A Day at the Beach?!

Before I came to India, I must admit, I had no idea where exactly the city of Mumbai was located. Of course, once I realized I would be moving here, I took some time to educate myself on the location of the major cities here, as well as their alternate names. (i.e. Calcutta is now Kolkata, Madras is now Chennai, and Bombay is now Mumbai!) Since I know that many of you are probably about as well-versed in Indian geography as I was prior to my move, I will spare you some unnecessary “googling” and just tell you that Mumbai is located on the western coast of India. Yes, that’s right. I finally get to live on the coast! Up until now, I’ve only ever lived in Northern France, which allowed me only one brief visit to the French coastline, and in Texas, whose beaches, to be quite honest, leave a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, Mumbai’s ocean scene makes Texas’ look like the Caribbean! Famous for its ridiculously large crowds and obscene amount of trash, the beaches in Mumbai are not exactly conducive to traditional “beachy” activities. Add in the conservative dress of Indian culture, and all possibility of sun-bathing, sandcastle-building, and even swimming, go out the window.
That is not to say, however, that the beach here is not entertaining. I actually got to go to one this past weekend, and I had a really nice time. On Saturday, after classes, a few of my friends from the MSW Program took a bus with me to a fairly popular beach in town. We walked along the waterline, eating spicy roasted corn, while I took advantage of the opportunity to photograph as many interesting scenes as I could. (A beach is one of those rare places where my camera is not too terribly conspicuous. Since lots of other people were there taking photos, no one paid too much attention to “the white girl with the camera”.) While most of the people in my group did end up going into the sea, I decided to wait until my immunity had been built up at least a little more before chancing the murky waters. Instead, I had fun watching the women in their full saris wading up to their knees in the salt water, vendors selling neon-pink cotton candy, and desperate henna artists trying to convince tourists to try a cheap version of the traditional Indian temporary tattoos.

So, while I don’t envision that my living in Mumbai will result in a perpetual sun-kissed glow, nor will it allow me the opportunity to perfect my surfing skills, I am content to enjoy the Indian version of a day at the beach. Of course, if I ever get the chance to visit one of Asia’s more renowned beaches, (like Thailand, for example…) you better believe that I am taking it!