Conspiracy Theory

Who knew that Kenn Starr had a company in India? Or that Monica was part of an diabolical plot to sell butter?


Billboard seen in Mumbai in 1998.

I have placed a few pictures taken in and around Mumbai, India in 1998 into a photo set on my Flickr site. Clicking HERE or on the photo above will take you to the photo set.

Sea View Hotel, revisited

Sea View Hotel, Juhu Beach Mumbai

Rising Tide at Sea View Hotel

Note: Clicking on the photo will take you to its page in my Flickr photo sharing site where you can see a full size image (and additional photos).

The photo above is my most viewed photo on Flickr. For a long while I could not figure out why this photo got so much attention. It is not in any special group or pool. I’ve finally figured it out (with help of Flickr’s statistics tools). Google is sending folks there when they enter 'Sea View Hotel Juhu' or 'Sea View Hotel Mumbai' into a Google search. So now I know.


The images above and below are cropped from a 9600 dpi scan of the 35mm negative. No reason, just playimg with my HP Scanjet 3970 scanner.

My Neighborhood in Juhu

My Juhu Beach Neighbors

I lived and worked in Mumbai in 1998. India was a difficult assignment. A year in India changed my life; I gained 40 pound while there and still carry it today.

I shared an office with a woman from Bangalore for some time prior to leaving for India. She was vegetarian and complained frequently about the lack of vegetarian variety in American restaurants. She was very excited for me. Said I would love the vegetarian food selection there. I was looking forward to it; healthy vegetarian food would help me shed a couple of pounds picked up eating borsch, pellmani and smetana in Russia.

She never told me about ghee.

I stayed in Juhu beach. A walk in the neighborhood was frequently a walk on the beach. As a westerner, wherever you go in India, you will be pressed upon by the very poor. Beggars and children with there hands out are everywhere. They can be very persistent. Most westerners find that among the most difficult aspects of life in India.

That was not the case for me. I had little difficulty with the beggars and the very poor. When I walked I carried a small pocket full of wrapped candies. The beggar children in the neighborhood quickly learned that if I had six pieces of candy and there were eight children no one got any candy. They learned to approach me in small numbers. They also learned that if I had a candy, I would give it to them. If I had none, I said so. There was no need for persistence. They would run off and leave me to my walk.

The woman in the photo approached me on the beach one day. With very broken English she asked if I lived in a hotel. I was very puzzled and unsure why she was asking. Finally I understood. Baby Shampoo. She was asking if I had any of the little hotel shampoo bottles. She wanted shampoo for her daughter. After that, I always carried a couple of bottles of shampoo. It was the candy for the ladies.

I was at first surprised by how many people would ask to have there photo taken. I would take photos then, later after the film was processed, I would carry copies of the photos as I walked. If I encountered the same people, I gave them a photo. The smiles I received remain a highlight of my time in India.

I have posted some pictures of the people of Juhu Beach in My Juhu Neighbors a PhotoSet on Flickr. Check them out. Leave a comment. Let me know you’ve been there.

Girls of Mumbai

The Worli Girls of Mumbai

I was out walking in near Worli in Mumbai when I came across these two girls brushing their teeth on the side of the street. The girl on the left asked to have her photo taken. The girl on the right seemed unsure. Their father was outside of camera range encouraging them.

One of the surprises of India was how frequently the poor approached asking to be photographed. At first I assumed people thought I carried an instant camera. Not so, they just liked to be photographed.

Click the Pic. to visit My Neighborhood in Juhu on LostBob's Blog.

To see more photos of the Girls of Mumbai please visit My Juhu Neighbors and Mumbai PhotoSets on Flickr.