Mumbai Musings

Thoughts about my brief trip there...

Hey friends,

Greetings from NCR, India!

Last week, I flew down to Mumbai to attend a lunch with members of the US Consulate. They found my work online and invited me to talk about the challenges in catalysing social change regarding the environment. 

So yeah, it was a big deal. It was my first invitation for anything, and I was going through everything I had put out there as I travelled to Mumbai. 

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I met with the members of the Consulate, along with other environmentalists, over lunch. For three hours, we talked about how we could further advance the environmental cause.

One point that came up is that we need to make social change enticing. We need to make sustainable goods cheaper and make them the obvious choice. We need to reach out to new audiences and get them on board. Right now, there’s a danger that we’re preaching into an echo chamber. We must burst out of that. 

We also discussed how India and America are working together on this issue. This was a very high-flying discussion, and it was insightful to see environmental diplomacy at the highest level. 

I am grateful for the Consulate’s invitation and am excited to work with them in the future. 

This was a diverse group of intelligent individuals working to save the environment.

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I must say a word about Mumbai itself. I’ve always wanted to visit this city, but I’d never imagined visiting for something like this. I made sure to get there a few days in advance so that I could explore this city. At least see parts of it. 

So I did the tourist bit—going to the Gateway of India, Colaba, Churchgate, and more. But there were so many places left to see. I wanted to go to Sassoon Docks, both for street photography and to see the lone Arctic Tern that has been reported there (for those who don’t know, the Arctic Tern is a bird that flies from the Arctic to the Antarctic to breed, literally circling the planet. Over the past few weeks, there have been several reports of a sighting at this dock, an extremely rare sighting.)

I was always told that Mumbai never sleeps and is always bustling with activity. And that’s true—I saw folks running around everywhere. But this is true of Delhi, and even more so, in my opinion. And I must say, the Mumbai shawarma stacks up well against the Bangalore one. 

Mumbai is also a place where the stark inequality of India can be seen. Perhaps the biggest and smallest houses in India, the tallest and the shortest, exist in Mumbai. That cannot be ignored. 

As I travelled, I could see why this was the beating heart of India. Without Mumbai, our country wouldn’t be able to function. And the reason I think Mumbai itself can persevere is because of the presence of the sea. Maybe I’m being too philosophical, but I genuinely feel like the calming presence of the sea helps balance out the hustle-bustle of the city. 

Postcard

On Friday, I donated blood. This is the second time I’m doing it, and I still get emotional thinking about how this simple act can save up to three lives.

Please donate blood. You can save a life.

You can make a difference.

Favourite Quote

“Wealth is also the freedom to learn what you love at your own pace.”- The Orange Book

Have a creative, wild and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

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