Overview

For Christmas last year I received on request from my parents a copy of international bestseller Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts epic biog-novel about his time as a fugitive, living in the slums of 1980s Bombay. This conveniently coincided with the release of Danny Boyle’s now infamous Slumdog Millionaire. The power and popularity of these two pieces of art I felt was the product of a passion evoked in both artists by Mumbai itself. Boyle’s and Roberts’ respective depictions of the city engrained themselves vividly in my imagination and left me with a burning desire to visit Mumbai.

When, therefore, I received an email from the study abroad department at my University, offering a three week, all expenses paid for, educational exchange to Mumbai, I leapt at the chance and my application was submitted the next day.

I was offered a place along with 99 other undergraduates from universities across Britain and so we found ourselves on the 22nd August, weary-eyed and jetlagged but buzzing with excitement, in the foyer of the four star West End Hotel, South Mumbai.

The Study India Programme, the product of the combined efforts of Kings College London, the University of Birmingham and the British Council has been designed to introduce young Brits to India in the hope that stronger ties are made between the two nations in the future. The programme was officially opened at the HR College of Finance and Commerce on the following Monday afternoon, where we were warmly welcomed by HR’s student ambassadors, the principal of HR and an Indian buffet dinner followed by an impressive display of traditional and contemporary Indian dance.

The pre-departure programme had promised the ‘full Indian experience’ with lectures at the college about Ghandi, Mumbai, the Indian language, economy and popular culture and an insight into manifestations of pre-modernity in India which was to include lessons in yoga, visits to museums and trips to sights of historical significance.

Day 1 proved controversial as we sat through a detailed overview of the Indian economy including its institutions and bureaucratic setup. It was jargon heavy and most of us, without academic backgrounds in economics, were ill-equipped to follow what was being said. We feared this lecture might set the tone for the whole programme, which was after all being arranged by a college of economics and commerce.

Thankfully that was not the case and we were re-engaged by a lecture on the social problems facing multi-cultural and multi-religious Mumbai and how India’s caste system is fading in significance as India surges towards modernity. The afternoon was spent on the coaches as we did a whistle stop guided tour of some of Mumbai’s sights of attraction; India gate, a Jain Temple and the Ghandi museum were definite highlights.

Day 2 began with a fascinating lecture on Ghandi, which bravely bi-passed the events surrounding independence and instead went into Ghandi’s philosophical approach to life and the basics of Ghandian economics. This proved to be a much more enriching approach and a spontaneous question and answer session was enjoyed at the end culminating in the lecturer expressing her frustration that Ghandi’s principles have not been adhered to at all in India since Independence. The afternoon was spent at the Mumbai stock exchange where three employees, and experts in their fields, broke down the internal functioning of both the exchange and the Indian economy into manageable pieces. The third speaker took the ‘two way dialogue’ approach and engaged us in a debate about the way India is developing. Very quickly the dialogue became a heated debate focussing overwhelmingly on the poverty we were seeing in Mumbai. This became a trend over the next few days as we increasingly felt that HR was showing off the best that India had to offer, without addressing what was to our mind the most striking difference between Mumbai and the UK; the extent and severity of the poverty. Having never seen whole families with babies, sleeping on the streets, old men with dislocated limbs hobbling about on makeshift crutches, five year old children tapping taxi windows begging for food with a hand to mouth gesture, and people with various other ailments, sitting on the streets begging outside Bombay Hospital and seemingly not receiving any aid from the state, the poverty rather than the prosperity of India’s middle and upper classes was what was dominating dinner time conversation. Having said this, the extent of the wealth in the upper classes also surprised us as we paid more than any of us UK students were used to, for entry into the clubs and bars we frequented in the evenings. There was seemingly no mid-range in Mumbai.

