A Typical Morning on My Way to Work

It’s Diwali, or the Festival of Lights: probably the biggest Indian holiday. Monday on my way to work I snapped some shots of what’s going on around here in Mahim and then later in Cotton Green, near where I get off the train to walk to my ofc…pretty typical, actually, and not much out of the ordinary.



Due to the holiday, there are lanterns everywhere. I saw this mammoth lantern being constructed on the street by the bamboo weavers a week ago.

The post office in Mahim is usually dead. Today, the one day I needed to mail two letters, it was swamped. Typical.



Walking towards the train, I usually pass a little diner, I guess you could call it, or in Swedish gatukök (street kitchen). There, a shopkeeper sets out his little fried treats, which I think are “pure veg.”



Then, a little further down my street, there’s the man who prepares his pile of coconuts for the day. Today he wielded his machete with as much style and grace as usual, and if I had more time I’d like to just park on the sidewalk and film him on my little Pentax.



I’m going to have to sample one of those coconuts someday soon. My friend Pradnya has a mom who is a doctor and warned me when they were visiting: “Whatever you do, you MUST NOT drink from those street vendors’ straws: they reuse them. You’ll get Hep B!” From one extreme germaphobe to another, that was an effective warning.



Getting off the train and walking to work I pass two lazy bulls every morning. They are constantly eating sugar cane and enjoying their status in Indian society. Since it’s a holiday this week, they had extra cane on the cart that morning. Lucky for them, life is sweet.