Monsoon.

Rain.



Rain.

I fell in love with Jackfruit

I went to Matunga, suburb of Mumbai in the middle of June. I travelled in train because it was Sunday and my friends have told me that I can travel in trains on weekends, it's ok.



Sign for the women compartment on the train. I usually travel in the women compartment - because it's less crowded.



The train map was in Hindi. I had no idea where to get off.



I asked some women.



I saw a over crowded train on distance. It was the men compartment - I didn't see any women traveling in it.



I saw the jackfruit for the second time in my life in the market in Matunga. I've never been so excited about a fruit in my whole life. I love the form of it - like an over sized been and the surface, feels so special to touch.



And when it's opened it looks like a fish. I had to taste it! You eat the fruit around the seads I found out later at Wikipedia.

- The fruit can reach 36 kg
- Up to 90 cm in length
- The name for Jackfruit in mallu (Indian langugage spoken in Kerala) is Chakka.

More about jackfruit.

Competition

I started updating my blog more frequently. Is the reason:

A. My Bombay life is not so exciting anymore (so I have time to write about it).

B. I was inspired by my friend Fatih back in Sweden who writes in an informal way kinda

C. I don't have a roomie anymore.

Send in your answers to hello@annamajasegtnan.com

The winner gets.. a treat.



"Unique shopping experience" - queuing for half an hour at Big Bazaar Indian style is fairly unique, yes.

Först på svenska, sen på engelska

När det kändes knepigt i Mumbai brukade jag titta på Stinas bild och tänka på vad hon skulle ha gjort// When things sometime grew difficult in Bombay I glanzed at the picture of Stina and thought about what she would have done.



Jag tycker om det här shopping konceptet. Det är arty och miljövänligt på samma gång. // I like this shopping concept. It's both arty and a bit enviromentally friendly at the same time.



Bröderna Pink Katalyst på båten till Elephanta Island // The Pink Katalyst brothers on the boat to Elephanta Island



På Elephanta island fotades jag med en apa som åt grillad majskolv // On Elephanta I was photographed with a monkey who was eating barbequed corncob




Den här apan dricker vatten ur en vattenflaska. Det är uppenbarligen så spännande med djur som kan göra människosaker. // This monkey is drinking water from a water bottle. It's obviously so exciting with animals who can do human things.



Statyerna som är i bakgrunden var sjukt coola. De hade inte bara cool form, de var dessutom utkarvade i grottan, direkt! Ctrl z? nej precis, inte ens spackel. Vilken formkänsla - typ innan Kristus! // Those statues were damn' cool. What a feeling for form - even before Christ!



På båten hem igen. // On the boat on the way back.



På båten kunde man köpa chips. // On the boat you could buy chips.



Chipsen användes för att mata fiskmåsar (se de gula prickarna i bilen). // The chips was used to feed birds (see the yellow dots in the picture).




Killar som gillar söndag på Marine Drive. // Guys who like Sundays on Marine Drive.



Färgfestivalen Holi i mars. Man slänger färgpulver på varandra. Det är jättekul. Om man inte är töntigt allergisk. // The color festival Holi in March. You're suppose to through color powder on each other. It's great fun. If you're not wimpish allergic.



Ariel Ultra // Laundry?



Vi var i Bandra (den moderna delen av Mumbai) på Café Coffee Day. Manoj sa åt mig att fotografera detta. // We were in Bandra at Café Coffee Day. Manoj told me to photograph this.



stannade och klickade dessa byggarbetare på vägen. // stopped and clicked those building workers on the way.




Jag hämtade vatten till killen och alla hans målarkompisar. // I was getting water for the guy and his painter friends.

SLUTA TUTA!

Fejk Lui Vuitton. Fejk Tretorn solglasögon. Fejk Rolex. Fejk Canon kamera batteri. När jag får se fejk IPODs mår jag riktigt illa. Jag får ont i huvudet av den fantastiskt dåligt avvägda osubtila grånyansen på IPOD-äpplet samt typsnittet på knapparna som är fel och för STORT. Det är verkligen inte den etiska aspekten (sno design) som får mig att må dåligt. Nej jag oroar mig för att det helt i onödan ska BEHÖVA tillverkas så många dåliga onödiga fula produkter som JU INGEN KAN BLI GLAD AV OCH SÄRSKILT INTE JAG. Det är dumt att tillverka nya produkter hela tiden, men om man nu tillverkar dem så kan man ju tillverka produkter som är bra. Jag måste ut från Grey Market Shoppingcentrumet nu!

Ute är det inte frisk luft. Ute är man som fotgängare lovligt påkörningsbyte. Och som västerlänning med avvikande hudfärg är man lovligt tjata på byte. TJATA, TJATA, TJATA.

På kvällen stänger mina öron av det upprepade tutandet från gatan. Till och med slumområdena som jag och Jennie passerade i morse är beläget på en lugnare gata. Varför ska jag och Jennie bo på den mest livligt trafikerade gatan i hela Mumbai? Tuuuuuuuuut tuuuuuuut tuuuuuut. Jävla bildesigners som designat sådana högljudda tutor! Nej nu vill jag åka till Goa! Hejdå Mumbai!

PS. Jag vet. Ilandsproblem.

Glimpses

Photographs for my Visa. Hejdå Sverige -Annamaja! (good bye Sweden -Annamaja!)



Morning walk at Marine Drive. Vikram and Jennie.



Portratis of relatives of the owner of the apartment we stay in. I like when the oldies keeps an eye at me..




- I'll take this bag! If I get it at a non-leather price rate..



Someone tries his best to make a tourist out of Jennie. at The Gateway of India, Colaba.



What's happening here? The photographer and Jennie get's their portraits done.




I saw this cute turquoise house..



And then a turquoise man came along!



This taxi driver is perhaps hoping for yet an other lucky driving-in-the-maniac-traffic-of-Mumbai-day.




- Do (två, two) strawers!




Pink Katalyst (Jennie and Hitesh) is morning glory ready for work.



Worli Seaface - yet another part of Mumbai's seafaces.



Coconut Shop.



I'm the WILDEYE.



Afterwork.



South Indian take away dinner meeting at home. Jennie, Hitesh, Vikram and I.



Snehal and I are hanging out at a shopping mal having coconut water.



After spending five evenings and six mornings at Breach Candy Hospital we plan to start an information hotline about the Indian health care systems for immigrants/tourists.



To be continued..

I close my eyes to the poorness..

31/1-2009
I close my eyes to the poorness and is having a great Mojhito at a fancy yard-bar with lots of green palms and with a star view together with Jennie, Hitesh and Vikram. It's Saturday night and Hitesh and Vikram are holding a kind of monologic dialogue about how they first started their company. After I put the question in the air about how they started, they just can't be stopped. They're bubbling and sparkling about telling us the story about how they chased their entrepreneurship dream around whole Asia it seems to me. India, Malaysia and Hong Kong. It all started with the tsunami but that's an other story. After Vikram has taken his last suck on the water pipe and the silence breaks in I realize these guys are really capable of anything. I'm speechless.

I love going back through the streets of south Mumbai with the black car. Hitesh, Jennie, Vikram and me are joking and giggling, speaking Swedish, English and Hindi. We're singing songs. Jennie sings beautifully "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg".

To all my dear friends in Stockholm, Minsk, Trondheim, Nairobi, Paris, Los Angeles, London, Malmö and Szczecin (I might have forgotten some cities): Mumbai is very nice to me. But I miss YOU a lot.