OUR MUSIC GIGSo

During this visit, we played at two new venues.  The first new venue was the US Consulate.  (The main US embassy is in New Delhi.)  The event was a celebration of the eightieth anniversary of the founding of the India-American Library.  I was impressed by the American staff.  They were articulate, knowledgeable about Indian culture, and consistently positive in every expression.  In other words, they were highly professional in their main job: promoting cultural ties between Indians and Americans.

The second new venue was the Royal Opera House, a British-built European-style opera house over a century old.  There are other classic British-built buildings in Mumbai.  But the Opera House is one of the best.  We performed a concert with our dancer-partner Aditi Bhagwat, accompanied by Unmesh Banerjee on tabla drums, and Emmanuel Simon, a French-born multi-percussionist, who has lived in India for many years.  Our ensemble and repertoire was the ultimate world-music performance.  Aditi and Unmesh have both visited us in Reno,

I had several opportunities to perform in jazz-quartet club settings, with my friends in the Bombay Jazz Club, as well as my old friend pianist Louiz Banks, the “Godfather of Indian Jazz.”  Susan and I also performed for various friends in our Airbnb apartment.  Susan also regularly taught lessons to her Indian harp student Meagan.

The rest of our time has consisted of sharing meals with dear friends and attending a few musical events.  Our only excursion outside Mumbai was our quick three-day trip to Katmandu, Nepal, to connect with our Nepali friends there.

BAD ASPECTS OF MUMBAI

The worst thing about Mumbai is the constant bad traffic flow.  Since I first visited Bombay (Mumbai) in 1971, Indian friends have asked me how things have changed.  I answer that the street layout is the same, but today there is at least five times as much traffic choking the same narrow roads.  The only way to build new roads is to build “flyovers,” elevated roadways above the existing roads.  There are many such flyovers under construction.  I just hope some of them will be finished in my lifetime.  One partially completed road is the “Sea Link,” a roadway off the coast that allows traffic traveling to the south end of the Bombay peninsula to avoid having to travel via the congested city streets.  There’s also a “metro train” line under construction.

India during British colonial times was populated by 97% poor people and 3% maharajas and their family dynasties.  Today, there is a growing middle class.  Bing-search says that India’s middle class is now 31% and will rise to 60% by 2047.  By comparison, Bing says that China is 50.8% middle-class. 

The poor people of India are primarily in the villages, where the only work is agricultural.  Many people don’t have electricity or running water.  Poor villagers travel to cities like Mumbai to seek jobs.  The Dharavi slum is said to be the world’s biggest slum.  Its exact population is unknown and ever-changing, but is estimated to be at least one million inhabitants.  There are around fifteen thousand small businesses in Dharavi.  On the streets, there are some beggars, who seem to be mostly Muslim women.

Begging was traditionally respected as a spiritual path, where a person renounces all personal possessions and relies on God’s grace to survive.  Here is a joke told by the great maestro Ali Akbar Khan:  A successful businessman wanted to spend a year as a renunciate with a begging bowl as his only possession.  He left his wife for a year.  When he came back a year later, he had the air of a spiritually enlightened soul.  Also, he was carrying an ektar, a single-stringed instrument.  His wife was incensed.  “Of all the musical instruments, why couldn’t you get a sitar, or at least an instrument with more than one string?  His answer: “Darling, all those other spiritual seekers are looking for the right note.  I’ve found it!”

GOOD ASPECTS OF MUMBAI

There are dozens of brand new high-rise buildings in Mumbai.  But on the streets, many building fronts look old and shabby.  This is misleading.  Stepping past the facades of the building are “palaces,” or at least clean, well-appointed stores and residencies.  Recently, I was walking up our street when I noticed something I hadn’t seen before—a spa sign.  The front of the building contained very modest shops, nothing attractive to me.  But when I walked beside the building to the spa entrance, I was shocked.  The gentleman at the reception desk offered to show me around the spa.  He said it was India’s largest spa at eight thousand square feet.  Its three floors contained a state-of-the-art gym, massage rooms, a women’s beauty parlor, a coffee shop, a sauna, a steam room, etc.  It was the most upscale spa I’ve ever seen! It reminded me of the spa on the cruise ship.  It was located not far from our residence, and I had never noticed it because the building facing the street was not at all so fancy or upscale.

UBER

We travel with Uber for any long journeys. The Uber app is excellent and the travel fares are one-tenth what they are in the US.  For short journeys, we take small rickshaws, also known as tuk-tuks (in Thailand, etc.).  They are incredibly cheap.  The first mile is only thirty cents (23 rupees).  I always give a tip because these rickshaw drivers work hard for small change, providing a very convenient service for short-distance journeys.  First world problem: many rickshaw drivers can’t make change for larger rupee bills.  So I always try to carry small bills for rickshaw trips.

