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Bombay vacation 2009 Part 1

I was in Bombay(i still use Bombay as i grew up with it, nothing against Mumbai) from 3-29 July. This trip was quite different from the the earlier ones for quite a few reasons. I took gifts for my folks and friends…which i never do, must be an age thing. I also informed people about my visit and did not just drop by. Took Lufthansa and not FinnAir. Got picked up by my friends at the Airport. Which involved me picking up Kunal who being a sardar was waiting for me at Departures. My cell phone did not pick any network. Anyways…

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waiting for the plane…i have realized that one can reach the airport 1.5 hours before the flight and still make it
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in the plane
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no good company and my inability to sleep on planes meant…
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i had to take random photos…
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to entertain myself…
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getting close to Bombay
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tip…eat veg dinner and non-veg breakfast…no i did not do it…but i wish i did
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home…i have a strange feeling that my sis took these two shots
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like them
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sis and i went to Inorbit to shop where we met surhud and ashwini
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more photos by my sis
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later in the week i visited few relatives…and this time i took portraits as they are…ahem getting old
this is mom, Sumangala. She is 58 years old, she had to wake up at 5am and climb a steep road to get to the hospital. I was born at 6am.
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this is RT, he is 75 years old and the patriarch of the family. He will undergo an operation tomorrow. I wish i had taken his photo when he was doing well. He told me how he moved to Bombay and had to struggle for years. His generation, which my father was part, were the first to come to Bombay and have lots of stories, most of which are full of hardships and hunger.
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this is his wife Renuka. She is 65 years old and my moms eldest sister. We call her Dodda-amma which translates to Senior Mother. When my mom moved to Bombay(before getting married to dad) she lived with Renuka and RT in a one room apartment. I have seen the apartment and all i can say is…Respect. Makes me quite proud of my extended family.
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Renukas eldest son…Pravinraj(Raja). He is 43 years old and had two sons. Time flies, i remember riding an Royal Enfield with him as a kid.
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His wife Roopa.
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from Raja and Roopa’s house we went to visit Santosh
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this is Santosh
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Santosh is my moms eldest brother. He is 70 years old. I love to photography him. I grew up being utterly scared of him, with time he has softened. He is an extremely interesting character.
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Then we visited Pradeep (Paddu), moms youngest brother. He is 48 years old. I remember as a kid not letting him into the house when mom was out. He has two sons.
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His wife Rekha
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went for a walk in my colony(i c colony)
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there were farms here…now just a road
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this is how i c colony feels…has lost its glory and charm
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met up with friends…childhood building friends. This is frank. He works on a cargo ship and is from Goa.
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Kunal sister Shivani
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Kunal…it was his birthday and the reason i goto bombay in july
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met up with delna and went to Inorbit…again
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delna took this one…one of those rare relaxed moment with my sister…rest of time is spent being 8 years old
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delna is a parsi…wiki it. she is a talented animator and works at prana, the biggest and best animation studio in india.
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as you can see…delna drinks a lot…this one was at Firangi Pani.

Bombay 2008 part 3 | Analog

Previous Film entries from the same trip

Film I | Film II

Previous Digital entries from the same trip

Digital I | Digital II | Digital III | Digital IV | Digital V

…so did my trip to India…after 4 weeks it was time to head back to Oslo. Was it perfect…not it was not…but what is? like i said in my earlier post…nothing is simple…but thats how life is…at least mine. Mom tells me thats how it has always been for my sis and me…things have never come easy to us…has always been a struggle. Strangely though i am not complaining anymore…guess i have come to accept it. Accept it and move on…and keep mind that the only constant in life is change.

Its 11:00 at night and i got a call from a friend to go out for some drinks…and for the first time since i got to norway i said NO. Dont know why…guess i am at peace and am tired of trying…maybe a bit too hard. Its a bit sad that i have given up on Oslo…but even i have my limits and i am pretty must at the end of it. Good thing is i am much relaxed now. Made some more prawns for dinner…will make some chicken tomorrow.

I have been reading Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight Childen”…initially i was really pissed of with the book but with some time now i am enjoying it…his style of writing is quite different. Not very easy but quite engaging. Must thank suri for recommending me the book.

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another day another walk…we used to come here as kids…glad that some things have not changed
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glad that some friends have not changed as well
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this one is for suri
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kunal found a boat among the mangroves
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kids…carefree and careless
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this is where they live
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it was getting pretty dark and looked like it was about to rain…so we headed home
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damn…rich kid…hey but my dad gave me my first camera, thx dad
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kunal bought an engagement ring…little did he knew that things would take a turn for the worst in the next few days
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taking a walk of the colony at 11:00 at night and kunal needs to take a leak
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crazy flare
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teaching sis how a rangefinder works
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buying some chopsticks…
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waiting for takeaway food at Uncles Kitchen malad
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having coffee at 11:00 at night
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visiting some relatives with sis
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met up with kunal and met up with his girlfriend…was not the best thing to happen that night
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on our way back the rickshaw broke down on the highway
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stopped at gokul to have pav bhaji for dinner
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and then some pan
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walking home…man i miss all the walks and talks…miss it
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last frame for india…

this was the most…eventful vacations ever…and just so you know i am not depressed or anything…hehe so just relax and have a awesome weekend.

Eat good food :)

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