Mumbai, week 2

Monday, March 10


We were asked to go to the 60ft. road at night to observe the activities in the area. It ended up the most horrific trip in my whole life. The street lights were not working, and people became aggressive at one point. After 2 hours of torture, I started to have a fever while I was walking with my group mates. This experience cannot be forgotten, and the question of organization from the tutors is unbearable.

March 11

SICK

March 12

In the bus tour, we went to an artistic village with numerous beautiful small houses. It was kind of heart broken to find out that the village will be demolished for new development. We walked around the area and enjoyed the impressive detailed designs from façade to doors. They are the real architects who can create unique houses for their families.




March 13


Today, we were assigned to start working inside Kumbharwada, the potters’ area. Due to the lack of contacts, we traveled around the area and talked to the residents in order to build up our contacts for further research. As a result, we got at least six contacts. The most important of all was to let the inhabitants to start recognising our faces so that it could be easier for us to work for the coming week.

March 14

The family of Amritben was the first family that we have visited. They were very friendly and welcomed us with tea and sweets. They lived in the area for 30 years. As they have arrived in the area with no money, they built their home step by step. The tiles were given by one of his customers. Also due to the plastic goods, the demand of pots has decreased. For that reason, they prefer their children to change for other professions. Their son (on the right) always greeted us with smile whenever he saw us in the area.

March 15


The over-night bus ride to Aurangabad was quite rough, but exciting due to the first time of this kind of experience. The first sight that we visited was Bibi-Qa-Maqbara, a mausoleum for Aurangzeb’s wife. It is a mini version of Taj Mahal, with lovely courtyard and garden. Some of the Indian locals asked us for photos at one point. We suddenly became movie stars sitting on the stairs and let them took numerous photos. It was quite a strange experience.

March 16

The Ellora cave temples are the most impressive world heritage that I have never seen in my whole life. The impressive crafting is unbelievable. When I entered the gigantic gate, it seemed like I went to another world. Comparing to the cave temples in the Elephanta Island, this is way more stunning and majestic. I could not find any other descriptions to express what I have seen.