My last bog, I left off feeling jet lagged, a little lost,
and eager to begin my new adventure here in India. So much has happened, since
I landed in this fascinating country, and I am going to try my best to sum
everything up in the most simple and brief way, although I could write a book
about everything I’ve experienced so far. First let me say that the 3 other
participants in my program are amazing. 2 are from New York City, and 1 is from
London. The beautiful thing about out group, is that we are all in the same
stages of life and around the same age. Our common passion for giving back to
the community, has established a strong sense of family amongst us. I know I
will be friends with them forever.
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| Ben, Emily, Tanya, and I at Leopolds. Yes, that is a "pint" of beer. |
This week has been
intensive orientation week, where we are meeting with key figures both in the
Jewish community, and within the Gabriel Project. We have also begun training
on how to teach the children in the slums, and in addition, have started Hindi
classes. Our program director Jacob has been showing us the ins and outs of
Mumbai, and his hospitality and passion for our success here in this foreign
land, has been incredible. I mentioned the chaos of the traffic in my previous
blog. There are no lanes here, nor road rules to follow. Basically this means that
people walk in the middle of traffic all the time, and cars nearly scrape each
other. It may seem like there would be numerous accidents, but there isn’t. I
have become adjusted to walking in the middle of traffic, and riding
comfortably in a taxi without feeling like we are going to crash. The loud
honking and chaos of the roads, has almost become white noise to me now.
I also mentioned the severity of the poverty here in Mumbai,
and sadly I am becoming less affected by it, on a daily basis. There are lots
of beggars here, that will follow you asking for money, food, and anything
else. I have learned it is best to ignore them, because many of the beggars do
not directly receive the money. The money often is given to the higher up
people the beggars work for. Children
will stop you in traffic, and women will rent babies, to make you feel guilty
into giving them money. The best thing you can do, is give the beggars food
because, they are likely to keep it for themselves.
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| Daharvi Slum |
While in the topic of
poverty, I will discuss our trip to the largest slum in Asia, and one of the
largest in the world called Daharvi slum. Dharvi is a commercial slum, where
products are developed there and exported into the city. Many workers in the
slums, come from rural areas of India, where literacy and education is not
needed to complete the work. Workers in this slum must work 10-12 hours each
day, and make roughly 1,000 rupees per month which is equivalent to 16 dollars.
Those who live in houses, must pay rent, and taxes which ends up being half
their salary with little left to put food on the table. The government provides
electricity and water to the legal slums. Workers will often sleep in their
working quarters, because they can’t afford to live in a “home”, and they
cannot afford to miss any hour of work from transportation. Some of the raw materials produced at the slum
include plastic, leather, breads, pottery, and cloth.
The working conditions in this slum are very dangerous as
toxic fumes, unsanitary water, and lack of toilets, are rampid. 1 toilet is shared by hundreds of workers.
These conditions are why the life expectancy in the slums is very low. The
workers, report to the owners of the business within the slum. The organization
of the slum is similar to a city within city, and it’s amazing how consistent
and proficient the slum workers are in producing the raw materials. While the
conditions of the slum are horrific, there is a strong sense of community and
belonging there. I think the idea of a common struggle to survive, creates a
commitment to keeping a community safe and prosperous. There are high rise
apartments being built, for slum workers, which is a little better than the
residences inside the slums. However, the expense and lack of community, convinces
slum workers to remain in the slums. It’s fascinating, that a family would
rather live in a cramped room, in a dark narrow alleyway with no privacy, no
sanitation, than to be upgraded into an apartment without a community vibe. The slums are divided between a Muslim and
Hindu section. The Hindu section is “nicer” and more colorful than the Muslim
section. This is due to religious constraints towards Muslim women, who are not
allowed to work outside with men, and are limited in their roles within the
slums. Many of them have lots of children, which makes living situations more
difficult; I could write en entire book on slums, but I will switch to another
topic that is less heavy and more uplifting.
