14/11/10
We are now at the airport waiting to fly back to London. The function last night was fun and a further glimpse into real Mumbai life. It was also another opportunity to travel in style!
To get to the function and the airport today we used the new Sea Link bridge. This is a new bridge that links Worli and Bandra and reduces a previous journey time of about 45 mins to around 7mins!It’s quite a feat of engineering and something Mumbai desperately needed and needs more of! I’ve noticed a considerable increase in the level of traffic in Mumbai over the last 4-5 years and it is destined to only get worse.
My last two sessions of talim were spent learning Rag Sur Malhar, Rag Jog and some more paltas in Rag Pilu. I’ve certainly leant a lot on this trip. I’m at a stage where I’m able to take on a number of different Rags and understand them, plus I’m starting to see similarities between Rags, not just in terms of the notes but in the terms of movements, Rags with one note changed etc.
I’ve also had my sitar overhauled by the wonderful Shahid. Shahid is the maker of the sitar I’ve been using since 2006. It’s ageing into a good instrument and Shahid did a nice job re-tying frets and filing the bridge (a job well needed after almost 5 years!). Shahid ships his instruments abroad (all taxes apply!), anyone interested in purchasing one of his instruments please email me.
I always say that whenever I visit Mumbai I have a new/different experience. This trip was no exception. We shied away from the tourist trail this time and instead enjoyed “slotting in” (as much as one can) into Mumbai life. We experienced Diwali in India, travelled in lots of taxis, a couple of chauffeur driven cars, stayed in the most famous hotel in Mumbai, I received great talim and we found some good new restaurants and shops. I hope to visit again soon!