Bombay Mix

As Auckland is to Wellington, Sydney to Canberra and Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, it's Mumbai (formerly know as Bombay) not Delhi, that is the cultural pulse of modern India.

We stayed in Colaba, the main traveller area and spent hours just strolling up and down the causeway taking in the different stalls that pull together handiwork from throughout India. The streets are tarmaced and whilst the traffic is still crazy, it is controlled by traffic lights and there are no auto-rickshaws (cue kerolene fumes). One afternoon we walked to the north of the city which revealed interesting architecture and impromptu cricket games on the Oval Maiden - a favourite past-time for Indians in the grip of the Indian vs. Pakistan test series.

The art deco regal cinema in Mumbai provides much of the Mumbaiite entertainment and at only 70 rupees (1GBP) we took full advantage of the air conditioned theatre. The decor was pure 1940 glamour with a dress circle and red velvet curtains framing the screen that opened to reveal a myriad adverts promoting everything from the rabies threat, how to fool pickpockets and the best course of action in case of an explosion during the film. We were not sitting comfortably.

The Indian cinema experience is very different from that anywhere else in the world. The audience are almost childlike in their involvement; booing at the villains, cheering the heroes and clapping at the end. They also stand to attention when the national anthem is played at the beginning. They certainly don't obey the no mobile rule however as the Nokia ring tune and muted conversations haunt the film dialogue.

'Phantom of the Opera' and 'Lemony Snicket' were appreciated by us if only to escape the humid heat of Mumbai. We also watched 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi' in the hope of seeing a Bollywood musical however we missed the claims that billed it as India's first political film. We are not entirely sure what made it political and why because it was half in English and half in Hindi but it was very violent and very sad...we think.

Mumbai is expensive by Indian standards but after a few days we started to really enjoy the cosmopolitan metropolis - a city that is perhaps a good indicator of how the rest of India will develop.