Mumbai - Day Zero
My, how the other half lives! Some of my well-travelled colleagues are flying Upper, so invite me to the lounge; an opulent palace of food, drink, entertainment - all free to those who can afford it! My fellow travellers and I sit back and enjoy a drink or two and some better food than a reheated tray and wait for the flight.
What is this all about then? A number of events are in alignment. 1) The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is on a trip overseas, taking in Japan for WorldSkills, and arriving in Mumbai on the 19th of November. Part trade and IP agreements, part flying the flag for London. 2) To coincide, Film London, the Regional Screen Agency for the capital, are taking part in a “producers tournament” with 8 London and 8 Mumbai film makers. I am not too clear what that means but I am sure I will find out. 3) A United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI - there to support UK companies abroad) Trade Mission of UK facilities companies, as an attempt to see if their are commercial links and opportunities that can be made between the two countries. Leaders of the industry from the UK are in attendance, with AKA Design, Evolutions, Scrub, Ascent Media, Soho Editors, Men from Mars, Audio Networks, Warner Brothers, and The Club all taking the effort to travel half way around the world. We are there for a week, filled with briefings and seminars, tours and receptions, and plenty of time to pursue our own meetings.
The overnight flight touches down at 1pm local time. The entry into India is as quick and untroubled as any I have ever done - in sharp contrast to the visa experience. ur hotl car takes us through the streets to the 5 star Taj Lands End. It is a big city, filled with people walking, our cycling, or on a motorbike, or in ancient taxis, “auto-rickshaws” like the Thai “Tuk-Tuk”, trains or buses. It is a city of 18 million people, and it feels like each and every one of them is on the move. on with rich and tragically poor side by side. When we pull up to the hotel, Andrew (Audio Networks), Ben (Scrub), Guy (AKA), Brian (Soho Editors) and myself cannot fail to feel guilt at the opulence - lit feels as if the poor of this city stop with a bang at the gates. The rooms look out over the Arabian Sea and the unfinished bridge stretching out over the bay.
We meet Keith, our UKTI lead, and have invites to the Indian TV Awards - which is in the north of the town. John (Warner) and his wife also join us. Taxis are summoned and what should be a 20 minute journey starts. This is our first chance to see this city in all it’s glory. As the sun sets we make our way through the crowded streets - and what an entrance into the city this is. The traffic is crazy, and I mean really crazy. Auto-rickshaws find gaps where no gaps exists. A two lane road suddenly becomes a five lane one, with room for people at either sides. The horn is used more as a “hello, I’m here” than a warning. Reversing lights are used for brake lights. Our journey takes way much longer than estimated - nearly two hours. All of us are glad to get out of the cars. It transpires that there is a religious festival - something to do with sugar cane - and that was the hold up.
Unfortunately the same traffic jam holds up most of the guests and some of the award winners for the ceremony. A huge and extravagant set is in front of a fairly empty outdoor seating area. Very few people clap, no-one laughs, and we can’t get a drink. Time to head for dinner. John and RT know this city well, so a restaurant is chosen and we all head into auto-rickshaws back to the area where the hotel is - Bandra. And what an experience that is - with three of us crammed into the back it is the best and scariest fair ride I have ever had. A highlight moment is when the driver swerves off the main drag, onto the pavement and steams headlong into the oncoming traffic at full speed - with three of us laughing nervously at the craziness. But, for all the suicidal driving, no-one ever seems to actually bump into each other. A lovely Chinese meal, then home to bed - 0ur first half day over.
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