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| Typical Indian Food |
I am becoming obsessed with Indian food. Indian food is
amazing, and quite spicy. I can’t recall the names of each kind of food I have
tried, but generally Indian food is vegetarian. Flat breads, rice, spicy
sauces, and yummy beverages have spoiled our taste buds immensely. I have loved
every kind of food I have had here so far, and all of your senses literally
light up, when eating Indian food. It’s an amazing feeling. Walking the streets
is an experience within itself, when smelling the aroma of the open air cooking
and blending of Indian flavors. We have walked quite a bit these last few days,
touring the landscape and architecture of the city. Mumbai is a city of
diversity, both ethnically and religiously. I have seen Hindu temples, mosques,
synagogues, and Victorian architecture. It is important to remember that India
was once colonized by Britain, and therefore many aspects of British style, can
be seen throughout the city. In addition, I have noticed that when Indians
speak English, they sound a bit British. Most Indians speak English.
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| Hindu Temple |
The city of Mumbai is beautiful, despite the wealth gap and
prevalence of slums. The wealth gap here is defined by modern million dollar
buildings, being constructed on top of and next to slums. The Caste system can
still be recognized, as higher classes separate themselves from the lower
classes. Higher classes believe that
there is no need to give charity to the lower classes because of the concept of
Karma. Karma means that your current life situation is determined by your past
life, and one must work hard for a better life in the future. Being born into a
higher class, means there is no need to worry about the lower classes and there
is a feeling of entitlement. In modern
India, the separation of castes is more of a result of the importance of
belonging to a community where everyone is the same. There are so many
different kinds of communities, here, each with their own traditions, and
values. The beautiful thing I have seen here within the varying communities is
the common importance of community and family.
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| Mumbai Skyline |
I am so impressed and inspired by the Jewish community here.
While the community here is small and dispersed, there is still a strong
commitment to bringing Jews together. The Jewish Community Center of Mumbai,
has Hebrew school, Adult education classes, holiday celebrations, youth camps,
and social gatherings just like any other JCC in the world. This is all thanks
to American Joint Distribution Committee, which strives to sustain Global
Jewish life by providing funding and aid to Jewish communities worldwide. Most
of the Indian Jewish community in India has made Aliyah to Israel. But those
who are still here are actively engaged in Jewish life ranging from Tikkun
Olam, to attending Shabbat services, and spending time at the JCC. This past weekend, we attended services at a
Baghdadi Synagogue and had dinner at Chabad which was very
interesting. I recognized some of the prayers but most were orthodox style. The
Shul was absolutely stunning. Having Shabbat dinner at Chabad with Jews from
all over the world was rather comforting, many of whom were Israelis. I would
have never imagined there being a Jewish community in India, and I am very
impressed and inspired by their initiatives in helping to sustain Jewish life
here in Mumbai.
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| Jewish Community Center of Mumbai |
We had the privilege of volunteering with GPM volunteers,
all of whom are Jewish youth. We helped to teach children from the slums, the
importance of eating healthy fruits and the health benefits associated with the
fruits. In addition, we played games with them in a beautiful park by the sea.
These children have never seen an ocean before, and were amazed and excited
over things as simple as an airplane, and, helicopter. It was moving to me, to
watch these children so eager to learn the English language and to be engaged
with us foreigners. There is a high level of respect and admiration for
foreigners here, and Indians have honestly been some of the most genuine people
I have ever met. Their passion for education, and their hospitality, has
impressed me so much. Following the volunteer session, we headed over to the
JCC to learn some Bollywood dancing. Bollywood dancing is so much fun. We
absolutely loved, it, and let me tell you, we worked up a sweat. I guess I will
end this blog here, by saying that this experience has already been very eye
opening, and life changing for me. The people,
the culture, the land of India, have already found a special place in my heart,
and I can’t wait to see what the next 2 months will bring. Shalom for now.
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| Teaching the children about healthy fruits |
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