Barefoot in Bombay (Mumbai)

Last few days, travelled in Mumbai, mostly visiting friends and having long chats – to catch up with the last 3-4 years…  connecting back from where we had left off years ago, happened again & again with so many friends, that I began to take it for granted.

Got into the groove of travelling in local trains of Mumbai… those old instincts took  over automatically..  which entrance of railway station to go to, where in platform to stand  to get the best compartment, where the ticket windows are..  etc. 

But being barefoot broke through that cocoon of habituation – each surface was stimulating and providing new information.  Gravel or small stones used for making the tar roads were spilled everywhere.  I would never have felt them if I weren’t barefoot. 

How shoes/sandals have become ubiquitous was evident as I could not find any other bare footer (though I must admit that I was observing in a casual way only)… almost all places were designed for footwear wearers.  Its like the way a city gets designed for car owners.  The recent rainy season had brought out lots of dirt and plastic bags – which were not cleaned up, and thus one of the least friendly places for a barefooter… though that’s the challenge too!

The amount of eateries, people, things lying around in open shops and otherwise, and consummated consumption – to be seen around was 1000’s of times more than the rural-tribal forest area where I stayed for past 3 years.  So I guess there are jolts of cultural shocks to be had even within a short span of absence.

Another difference – I walked around as much as possible – even though 3-wheelers and taxi’s seem to be the usual way to travel even 1 kilometer distance in this city.  Maybe I wasn’t under the constant time-pressure the mumbaikar’s are subjected to. 

I caught a few stares at my barefeet, even though I wasn’t really looking for it, but nobody asked me even once in the last few days about it – i.e. none of the strangers…  I am bit disappointed at this even ;)