I see...

150 years old railway station. What? That old? Apparently, yes, it’s that old, as mentioned by one of the local staff, as we passed by that particular building at Nariman Point, which is South of Mumbai. The architecture of most of the buildings there is influenced heavily on Moorish design and colonial period design. The railway station itself resembled the one we have in Kuala Lumpur, the old KTM station. This location, is where all the shopping centers are located. So he said. But, can’t verify the statement as I was there this afternoon for a meeting with the Client. Well yeah I can see some BMW passing by, shop selling Omega watch, Bottega Veneta boutique and such, but it is a part of Mumbai which is clean. Yup, clean…. The roadside is clean of rubbish. But, it is still hectic and havoc. Hey it’s Mumbai right. Perhaps one of the weekends I should venture into this area and do some photographing.

Anyway, while heading there, a journey of approximately 25km from Wadala, where my office is, I passed through some interesting landscape. It’s some sort of oil refinery. Interesting because, there are bullock-carts, pushing a big tank, presumably with oil inside. It might be a norm here, but where I came from, can’t see any bulls in town no more, except for those bullshitter!

Next was a sort of slum area, by the roadside. This area really can bring down tears… The way of life that these people practices. They stay in make-shift houses about 3meter high, made of whatever materials they can get or afford to buy, wood, cardboard, poly-sheet as roof and it’s a double storey house.

And I see dead people! Well, a dead person. Maybe its part of the local ceremony, the body was paraded, perhaps to the morgue or cemetery but what shocked me was, the body was place on a cart, pushed by someone and it’s just covered with white cloth! No coffin okay….. What a life!

For a week, I keep thinking, why the heck I accept this job in Mumbai. One need to be mentally strong to survive working or staying here.

Do I possess that kind of mental strength? God knows….