Train Time In Mumbai

Taking trains in Mumbai is like riding the subway in New York. The trains are not just for city to city commuting but for station to station jaunts. We had a chance to do a little train hopping while visiting.

This is an empty car for Mumbai.

Churchgate station. Starting the ride.
If this vendor can't satisfy your craving, no vendor can. One thing isn't in a hurry to catch a train - the dog.

Still life with hiding train.

A group of guys riding the train. And another group of guys on the train, posing with Sarah and James' sisters. This group is known as Hijras.

Now we're moving.

 

Art Deco Mumbai

Just like in Miami, there's an iconic street along a famous body of water with a beach and a bunch of Art Deco buildings overlooking it all. It's Marine Drive instead of Ocean Drive and Chowpatty Beach as the substitute for South Beach.

Lining Marine Drive is a string of beautiful Art Deco apartment buildings. They're bigger and geared toward residential as opposed to the Deco buildings on Miami Beach.

A typical Deco apartment building.

The unrestored sister property of the above apartment building. Historical preservation hasn't taken hold yet. The spaceship-like roof features of the apartment building on the right are nifty.

The aquarium is in on the suave style (and they're re-habbing the facade). Nice fish theme. Another Art Deco apartment example.

Elsewhere in Mumbai, a commercial building that would fit right at home on a movie studio backlot for a period noir or Fritz Lang flick.

London, India

If you're in Mumbai, ignore the palm trees and the people and, depending where you look, you'd think you were in jolly ol' London town. The Brits left plenty of old architecture behind and even today double decker buses abound.

The old Churchgate Train station.

The iconic Taj Palace hotel and its interior staircase.
Lazing by the Gateway of India. Dog days, indeed.

The Prince of Wales Museum and a look down MG Road.

Bustling Victoria station, James' sister holding still to illustrate said bustle. Thanks sis!

Looking a lot like London, double decker bus helping the sell.

Painting With Photographs, Part 2

Presenting the second half of James' "Painting With Photographs" series.

That's it for posts on the Kumbh Mela, we hope you've enjoyed the ride!

Painting With Photographs, Part 1

In addition to the Formal Portrait series James produced at the Kumbh Mela, he also put together another set of photographs on a theme, albeit a bit more open to interpretation. The photographs are not of particular subject, just pictures taken at the Kumbh Mela. It's more about structural continuity, a feel, a painterly approach. Judge for yourself.

Part one of the "Painting With Photographs" series.

Night Falls On Kumbh Mela

When the sun goes down, the Kumbh does not go down with it. The many ashrams compete for customers by blasting their music and sermons as loud as possible and enticing visitors with gaudy gates and million bulb displays. The senses overwhelm.

The dusty, honky-tonk feel of the place once night falls.

A typical front of an ashram and then the Wizard of Oz no-presence back of another ashram. Just get them through the door and let the swami keep them in.

Sometimes you hear the sounds, walk in and find nothing in particular is happening.

Vendors are busy selling snacks.

Later on, as things wind down, time to head out, pack the truck and hit the road.

Streets eventually become a film noir set.