10 Apr 2009
Speed of the City
If you think London traffic is crazy not moving – go to Mumbai. Last year I hobbled through Colaba’s streets with a bruised foot en route from Goa making me an easy target for beggars, chai wallahs and over selling salesmen. But my first taste of Mumbai came in the taxi from the airport before we hit the first set of lights. Dirty dickenesque children clamoured around the halted traffic banging on windows for money.
One felt like Mother Terasa one minute and Marie Antoinette the next, such was the invasion of mites. Waving my hand like the old Queen Mum or a tourist brushing flies, a girl no more than 9 suddenly pushed her way to the drivers open window and stared me out with a loud jovial rendition of " Jingle Bells " in English demanding money with menace. Well it WAS February.
Coming from London and spending a month in Goa prepares you for all manner of begging scams but I was not prepared for the next move. As I declined her invitation to fill her purse ( sweet though the chorus was ) she shouted " WHY DON’T YOU FUCK OFF ". I have to say I was taken back, the mouth on it. Welcome to spiritual India.
London is blissfully quiet now everyone is away for Easter and even roads are walkable. People have gone home for the twice yearly visit, to edit facts about their lives, their sexuality and their habits – to get away from the speed of the city. Yesterday I put up this blog, tweeked it, re-read it and even had comments on my facebook SWARMITE Blog FAN Page, then like the child that wouldn’t let it lie I made a final amendment @ 3am, reduced the size of a pic, deleted it and deleted 800 words with it as well. The speed of the city became the speed of loss. Could I remember every word, phrase and intention? It was like piecing together a smashed vase. I was devastated and couldn’t sleep. It was beyond my control. I remember thinking that 20 years ago Sondra Ray gave me the affirmation " Being Out of Control is a Fun Place to be ". Is it?
I felt like the mumbai beggar girl when she couldn’t get her own way, mumbling expletives, it certainly didn’t feel like fun, but like a taxi turning round his cab in a traffic jam ahead – I had to do a U turn to preserve sanity. Did Picasso get the hump when his creation didn’t work out? Francis Bacon even had a habit of destroying his work to encourage creativity so I am amongst Masters. LOL.
With the speed of surrender looming I let it go. It’s only a blog. Utilising Bacon’s mind-frame, if I can create one blog I can create another. If I lose one idea, I can create another – the well is not dry. Lost opportunities occur every day somewhere, mumbai girl will just move to the next car, so I will move to the next blog, hand it over, move on. So here I am realising that you can trace steps but you can’t walk in them exactly. Everything is unique. The speed of the city is within us. Welcome to spiritual London.
Glad you pressed on and published this blog. From where I’m sitting, the kind of traffic etc you are talking about is nigh unimaginable. Here, people will still stop on a busy street, in their cars and yalk at one another, breifly, holding up traffic. Honking at someone going slow might make them go slower yet – as they try and suss out if you’re honking hello…. Ha!
It’s a whole different world.
But still, so much in common, once past the trappings.
Even thought your writing may sometimes have little to do with my lifestyle, it’s a great way to deepen understanding of others. Broadening one’s compassion & understanding is never a bad thing.
I like the way you write.
Lafang
April 14th, 2009 at 2:33 pmpermalink
. . Lafang . . my experience has been that we do learn from the most unpredictable sources and that all lifestyles have a difference but also a commonality that reflects humanity.
Thankx for continued encouragement and for beeping horns!
theswarmite
April 14th, 2009 at 10:05 pmpermalink