A Meanderer's Musings

 After living in Mumbai for 14 years from 2001-2014, I have lived both outside the city and the country for the last 7 years with a few visits here and there. It's safe to say I am now considered an NRI and as an outsider I am more looking into the city rather than living and breathing the city air on a daily basis. As such, I reminisce about the old days and the manner in which the city is functioning right now. I wanted to put down my thoughts and some things that have changed in the city and also about how the city differs from other cities in the world that I have seen. Mumbai is still one of the most rapid cities I have ever seen probably only next to New York. People are always in a rush here trying to get done with whatever's next on that plate. That could be getting from Point A to Point B, talking on the phone and wrapping up work or even having a meal. There are a few places in the city where life truly slows down but those places are few and far between. It woul...

  As soon as you land in Maui, you feel like you have taken a step back in time. There are friendly faces at the airport who welcome you to their sacred land. At the same time, when you take a cab to your hotel, you start to appreciate the beauty that you cannot find in the mainland of the United States of America. The hotel representatives almost treat you like humans but from their eyes it is very clear that they would rather be elsewhere. The commercialization of Maui was an eye opener of sorts. There are more tourists on the island than what the island can accommodate. The resorts on the island are almost disconnected from the culture of the locals. They provide a shallow experience of the centuries old culture of the locals in Maui and the clueless tourists lap up the lūʻau as if in a couple of hours they would be welcome in to the Maui culture. The experiences on the island are far ranging. Kids singing Hawaiian songs for a small crowd gathered in the Outlets of Maui gives yo...