It’s at this point in the trip that everything starts to hit home a little differently. We’re at the halfway point – we’ve been here for three weeks, and there’s no way we can go back to the people we were at the start, but we still have three weeks to go. Everything starts to…Continue Reading Checking My Privilege
Namaste! Hello, hello! It’s been a while since we left home and landed in Mumbai, and what time it has been. So let’s get started!!! Day 1 (14/01/23) Auckland, New Zealand What was supposed to be the original day of departure. We all got to the airport only to find out we weren’t leaving that…Continue Reading Journey to Mumbai
Cat, rat, dog…cow, monkey, crow? I’ve been getting a lot of interesting everyday wildlife here, including squirrels that dart like lizards and even wandering centipedes! In Mumbai, there are heaps of stray cats and dogs on the street (even tiny little grubby kittens!), and it was initially quite a change in mentality for me when…Continue Reading Settling in
Last weekend, we took a trip to Delhi and Agra. This trip was incredibly special, and we managed to see a number of amazing locations in both Delhi and Agra. The biggest takeaway from the weekend for me was how the scale of everything in India is just so much bigger and older than the…Continue Reading S C A L E
I am in my third week since leaving Auckland for my microfinance internship here in Mumbai, India! Similar to Auckland, Mumbai is the country’s financial hub and also a city of migrants. As the country’s commercial capital, Mumbai appeals much to anyone searching for work and better career prospects. Indians from every part of the…Continue Reading New Opportunity Consultancy – an insight into my work in microfinance!
As an Indian born and raised in New Zealand, attempting to live and work in India as a young adult has been extremely eventful yet rewarding! Interning in Mumbai, a city so involved in my childhood summer visits to India, is a dream come true… yet it has its struggles at times! Here are three…Continue Reading A Kiwi Indian in India
Dharavi – Mumbai The division line could not be any clearer; the smell of incense hit us as if we were crossing a threshold. More obvious signs of Hindu identity became quickly clearer; swastikas and a mandir (temple) all came into view as we turned the corner out of the dark and narrow streets from…Continue Reading Disunity and Unity
Sonder – noun. “The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know…Continue Reading Sonder
Sights of rich history and color, sounds of never-ending horns at any hour, seas upon seas of people, with each new surrounding whirling in unique scents, together with tastes that are out of this world is an unjust summary of the magic of Mumbai. The story begins late one Saturday night in a time which…Continue Reading Magic in Mumbai
The West End Hotel is a 1948 Art Deco masterpiece in Mumbai. It’s an institution. Some workers have been there for over 30 years. I interviewed them, and even got a private tour around the whole hotel! Here they are: FrancisYears at West End: 16Favourite thing about West End: good hours and he gets to…Continue Reading 6 lessons from the West End Hotel