After trips to the British council, Hindi lessons, a very entertaining ‘Hollywood Stock Exchange’ game put on by HR volunteers, and trips to the Whistling Woods film school and a Nature Reserve, which wrapped up week one, we began Week Two. Week two addressed the poverty head on and all our queries about the inequality we were seeing in Mumbai were answered. We were each allocated to one of ten NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) for the week and were sent into the world of Mumbai’s ‘other half’. Groups went to an Aids and HIV clinic, a mental health establishment, brothels in the slums, schools in the slums, an institute of the deaf and deafblind, a rehabilitation establishment for the slums’ disenchanted school dropouts, and a unit for children with cancer. The NGOs were keen to show off these grim realities of Mumbai and all the students were humbled to see the hard work that was being done to counteract the crippling inequality of developing India. Credit must be given to HR College for showing us this side of Mumbai in such an explicit, no non-sense way.

The lasting memory of Mumbai for the British students will be of a universally warm and welcoming Indian people, a tolerant society with strong community spirit and a rich history and culture. Our exposure to Indian music, dance and religious practice, provided by our hosts, HR College, will leave India and Mumbai firmly in our thoughts and excited about return trips in the future.

(Jack Chapman)

2009-09-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Day 9

Our first full day on placement with an NGO based in Mumbai. Along with four others I am with Perana, an organisation who work with 2nd and 3rd generation children of prostitutes in Mumbai's notorious red-light districts. Having been to one of Perana's centres in Kamathipura yesterday, we went to another centre in the Falkland Road area this morning. After an informative but disturbing talk with one of Perana's staff about the trafficking of women from Bengal and Bangladesh and the treatment of the women by their pimps and brothel owners, we went for a community visit. The staff do these twice a day, and thus are well known within the red light areas. The staff took us up to one of the brothels. Only girls were allowed in. In a tiny, square room four single beds were pushed against the walls. The were where the women work, sleep and live.

In the afternoon we visited the government Child Welfare Centre, of which there are two in Mumbai. Here around 450 children were housed while the committee decides whether to return then to their parents or place them in a government care institution. These children have been rescued from child labour, forced begging or prostitution during police raids. We were shown the Ganpati that the children had made and decorated for the Ganpati festival. The boys got us chairs, gave us food and watched curiously. The girls, who are in a separate compound, either bounded over to us eagerly ass we entered or watched shyly from a distance.

From the harsh realities of life for some of Mumbai's most unfortunate residents we were whisked away by air conditioned coach to a dinner reception at the exclusive International Cricket Club. Following a traditional temple dance performance and speeches by some eminent figures involved in the organisation of the programme, we ate a delicious Indian buffet dinner and engaged in conversation with our Indian counterparts. Fitting for Mumbai, it was truly a day of contrasts.

(Claire Turner)

2009-08-30T19:06:00.001-07:00

Day 6 and 7

Our first weekend free in Mumbai was really good. We started by visiting jehangir art gallery, which housed a very interesting modern art exhibition. Afterwards we headed to Bhandra a lively district of the city where young people tend to hang out. We went for lunch at a Bombay Blue, one of Bhandra's most popular eateries. We then shopped around Bhandra market, which was really vibrant and bustling. We bought loads of clothes and did alot of haggling. We returned on the train which was really cheap at only 6 rupees. On Sunday we went to the National Gallery of Modern Art which is currently exhibiting a project called 'Soak' about Mumbai throughout history and its potential in the future with regard to its relationship with the sea and monsoons. Afterwards we met up with two girls from the H.R. College for lunch on Colaba Causeway and went shopping. The shopping at Colaba was more successful than at Bhandra, much better for tourists. It was really nice to have some time free to explore the city and hang out with the college girls who are so lovely.

(Natasha and Hannah)

2009-08-26T23:04:00.000-07:00

Day 3

Wednesday morning brought an opportunity to participate in a mock stock exchange at the HR College. "The Hollywood Exchange" swapped actors for companies in a game that not only required economic skill but a detailed knowledge of Brad Pitt's film history and personal life.

After lunch we were back in the classroom for a question and answer session with the General Manager of the RBI, (Reserve Bank of India). The time we spent with the manager was very interesting and insightful; providing us with a glimpse of how Indian finance systems operate.

