The next stop on the tour was Mani Bhavan, the headquarters for Ghandi when he launched his protests in Mumbai from 1917 to 1934. Two display cases showed his belongings, which were not many. And one room showed his spinning wheels. He is said to have declared that spinning kept him humble and connected with the poor, and for that reason, he continued it throughout his life. You have to love a man like that. I vow to watch Ghandi the movie with new appreciation when I get home.
Next stop was Victoria Terminus, or VT as it's affectionately called by the locals. It is the main train terminal for Mumbai, built in 1888 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. It's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Across the street from the massive stone post office sat men at tables, not far from the passing cars, with stacks of paper in front of them, and some sort of fire burning. Turns out that if you need to send some document in English, or in some other language, including different Indian languages, you would come here to have these men write out what you need and make sure it was properly mailed.
I finally made it to the Taj. This is one of the two hotels which was bombed in what they call 26/11, the terrorist bombings of November 26th, 2008, just about one year ago. It is a beautiful hotel, still in the process of rebuilding after the attacks, but still in business. Here is the "Grand Staircase" which is in the closed off area, but they allowed me to take a photo.
Here is the view of the courtyard. Hard to imagine anything capable of disrupting this scene.
Here is the view from outside.
It took over two hours of white-knuckled driving to get me home to the hotel. Every type of vehicle known to man competing for space. If there are 3 lanes designated, the Indians will make it into 5 lanes. They squeeze and push and maneuver and honk and honk and honk until somehow, miraculously, you find yourself at your destination. In fact, in the end, you're convinced that all of Mumbai (if not all of India) consists of small miracles. It looks like it will never work. But it does.
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