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The Amazing Service Industry of Mumbai
It is mind-boggling how many people can end up in service of one individual here in Mumbai (and I am sure in other cities). Sure, when I was growing up, we had a lot of help. But, in those days, especially in smaller towns, household help, for example, was normally generational and live-in. In other words, the person who cooked for us was probably a family member of whoever cooked for my grandparents.
Today, it is amazing how one individual living in Mumbai can outsource virtually everything in his or her life! People here quickly become accustomed to outsourcing all their chores and activities. These include many that we would in all likelihood be performing ourselves in the West or those which are not readily accessible, convenient or affordable over there.
Here is a sampling of the outsourcing realities in Mumbai, including representative costs (plus or minus 25%, depending on which area in Mumbai you live in):
- House Cleaning 7 days a week; dusting, sweeping and mopping all floors, cleaning bathrooms, dishwashing, laundry – $45 per month
- Cooking 7 days a week (freshly made lunch & dinner) – $60 per month
- Groceries (including vegies and all food or household needs) shopped and delivered for you, as needed – no extra cost
- Food from virtually any restaurant – delivered to your home at no extra cost
- All car driving needs (full-time driver, available 7 days a week) – $225 per month
- Personal Training at neighborhood gym – One hour, 6 days a week for $45 per month
- Yoga Training at home with qualified instructor – One hour, 3 days a week for $70 per month
- Massage in spa or at home – One hour, $10 – $100 depending on spa/massage therapist
- Manicure and Pedicure at home – $10
- Laundry picked up and delivered at home – e.g. ironing bed linen for one bed is $1; washing & ironing is $3.
As you can imagine, it has not taken me very long at all to “adjust” and outsource parts of my life. Given the short time that I have been here, I wonder how many other interesting outsourcing opportunities lie waiting to be discovered…
Home again
After a few weeks in India, I returned home to the US for a short visit. It’s absolutely the perfect time to be here – Spring time. After a stormy week, the weather is now that rare form of perfection – neither hot and humid nor cold and rainy. Just. Perfect. Everywhere I look around my sleepy, sunny, wonderful town I see the vibrant, fresh green of spring and blooming bright flowers – the season of new.
Fresh Green Spring!
This crisp morning, it feels fabulous to decompress with a great, big cuppa American coffee. (Yes, I know it’s really Colombian, but let’s not fuss a detail). Every morning and every afternoon that I am here, I’ve promised myself this indulgence. Followed in the evening by a nice glass of a Napa Valley cabernet, perhaps?
It’s so quiet and peaceful here. There’s a gentle breeze blowing. There’s literally not a soul stirring, as I sit here early in the morning, enjoying the nothingness and writing away.
Soon, I will get ready and go out. I don’t have to wait for my driver to arrive. I just get in my car and drive wherever I need to go. There will be no honking horns blaring and breaking the silence. No morning prayer chants broadcast over the neighborhood loud speakers. Actually, no neighborhood loud speakers! And traffic jams? We don’t have those here either. Just people politely driving in straight lines within the lanes that have been painted for them, on roads without potholes the size of their car, giving others the right of way as needed, without blinking or cursing or just plowing ahead.
What a world of difference from the other city that never sleeps! Mumbai, you are probably thinking right now, how boring.
It’s quite fascinating that you have two places where the contrasts are so stark and severe. (When you think about it though, you could actually say that about virtually any two places you randomly pick from around the world). More, I feel fortunate about experiencing both these places – in effect, at the same time.
I’m not talking about just visiting two diverse (and random!) places, but actually living in two contrasting worlds, leaving to go to “the other side” when the time has come. Today, as I savor this crisp morning air, the time to leave is not yet here, but I know that it will be, soon enough.
I wonder today, will I ever yearn for life in Mumbai after I have been there long enough? Time will tell, I guess. That frenetic pace and animated motion, the grime and the smell, the noise and the traffic, so many things to do in so little time and what seems like millions of people everywhere, anywhere you look.
Yearn or not though, I promise myself that I will make the most of my time in Mumbai.
And, as for my visits back to my US home, why, I will make the most of them too.
Just consider me two times lucky.
The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 