In the afternoon we travelled to the RBI monetary museum. The trip showed us the history of the coins and cash of India used from the ancient civilisations right up to the present day. The group went back to the hotel for diner.

By the evening, we had split into several large groups that returned to different places across Churchgate and Colaba. I myself relaxed with a mint sheesha on the room of the Gulf Hotel. It was a chilled out way toy to end a very busy day.

(Liam Hopkins)

2009-08-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Day 2 -

Today was the first day of the lectures and we all had to be ready for 9am, as quite a few of us woke up it was a close call. We hurried and got ready and had breakfast, and so the day began...

The first lecture was ‘The financial structure of the Indian economy’ many of us found it very difficult to relate to the lecture as many of us weren’t from and economic or accounting/business and it showed in our concentration levels. We then had a brief overview of Mumbai as a whole in the next lecture. (Mumbai: A cosmopolitan city) we looked at the ways in which Mumbai is diverse.

We then had lunch, in preparation for our city wide tour. We got on the coaches and headed for the Gate Way of India, I managed to take pics of the outside of the Taj Mahal Hotel. The next stop was a converted house of a friend of Mahatma Ghandi. Ghandi had stayed there for a little while and now it houses a lot of Ghandi’s books and articles he worked with. We the made our way to the Laundering district which was very large and busy, We then visited the Jain Temple which was sacred and many beautifully crafted, ornate statues, we had to take our shoes of as a mark of respect. Our final stop was the Hanging Gardens of Mumbai, which housed animals cut from hedges, a giant yellow shoe. We were able to see real-life bats flying up above. After taking a group photo in front skyline we headed back to the hotel with free energy drinks given to us by 'Red Bull' Reps.

(Sam Evbuomwan)

2009-08-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

Day 1 -

Having arrived throughout Saturday and Sunday today was the first day we had a chance to mix together as a group. We spent quite a slow (and jet lagged) morning, most people meeting up at lunch time in the hotel restaurant. There was a wide range of Indian food, as well as some western favourites such as pasta and a version of cauliflower cheese, although they all had a definite Indian twist and didn’t taste quite as expected, but were enjoyed nevertheless!
We then spent the afternoon trying to apply for Indian sim cards, with the help of an Indian student from the H.R College. We were all very surprised at the amount of paperwork involved, and the need for information such as husband/father’s name, copies of passport, visa and a photo. We all had a lot of trouble with getting our signatures right. They had to match exactly the signatures on our passports, and some people spent a lot of time trying to get it right without much success!

After this we made our way to the inauguration of the programme at the H.R College, and we were made to feel very welcome, with the local students placing red powder on our heads, and throwing orange flowers over us as we walked in. We were given a number of introductory speeches by the programme co-ordinators in Mumbai, as well as from representatives of the British Council and High Commission, and from King’s College. After the ceremony and the unveiling of the programme sign we were invited up to the terrace to watch a cultural performance put on for us by the local students. The first dance we saw was amazing; very fast and energetic with the students dressed in colourful traditional costume. The men had their faces painted blue and it made quite an impact. We were also treated to a number of signing performances, including the national anthem, and a ‘hip hop’ style dance. After the performances we were given dinner at the college, and the food was excellent, with a lot of Indian dishes for us to choose from, as well as kulfi ice cream for pudding. After posing for a few group photos we all made our way back to the hotel. A number of us went out in the evening to a few bars, to socialise more with the programme members, and we all seemed to end up in the same bar at the end of the evening, despite having headed off in separate groups. On the way home some of us bartered successfully with the taxi drivers, and managed to get our fare calculated from the meter, instead of the high fixed price a number were offering. For a number of us this was the first opportunity we had to go out in India, and so it was difficult seeing some of the people begging, and speaking to the taxi driver who explained how he worked very hard away from his family in order to save money to provide for them. It is interesting learning about the culture, but the huge differences with Europe are very striking.

(Alex Webster)