A MEMORABLE HAIRCUT

A friend of mine referred me to his barber/hairdresser.  Her salon was amazing.  Soft rock music was playing. After the receptionist took me to the hairdresser, she asked if I would like a coffee or tea.  I was delivered a Starbucks cappuccino.  First, my hair had to be washed.  This was done by a different person, located at the hair-washing station.  The seat was a power recliner.  After washing my hair, the woman gave my forehead and head a nice massage.  Then, I transferred back to the hairdresser.  She carefully cut my hair while chatting cheerily.  I asked if she would trim my beard.  Oh, yes…So I was led to the beard department, where a guy shaved me with a straight razor and then skillfully shaped my beard.  Total cost I paid for being served by four different haircare professionals plus a Starbucks coffee = $30. (A barber on the street might only charge $1-2.)

HEALTHCARE IN INDIA

India is a popular destination for “medical tourists,” foreigners who forsake healthcare in their home countries in favor of the superior and cheaper Indian healthcare services.

 Susan had been suffering from severe sciatica pain for several months.  While we were at home in Reno between our China and Africa trips, Susan was examined at the Reno Orthopedic Clinic (ROC) where she was X-rayed and diagnosed.  They gave her medication, but there was no follow-up.  Susan’s pain became so acute in Mumbai that she could barely walk.  She visited two pain clinics, the first a 45-minute drive away, which charged $30 (2500 rupees) for the first visit and $23 (2000 rupees) for subsequent visits.  Then she discovered a pain clinic in our neighborhood that treats all patients at no charge.

The doctors at both of the pain clinics were incredibly empathetic and therapeutic. The second doctor gave Susan a referral to get an MRI.  No appointment for the MRI was necessary. We dropped in and were served after a short wait.  The MRI was a GE model (US-made?).  Cost = $65.  MRI readings in hand, we were able to meet an orthopedic surgeon/specialist on duty at a local hospital.  Emergency room fee: $2.34 (200 rupees).  The orthopedic spinal surgeon gave Susan a thorough exam.  His reading of the MRI determined a compressed disc pressuring the nerve.  He prescribed some strong drugs, which were also very inexpensive.  They were probably manufactured in India. 

Susan achieved the first effective pain reduction in months. She will have a final follow-up appointment the day before we depart.  The verdict: Indian healthcare is more accessible, affordable, and effective than American healthcare.  Getting an appointment for the MRI in the US along with the necessary follow-up appointments would have been ten times as expensive and taken many times longer to access.

FANTASTIC FOOD

Besides eating out and being wined and dined by good friends, we enjoyed ordering online and having food delivered.  Every meal was an adventure.  We love Indian food, but we particularly enjoy Chinese food in India.  It’s spicier than in the US or China.  My friend said, “Indians’ tastebuds are so saturated with spices that the Chinese had to do something.”

Because Mumbai has a tropical climate, a large variety of vegetables and fruits are available year-round.  I particularly enjoyed fresh pineapple, bananas, and papaya for breakfast every day.  There were also melons, grapes, strawberries, guavas, etc. A full of fresh vegetables were available, but we chose not to cook since delivered food was so tasty and cheap.

Because Mumbai is a cosmopolitan world city, there are many trendy restaurants serving more American and European-style foods, such as pasta, pizzas, and burgers.  Coffee shops abound.  Avocado toast is a popular item.  But I didn’t come to India to eat copies of dishes that are better at home.

                                                                 Susan Teaching in Mumbai

There two people without whom our trip would not have been as pleasant.  They are a wonderful couple, Meagan and Vijay Pandean, also known for their company, Harp India.  We met Vijay first in 2018 when Susan needed to rent a harp for our performance at the National Center for the Performing Arts.  We rented the same Russian harp the next year for an additional concert.  That was when we met Meagan, who is an up-and-coming harpist.  Susan began teaching her online during covid, continuing in person when we could travel to India again in 2023.  Vijay made it possible for Susan to ship one of her three electro-acoustic harps to Mumbai.  It now lives here and is available for Susan to play whenever we visit Mumbai.  Susan taught Meagan through private lessons throughout our stay here.  She will continue to teach Meagan online until our next visit.  Meagan gigs regularly and has great potential to become an excellent harpist under Susan's guidance.

IN CONCLUSION

I have musician friends in Mumbai that I met in my early visits in the 70’s & 80’s.  I toured every year for ten years with the Swedish band Mynta.  I’ve had the privilege of playing with master Indian musicians, sometimes in large venues.  It’s been fun introducing Susan to the vibrant Mumbai music scene during the last six years.  She shipped one of her electro-acoustic harps for our concerts this year.   We enjoyed ourselves so much that we hope to travel here again in the Autumn of 2025.  My bucket list is more travel and more music. 

Happy New Year!  (written December 31, 2024, and published January 1, 2025)