Image from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/aug/01/india-cities-drown-sewage-waste
Mumbai is full of explosions of sound in which it seems every child in the world is crying, every horn is beeping, every bird is chirping and every person is shouting. They come in waves, culminating to a point where the limitless trash seems as if it may fly off the ground and pummel us all into the soil it conceals. It pushes my anxiety through my chest and upper abdomen until the tension feels like it could throw me into the whirlwind of sound and smog around me.
As I ran down the Mumbai beach last weekend, I tried to act as if I was totally accustomed to and at peace with the huge number of people playing cricket, walking hand in hand and running into the water. This tactic of acting completely unaffected is one I have acquired both living in New York and when traveling abroad. In my mind, it decreases the chance of seeming out of place or vulnerable when I may actually feel lost or uncomfortable.
On this run though, I could barely maintain this facade as I watched people throw trash and plastic spiritual offerings into the waves. On performance breaks here, security guards, entertainers and our managers throw trash on the jungle floor as if a waste bin is permanently in place there. Still the people and cars maneuver perfectly around each other - their horns used more than even their words in a usual conversation. The wafts of extremely sour and rancid smell are a way of life here and I cannot judge considering the smells of New York and Paris I have lived with before.
I just cannot help to think what urban planning and alternative contributions my friends and I could make to improve situations like the image I have posted and seen. I cannot help but to comment on and want to change both the pollution and poverty here. But other than coming here play music, I have come to find inspiration for yoga and alternative fitness retreats based in service. There are thousands of nonprofits and foundations devoted to the arts and education here. I am sure there have to be some directed towards improving the exorbitant level of pollution. A retreat based in trash clean-up and poverty improvement could obviously go far, especially if associated with an organization already making strides in this area.