Let's talk about poop...

So many people in Mumbai are living without basic conditions, like a bathroom.  So every morning, people take to the streets/ train tracks/ ocean front/ allies for their morning deuce (I’m sure I’ve talked about this before- it’s quite alarming to all the senses).  Men and children are welcome to complete this act at any time of the day.  I have driven through town and seen lines of men and kids not 10 feet from the cars driving by, doing their business.  Every morning on my run down at the “ocean” (really I don’t know what to call it because it’s not the image you’re thinking of when I say ocean) I see upwards of 30 men squatting out there (I’ve thought of taking a picture to share but that feels more than weird). Women however are restricted to the hours of the night where they will not be seen by the men.  There is no such thing as privacy here.  Everyone knows your business, and your “business”.  (“Are you ok lately, Jain? I’ve noticed you’re a little loose in the morning…”).  I’m not sure how it works for other large cities in the world without decent infrastructure.  Maybe there are public toilets that are maintained by the government, I don’t know.  In rural areas, you dig a hole and bury your “business”.  In a city with +20 million people, the space does not exist.  So, you take all the thousands of pounds of waste from us humans, plus from the thousands of stray dogs, and from the cows, and scatter them throughout the city.  You cannot walk outside without being bombarded by the smell, (it doesn’t help that Mumbai is an extremely humid city).  There are certain areas of town worse than others (by the slums, typically, which seem to be everywhere), but without fail, you will notice it.

But I’ll be honest. Even with all the mess and smell, this city has its charm.  Yes, while you’re here, I’m sure you’ll see more than you imagined and your ideas of “privacy” and “socially acceptable” will forever be changed.  But you will leave with a huge appreciation of where you come from; the privileges you have and may take for granted, the idea of “alone time”, and the smell of fresh air. Mumbai will change you, whether you want it to or not.