Lifestyles of the Indian Rich and Fabulous

There is to much to blog about here I don’t even know where to begin! For the record, NO ONE here cares about American Baseball. The only response I seem to get when mentioning I’m from America is regarding our current state of the economy and upcoming election. If it were up to Mumbai, Obama would win in a landslide.

After a morning of visiting Yasmin’s studio and relaxing around the house, I set out for an evening that started at 6:30pm and didn’t end until 3am! Today (Thursday is Gandhi’s birthday so it’s a national holiday as well as the week of “Eid” and a Hindu celebration called “Navrarti” so there is a lot to celebrate! Since last night was also “Chandraat”, or new moon, my dad and I set off to our Ismaili Jamat Khane (our mosque for the non Ismailis reading) after which we were invited to the home of a very wealthy Ismaili whom my father met in the US. Yasmin’s driver Manoj had a little trouble finding the Jamat Khane; luckily most people around here ask each other for directions. I had to include a little pic of a Auto rickshaw outside of Yasmin’s house. These things are on the road everywhere!

For the Ismaili’s reading: Jamat Khane looked and felt similar to home. The 2nd Dua was recited first immediately followed by first. There was no Ginaan and the Taasbi was very similar. Mukhi liked to say “Ya Ali Madad” a lot. Volunteers at one point swept through the Jamat with bowls asking for money donations. I attempted to do Naaz (though didn’t drink the water) and Chaanto however I was confused to ended up doing it incorrectly. My dad and I had a bit of a chuckle over it; I had no woman with me to help out! The outside building and gardens of the JK were really pretty- I’ve included a pic.

After Khane we got into the Mercedes car (the driver had gone all the way to Downtown to pic up my Dad- about an hour drive) and headed off to our hosts home Naushad and Noorjan. I think the most interesting thing about India so far is that NOTHING looks nice from the outside. You might drive up to a gate directly next to a slum and wander into an entry way that still looks rather run down. You will go up a small cramped elevator that is serviced by a security guard (this one saluted us!) and then suddenly the door opens to something nice on the inside. In this case, the whole building was owned by this family and the inside was AMAZING. Exactly what you would imagine from the Indian upper class: marble floors, Italian water fountains, stylish furniture, a pool sundeck and a rooftop garden completely immaculately landscaped. The view was unbelievable- all of Mumbai. I wish I could take pictures, but the American in me though it would be rude to suddenly start taking pics of someone’s home. Apparently real estate in India has skyrocketed lately (again due to overpopulation) with “flats” costing up to $2000 a square foot!

After a delicious meal of about 10 dishes served on a gigantic lazy susan my father decided to call it a night while the driver dropped me off at the location of Yasmin’s current party. One of her friends was celebrating a birthday so about 10 local Indian couples had gathered at China Garden. After a few cocktails (no ice!), at 12:30am, the group sat down to dinner. If you can imagine the beautiful women of Bollywood, then you can imagine the crowd I was with. All incredibly stylish, funny, sassy, attractive and obviously upper class. There is a pic of me and Yasmin at China Garden.
Finally at 1:45ish we headed out a again, this time for a quick stop at Yasmin’s parents house who were also having a party. Their “flat” was also incredibly stylish, well decorated and spacious with a terrace view of the sea and Mumbai. They also had food (my 3rd offering of the night!) and plenty of bartenders and “help”. We only stayed briefly there and then finally headed home around 2:30am. Phew!

I think the biggest observation for me so far is the abundance of domestic help; even my China Garden dinner mate (forgive me for not remembering all the names) was telling me that this was the biggest advantage of living in India. Each house might employ anywhere from 3-10 servants. The majority of upper class women do not work, however managing the “help” does seem to be a full time job. Mostly uneducated, some servants end up working for a family for 10, 15 or 20 years. They will take vacations to go visit their village when they can and usually bring back any earnings they might receive. The living quarters for the “help” are often small and not air conditioned. I’ve included a pic of one of them asleep in the room off the kitchen; quite an amusing picture and a telling one as well.
Anyhow these are my observations from day two- can’t believe I’ve only been here two days! And yes I’m missing my Angels playoff game, however this is an experience of a lifetime far more valuable then anything Krod, Mark, Chone and Vladdy could give me.