The news of a Buddhist monk being murdered in a town called Chembur, which is somewhere between here (Colaba) and Kharghar, was an incident that set up minor rioting/protesting in some small rural towns on Sunday. Things were lit on fire, but not a whole lot came of the protests.
This afternoon, we got a call from Rahim, saying that there were more riots today in Chembur, and that there may be some activity closer to us. We kept checking every news channel, but nobody was reporting any rioting anywhere. In fact, I've been checking the websites all evening, and still, no one is reporting anything.
Anyway, after Rahim called us to warn about possible riots in Bombay, my first natural instinct was to ask our family friend, Tushar, if he would take me to the major areas that we frequently go to so I could take pictures. And of course, the natural instinct of Shehnaz Aunty was to say 'NO.' She said to me, "What do I say to your dad if something happens to you? Where do I get another Ali?"
So I was under strict orders to stay in the house.
Until about 4pm when we needed to go to a section of town called Opera House to pay for a microwave that my aunt had ordered from the India Consumer Exhibition we had gone to on Sunday.
I guess the police felt like something might happen, so they were out directing traffic. And this was rush hour, so people were everywhere. It wasn't crazy, but it was crowded. After we paid for her microwave, we walked around and got some snacks from the stands on the side of the road. My aunt has always warned me not to take out my camera. She's scared someone will "flick" it. But I took it out while we were waiting for our orders to be made. Some people looked at me for a minute, trying to figure out what I was doing. Then I started taking photos of the guys making our food and they instantly took a liking to me. I started taking photos of this guy making this sweet thing which was covered in honey. They were fascinated by my camera and after I took each photo, I showed them the picture I had just taken. As I was walking away to go take more photos, the guy handed me a free sample. Pretty good stuff, although it was really sweet, even for me. My cousin told me the name of the food, but I forgot what it already. This photo is of the guy throwing the pastry into the honey batter.
After we got our orders from that side of the road, Samira and Tushar wanted to get some indian burgers from the other side of the road. That meant crossing a busy thoroughfare during rush hour. Kinda like frogger. The food they were getting was taking a while to make, so I told Shehnaz Aunty that I wanted to go back to the center divide and take photos of the traffic and chaos. She agreed, but of course, had to tell me to be careful because somebody riding in one of the buses might reach out the window and "flick" my camera.
Crossing the road is basically a timing thing. You've got to leave the center divide at the right time. The cars will not stop for you and they don't slow down. Usually, they miss your back foot by inches. If you slow up at the last second thinking your safe, you could very easily lose a foot.
I saw these girls getting ready to cross while a couple cars were bunched up around a bus. Tried to use the light from the headlights to rim light them.
This evening, Zahir and I wanted to go out and meet some of his friends. When we told Shehnaz Aunty we were leaving, she yelled at us and told that there was rioting going on and they we needed to stay home. Finally, she just let us go, saying that if something happens to us, she's not responsible. Well, to say the least, nothing happened. In fact, it was pretty dead outside. There weren't as many people out as there usually is. We met his friends at Barista, which is their coffee shop here.
For all the fuss about riots and whatnot, it was extremely quiet. Maybe it's the calm before the storm. I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out.
Alright, it's past 2am here. The BCS Title game is starting in a few hours. Debating whether or not to get up and listen to it on the internet. I said I would if LSU and OSU made it to the game, but now I'm thinking sleep might be more important.
Take it easy,
Ali
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